Philosophical Iceberg Overview

Introduction

• Introduction to philosophical questions, their introspective nature, and their impact on our worldview.
• Mention of the previous success with existential and philosophical content.
• Personal affinity for the philosophical iceberg content.

Tier 1

Theism

• Belief in one or more deities.
• Opposite of atheism (absence of belief in gods).
• Includes monotheism (single supreme deity) and polytheism (multiple gods).
• Found in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.

Significance

• Exploration of human significance across philosophical traditions.
• Existentialism: individual struggle to find meaning in an indifferent universe.
• Absurdism: existence may lack inherent meaning.
• Humanism: celebrates individual worth and dignity.
• Nihilism: life lacks inherent meaning.
• Eastern philosophies like Buddhism: different perspectives on existence.

Atheism

• Absence of belief in deities.
• Reasons include reliance on empirical evidence and skepticism of religious claims.
• Spectrum from weak (lacking belief) to strong atheism (denying gods).
• Atheism covers a variety of perspectives on life.

Mortality

• Subject to death, a fundamental aspect of human condition.
• Raises questions about life's nature and meaning.
• Different cultural and religious perspectives.

Size of the World

• Philosophical question about perception and consciousness.
• Limits of human understanding and the nature of reality.

Sonder

• Realization that each person has a vivid, complex life.
• Encourages empathy and connection.

Mandela Effect

• Collective misremembering of events or facts.
• Examples: misremembered brand names or historical events.
• Psychological explanations include memory errors.

Consciousness

• Intricacies of morality and right from wrong.
• Moral compass influenced by cultural, religious beliefs, and psychological stages.

Afterlife

• Varied religious and secular perspectives.
• Concepts of Heaven, Hell, reincarnation, and secular views on afterlife.

Tier 2

Trolley Problem

• Ethical dilemma involving life and death decisions.
• Explores moral principles and reasoning.

Deontology vs. Consequentialism

• Deontology: rule-based ethics (Kant's principles).
• Consequentialism: outcome-based ethics (utilitarianism).

Pessimism

• Negative view of life and events.
• Philosophical and psychological perspectives.

Apocalypse

• Philosophical inquiries on life's meaning in potential Annihilation.
• Ethical dilemmas and societal impacts.

Psychological Hedonism

• Actions driven by pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain.

Nihilism vs. Existentialism

• Nihilism: lack of inherent meaning.
• Existentialism: individual agency in creating meaning.

Fermi Paradox

• Contradiction between high probability of extraterrestrial life and lack of evidence.

Ship of Theseus

• Thought experiment on identity and persistence.

Immortality

• Ethical, metaphysical challenges and societal impacts of immortality.

Tier 3

Moral Nihilism

• Denial of objective moral principles.

Absurdism

• Confrontation between quest for meaning and universe’s indifference.

Anti-natalism

• Ethical stance against procreation due to suffering and environmental concerns.

Time Travel Paradoxes

• Grandfather, bootstrap paradoxes exploring causal contradictions.

Simulation Theory

• Hypothesis that reality is a computer simulation.

Philosophical Zombies

• Thought experiment on consciousness and physicalism.

Omphalos Hypothesis

• Earth created with appearance of age (geological features, history).

Solipsism

• Only one's own mind is sure to exist.

Determinism

• All events, including human actions, are determined by previous events.

Tier 4

Boltzmann Brain

• Speculative concept of spontaneous conscious entities.

Pro-mortalism

• Human extinction might be ethically preferable to reduce suffering.

Quantum Immortality

• Survival through quantum branching.

Roko's Basilisk

• Speculative ethical implications of a future AI.

Ignorance is Bliss

• Concept that lack of knowledge can lead to happiness.

Existence of Existence

• Philosophical inquiries on nature and purpose of being.