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The Anthropocene Era

The Anthropocene is a proposed term to describe this period in the Earth's history where human activity has a significant impact on the natural world. How do you feel about living in the Anthropocene Era, and contributing to these changes in the global ecosystem?

If life is a highway, then maybe you need a rest stop! Let's take a moment to stop and reflect on the past, and align ourselves for the future. What is going well, and what do you need to change? What are you thankful and hopeful for? And where do you want to go next?

We all want it but can you define what it is? And how do you pursue happiness? Is happiness so difficult to achieve or are we overthinking it? What do you believe is the secret to achieving happiness?

Capitalism vs. Democratic Socialism

As Winston Churchill said of democracy, we could say that capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others. A few prominent American politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez identify themselves as Democratic Socialists, but what exactly is this system, and is it really better than capitalism?

Economic Systems

Economic systems organize how resources get allocated: who will be wealthy, who will be poor, and who gets to make important decisions about wealth distribution. They also indirectly influence our moral perception of wealth. Capitalism, socialism, communism, another? Which economic system is most conducive to producing the kind of society that we want to live in?

Transhumanism and the Ethics of Engineering Ourselves

Transhumanism is a philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of humans both physically and intellectually via technology that might become available in the future. Some examples include genetically modifying humans, adding cybernetic components to human bodies or brains, and achieving immortality by transferring human consciousness into machines. Are you for or against transhumanism? How might these changes to individuals result in changes to society at large?

China's Social Credit System

The Chinese government has begun rolling out a set of reputation-tracking technologies called the Social Credit System. It uses high-tech surveillance, facial recognition and data mining to track the minute daily activities of citizens and business in order to score them on their behavior. Those who maintain high scores will receive privileges like travel upgrades, preferential access to schooling and jobs, and higher social status, while those with low scores will have reduced access or could even be blacklisted. What are the pros and cons of such reputation-tracking systems?

The Boundaries of Speech and Civility

Calm, rational, and fairminded consideration of all viewpoints is a core principle of critical thinking, but are there some ideas that are so dangerous that they should not be discussed with civility? Are there issues like gay rights or abortion rights where the discussion is over, and we need to move on? The boundaries of speech and civility are being questioned - where should they be drawn?

Culture, Patriotism and Nationalism

Name any nation, and you immediately imagine what makes it unique: the distinct food, dress, practices, art and architecture of the local people. We accept and adhere to our own traditions and values, while we appreciate or abhor the differences that we see contrasted in the ways of others. What are our values and how important are they? Do other cultures have equal or equivalent value? Should we accept immigration and cultural change or do more to preserve our own traditional values and practices?

Vision, Values & Self-Image

Developing strong vision and values is fundamental to maintaining objectivity and sharp critical thinking skills because they form the foundation of your self-image and intellectual courage. Great thinkers have confidence because they know what they stand for and are motivated by their strong sense of purpose. What values are important to you as an individual? Are there universal values that we should all hold? How can we reflect upon and question our own values to achieve personal growth? How can we discuss our views respectfully with those who hold different values?

Automated Perspectives

The internet gives us access to more information than past generations could have ever dreamed, but has left us struggling to sort through this wealth of data. Google, Facebook, Microsoft and an army of corporations have responded to the problem by building information filtering tools - algorithms and artificial intelligence systems that analyze our past behavior to make personalized recommendations of news, products and entertainment suited to each of our individual desires. How do we move forward in a world where we have more and more information?

Is Religion Still Relevant?

Christopher Hitchens said that religion was our first attempt to make sense of the world. It was the best we could do at the time, but has gradually been made obsolete by modern replacements. Religious myths have been replaced by scientific understanding. Religious laws and morality have been replaced by modern notions of law, justice and ethics. Our desire for art, entertainment and community can now be catered by an endless array of secular sources. Is there any use or place for religion today? Should traditional, organized religions be replaced by personal or new-age spiritual beliefs? Or should we abandon the notion of faith-based belief altogether?

The Crisis of Masculinity

Manosphere, toxic masculinity, incel, red pill, niceguy, mansplaining, soyboy, testosterone poisoning, white knight - these colourful words keep boiling up into our popular culture, reflecting an underlying struggle to define masculine ideals and they send mixed messages to young men who are trying to find their identity and their place in society. Is there a crisis of masculinity? What advice can we give to young men who are struggling to find themselves? How should we define gender roles today?

The Question of Abortion

Abortion has long been a mainstay of Canadian law, and has generally had wide acceptance among Canadians - a 2001 poll found that 32% of respondents believed it should be permitted in all circumstances, 54% in some circumstances and only 14% believed that abortion should never be permitted. But the increasing popularity of conservative influencers like Jordan Peterson, and the recent election of Doug Ford in Ontario seem to be riding a rising tide of pro-life support.

Democracy Under Threat

Though far from perfect, and often criticized, democracy is the best system we have for maintaining functional, effective governments that protect the rights and freedoms of individuals. We all have a stake in our political system, and a responsibility to protect our democracy. Is our democracy under threat? Is it better or worse than in the past? What should we do to protect it?

How Selfish Should We Be?

We are privileged to live in a country where we have freedom, abundant food and affordable medical care. If you make more than $42,000 Canadian per year, then you are in the global 1% - one of the wealthiest people on the planet. Are we obligated by our position of wealth and good fortune to help others who by dint of bad luck were not born with the opportunities that we were? How should we balance our own desire to live our lives and fit in to society against the harm that our choices cause, and the opportunities that we have to improve living conditions for others?

Finding Yourself

Whenever you feel lonely, uncertain or unappreciated, you're sure to meet someone who will tell you that the answer to your problems is to "be yourself". But instead of helping, this advice only leads to further questions - how could you have failed to be yourself, and why does everyone else seem so confident about it? Does society really place a high value on being yourself, or do we pay lip service to authenticity while we value more obvious qualities like humor, charm and beauty? How can you continue to be yourself, while you work on improving yourself? How can we find ourselves, and be ourselves to achieve joy and fulfillment?

The Expanding Circle of Empathy

The Expanding Circle is an idea (and book) by ethical philosopher Peter Singer. It's an imaginary circle that includes all of the people (or creatures) that you care about. Do you believe in the circle of empathy and that it is expanding over time? Who deserves to be included in our circle - neighbours, foreigners, immigrants, refugees, criminals, animals? Is Singer correct that better logical reasoning leads to more caring and empathy?

Pro-gun advocates argue that many firearms are used responsibly in sports like hunting and marksmanship, and that guns are required for personal protection, especially in rural areas where police response times are low. They also argue that a well-armed population is the best defense against a tyrannical government so widespread firearms ownership is fundamental to maintaining democracy. Do you think that our gun control laws are too strict or too lax? What do you think about laws in the United States where gun control laws are much looser? How can we reduce the incidence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths?

Everyday Ethics

A contemporary ethical person should think about practical concerns like their impact on the environment, their voting patterns, and the consequences of their consumption habits. We should be concerned about the real impact that our lifestyle has on the world around us. How do you think about the ethics of your everyday actions? What thinking tools do you use and what principles do you follow? Which of our daily habits are ethically right and which are ethically wrong?

Extinction Rebellion and Climate Activism

Extinction Rebellion is a global network of climate activists whose protests have shut down highways, bridges and subways in major cities around the world. Are these the extreme actions of a gang of lunatics, or a rational attempt to change the course of humanity before we destroy ourselves? How should we publicly express our thoughts on climate change and send a message that will spur our political leaders to act?

How Do We Gain Knowledge and Beliefs?

Misinformation, propaganda and fake news don't spread themselves. If we have a problem of misinformation in the world, it means that we have a problem of people spreading misinformation because they lack the critical thinking skills to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information. What are the correct and incorrect ways of figuring out what to believe? Is science reliable? How do we distinguish between real science and fake science? Are intuition, tradition or revelation reliable? How do we arrive at value judgments like right and wrong?

Art and Celebrity Crimes

Celebrities capture our attention and admiration. For good or bad, we look to them to set trends, to be our role models, and we even listen to their opinions on matters where they have no expertise like the environment, politics and medical science. Should we hold celebrities to a higher standard of ethics and behavior due to their prominence in society? Should they be scorned in public or should we treat their crimes as private matters? Can we still appreciate their art, or should we boycott them for such behavior?

Tolerance and Religious Indoctrination

Religion occupies a special place in our culture as one of the few domains where indoctrination is widely accepted. It is generally considered normal for parents to decide that their child is Catholic, or Muslim, or other, and to raise them in this particular worldview. Should religion be passed on from parents to children, or should children be given more agency and choice in the matter?

When you went to school you learned that the primary colors are red, yellow and blue, that atoms are tiny dots with electron dots spinning around them, that the Earth is a sphere, that animal fats are bad while vegetable fats are good, and that you think with your brain and feel with your heart. These are convenient fictions - claims that are inaccurate, but true enough for our purposes. But how should we handle a person who says it helps them believe in ideas that are objectively false? For example: a person who believes that astrology makes sense of their life, that visualizing chakras helps them deal with their emotions or that homeopathy makes them feel better?

Proponents of euthanasia argue that it is part of a person's right to self-determination and that it can be a humane way to end unbearable suffering. Opponents argue that euthanasia might put us on a slippery slope and that other methods are available such as ending a patient's treatment and prescribing medication for their suffering. Should euthanasia be permitted? Under what circumstances and by what methods? Would you choose this option if you or a loved one were suffering?

Do the ends justify the means?

It's tempting to believe that your ends can justify your means. We care about the result of our actions, and not how we get there. We can pursue our ideals without getting bogged down by technicalities or compromises. But this question is not so simple when it hinges on values that we hold dear like human life, well-being and fundamental rights. Do you believe that the ends justify the means?

Should there be Billionaires?

Should a person be entitled to keep whatever money they earn, or do the wealthy have a responsibility to pay back into the society that facilitated their wealth? Should economics be viewed as a system for earning individual wealth or for generating collective wealth and building a productive society? Have we reached the point where the wealth gap threatens the health of our society?

Universal Basic Income

Universal Basic Income or UBI is a program that provides regular sums of money to all citizens (or all adult citizens) of a country, regardless of financial situation. It is similar to welfare, however welfare is given only to citizens who meet certain conditions, whereas UBI is universal. Do you think UBI would help or hinder our society?

Should We Try To Change Minds?

Dale Carnegie said that "there is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument - and that is to avoid it". Should we even try to talk about differences in opinion? Or should we put our differences aside and strive for harmony? Does every opinion have value? How do we handle disagreement?

The Limits of Rationality

Rationality means that your beliefs conform with your reasons to believe. It has gifted us many shiny and wonderful things like the scientific method, fairer justice systems and overall better decision making techniques. But it is only a means to an end; it cannot tell us what we should value or how we should measure progress.

What if we had a political system where government positions were given out on grounds of merit, and decisions were made by experts? This is called a technocracy, from the Greek words for skill and power. Is technocracy viable? How should it be integrated with our current democratic system? Do you think that we should give technocracy a try?

How to Give Back in Life?

What are we here for? How do we find our purpose in life and achieve fulfillment? What is the best way to contribute to the world and create a positive impact? Great minds have pondered this question for thousands of years, and somehow we still have not achieved a satisfying answer. So surely we'll have this question resolved in no time!

Ecomodernism is a philosophy that believes that technology and consumption are the tools with which to repair our damage to the environment. They embrace solutions that have generally been rejected by environmentalists in the past: e.g. genetic modification, nuclear energy, and carbon dioxide removal. Perhaps their worst blasphemy is their belief that we might achieve sustainability without making hard sacrifices and changing our lifestyle. What is the way forward to preserve our planet?

What I Believe by Bertrand Russell

What I Believe is ranked as one of the most articulate and notorious examples of Russell's arguments for atheism. The text was so inflammatory at the time that it was used as evidence against him in a 1940 trial, wherein the court decided that he was unfit to teach college-level philosophy.

Living in the world today, it's easy to feel insignificant. As we become more connected and aware of news from around the globe, we come to know more about all the problems and suffering of others. Yet as our big picture gets bigger, we feel smaller within it. It feels as if we are being swept away by the tide, and cannot make any difference in the world. Is it possible to make a significant contribution and have a positive impact on the world? How do we find meaning in our life?

The QAnon Conspiracy Theory

QAnon adherents believe that this Satanist pedophile ring has operated for a long time, and that Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign specifically as a covert mission to infiltrate the U.S. Government and arrest these pedophiles. They prophesy about a day called "The Storm" where Trump will finally execute his plan and arrest these criminals en masse, thus saving the world, and all the innocent child victims. How should we deal with the segment of our population who believe these bizarre claims and are unwilling or unable to fact-check their news?

Advancements in Pseudointellectualism

Pseudointellectualism means fake intellectualism; it means that someone is not only spreading lies, but that the lies appear more "intelligent" than the truth. Pseudointellectuals appeal to our ego. They satiate our desire to "feel" smart and allow us to enjoy this feeling without facing the challenge of real intellectual thought. Who are the fake intellectuals? Who are the real ones? And how do we know?

What Are Your Terminal Values?

Values are the things that you hold to be important in life, but there are some things that we value inherently, and other things that we only value as a means to an end. What do you value most? Are there any broad values that everyone can agree on?

Public Policy vs. Personal Values

Do you feel that the government represents you? Or do you feel like you are choosing the lesser of evils every time you go to the voting booth? What are your personal values, and is our nation living up to your hopes?

Journalism in Crisis

Journalism is struggling to adapt to a world where news organizations must maintain high standards while competing with social media. Is journalism in crisis? Does our new media technology provide benefits that outweigh the risks? How can we become better and more responsible consumers of news?

How Do You Know?

The study of knowledge and how to achieve accuracy in understanding the world is called epistemology, and a basic course in how to interpret facts and information is sadly lacking in our education. So let's talk about the mistakes we make, and how we could become better at forming our understanding of the world.

Artificial Intelligence in the Home

We love the convenience of AI but what are the risks? Exposing our home to the internet can make it vulnerable to hacking. Can we ever trust the artificial product in the same way that we trust our free-range organic intelligence?

Birds Aren't Real

Birds Aren't Real is a satirical conspiracy theory that claims the U.S. government exterminated all birds starting in 1959 and replaced them with lookalike surveillance drones. In October 2022 they held their first protest in New York City and drew hundreds of people. Is this a fun joke or a waste of time?

Making Friends and Being a Good Friend

Remember when you were a child and making friends was easy? Why did it become so hard now that we've gained experience and grown up into busy, preoccupied adults? Let's have a friendly chat about how to meet new people, form meaningful relationships and be a good friend who contributes to the well-being of others.

Rebel News, "I won't call it a media organization"

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized Rebel News for spreading misinformation and disinformation and for sowing division among Canadians, and he has said "I won't call it a media organization". How do we make sense of our world while the quality of our news continues to be diluted?

Truth and Reconciliation

In 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was launched to document the history and impact of the residential school system on indigenous people. The commission concluded in 2015 and published a multi-volume report with 94 calls to action to redress the legacy of residential schools. What should we do as Canadians and indigenous people to recognize our history and move forward?

Finding Yourself

"Who am I and what's the point of me?" It's a question that great philosophers have pondered for thousands of years, and evidently they have failed to supply an answer that satisfies us, because we're still asking. So let's get together, and help each other sort out our values and life purpose.

Dealing with Family

Family are The people that you're required to love due to the accidental circumstances of your birth, or in a few cases, your adoption. Our families are not perfect but for most of us, we find reasons to love them, we learn to accept their flaws, and we develop coping mechanisms to get through our difficult times. Let's talk about the joys and challenges of family, and how we will survive all of this quality time.

The Housing Crisis

Housing is recognized as one of the three essentials of life, along with food and video streaming services. But this essential resource is becoming harder and harder to acquire as the cost of real estate and rent has increased dramatically over the past decades, while median incomes have mostly stagnated. What interventions could solve the housing crisis and what might be the secondary effects?