Discover published sets by community

A scenario where a brain is kept alive and fed false experiences through simulation, leading to skepticism about our ability to know the external world. It illuminates the problem of radical skepticism and the nature of knowledge.

A hypothetical situation in political philosophy where individuals choose societal principles without knowledge of their own position within society. It deals with moral decisions under a veil of ignorance.

A paradox where a student agrees to pay a fee to a teacher only upon winning his first court case, but upon finishing his studies, he doesn't take on any cases. Both sue each other leading to a logical contradiction.

A paradox that illustrates the problem of quantum superposition by imagining a cat that is simultaneously alive and dead, depending on an unobserved random event. It raises questions about observation in quantum mechanics and the nature of reality.

A philosophical argument using hypothetically conceivable creatures indistinguishable from humans but lack consciousness. It tackles questions about consciousness and the possibility of physicalist theories to explain it.

A hypothetical situation where a donkey, equally hungry and thirsty, is placed precisely between food and water but dies due to indecision. This illustrates the problems of free will and determinism.

An argument aimed at challenging the claims of strong artificial intelligence, questioning whether a computer running a program can truly 'understand' language. It illuminates the differences between syntactic processing and semantic understanding.

A challenge to the definition of knowledge as 'justified true belief'. It uses cases where individuals have beliefs that are both true and justified, yet many would not agree that they have 'knowledge'.

An allegory where prisoners, seeing only shadows, take the shadows for reality. When a prisoner is freed and sees the real world, he realizes the shadows are false. This illuminates the contrast between perceived reality and true knowledge.

A probabilistic argument that claims to predict the number of future members of the human species given an assumed total number of humans. It raises ethical issues regarding the effects of our actions on future generations.

A scenario where infinite immortality leads to overpopulation and suffering, questioning the desirability of life-extension technologies and the ethical implications of an immortal society.

A scenario exploring what moral choices a person might make if they became invisible and thus could act without social repercussions. This illustrates concerns with ethics, power, and accountability.

A decision theory problem involving a predictor that makes accurate predictions about decisions. The subject faces two boxes, creating a scenario that explores causality, prediction, and free choice.

A critique of distributive justice theories that focuses on individual rights, historical entitlements, and the just acquisition and transfer of property, questioning the principles of redistribution and justice.

A thought experiment critiquing utilitarianism that imagines a being who derives more pleasure from resources than anyone else. This raises questions about the distribution of goods and the maximization of utility.

A thought experiment based on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, where a person could theoretically survive quantum suicide attempts, suggesting a subjective experience of immortality.

A scientist, Mary, knows everything about color but lives in a black-and-white room. When she sees color for the first time, she learns something new. This thought experiment illuminates the knowledge argument against physicalism.

A thought experiment where a man's molecular duplicate arises from the swamp; despite having the same memories and personality, has he the same personal identity? It questions the nature of identity and mental continuity.

A moral dilemma where you must choose between switching the path of a runaway trolley to kill one person instead of five. It illustrates the conflict between utilitarian ethics and deontological ethics.

Blaise Pascal's argument that it is rational to live as if God exists and seek to believe in God. It illuminates the use of decision theory applied to belief and the consequence of uncertainty in religious faith.

A thought experiment asking if given the choice, we would plug into a machine that gave us any experience we desired. It questions the value of hedonism and the authenticity of experiences.

An economic hypothesis that personal savings are a virtue but if everyone saves more collectively, it may lead to a decrease in aggregate demand, resulting in less saving overall, illuminating issues in macroeconomic policy.

A paradox questioning the identity of objects over time. If all parts of a ship are gradually replaced, is it still the same ship? This thought experiment illuminates issues of identity and continuity.

A method of determining the morality of issues employing a hypothetical original position where individuals choose principles of justice while ignorant of their own status. It explores fairness and justice in social contracts.