2. I really can't get my head around Berkeleyen idealism, could somebody help me understand how we can have the same experience of something without there being a unique thing to prompt my experience?
4. In Oppenheimer, Truman claims the Soviets will never have an atomic bomb. Was this a popular/consensus opinion at the time?
13. Among opponents of just war theory, do any accept jus as bellum (there are just causes) but reject jus in bello (but real wars can never be waged justly)?
23. My kid said I scratched her legs in an argument but I didn't. I think she's going to tell her therapist that I did. What can I do?
24. I'm Dr. Jim Ambuske, creator of the podcast Worlds Turned Upside Down, and a historian of the American Revolution. AMA about the coming of the American Revolution!
27. Jesus is often depicted with a lamb, which is usually white and fluffy. But what did sheep in first century Israel actually look like?
29. During the years 1906-1975 Sweden had an eugenics program which forcefully sterilized many types of people but what caught my eye was their sterilization of the quote "feebleminded" and "antisocial". What effect did this have on their society? How is someone deemed "antisocial"?
35. What are your limits or boundaries regarding stripclubs with your SO ? Do you have to be there ? Do you mind if they goes in a private cabin ? What would be your reaction if those personnal limits were crossed? (NSFW)
38. I am a parent of small children going on a wagon train on the Oregon trail. How do I keep them entertained? Would children of the time have said "Are we there yet?" Or the equivalent.
39. Why didn't Muslim traders/explorers visit Europe although they visited other non-Muslim regions and continents. What did Muslims think of Europeans in the Middle Ages?
47. Why did the Jewish people of Algeria after the fall of colonial French Algeria leave for France rather than Israel like most of the other Jewish people of the Middle East and North Africa?
48. According to natural realists in metaethics what does the reduction of normative properties/facts to natural ones amount to?
53. Did Native Americans that didn’t have contact with Europeans yet, but had managed to domesticate horses have any stories or legends to explain where the horses came from?
60. It seems like the Imperial Japanese Army could get away with anything from the late '20s until the end of WWII. Why?
61. How does Daniel Dennet think we should go about stopping people from saying we don't have free will and are his views very representative of other compatibilists?
68. I am interested in the day-to-day of how people lived, ate, cooked, did chores, etc. in different places and periods of history. What is the study of this called, where can I find more of it, and is it history?
73. How would you feel about receiving a promise ring that included a gem with the birthstone of the month you started dating? (NSFW)
74. Trying to understand my worldview. Am I a nihilist, an existential nihilist, or an existentialist?
75. Women with dreamy, crazy in love, too perfect to be real SOs, what is your relationship like? (NSFW)
76. What would happen if I got on a plane to a different English speaking country and claimed I had no memory of where I came from?
80. People seem to describe every US Presidential election as the most important "in a generation" or "in our lifetime." Were there any elections in the past that were generally regarded as relatively unimportant at the time?
81. Highly educated women with standards and 6 figure salaries, how are you faring in the dating pool? (NSFW)
82. "Personality is an illusion", we all put on an act from the day "you" became you. We are all actors? Are there any good philosophy books that dive into this subject?
90. My grandmother told me stories about Rangoon that I cannot find support for. How do I know if it's true?
93. A recent poll claimed that one in five young Americans believe the Holocaust is a myth. How has holocaust denial grown to such an extent given the abundance of evidence and documentation?
96. Women who have experienced periods of extremely low energy or "burnout", what do you think was the cause of that period in your life? (NSFW)
97. My I girlfriend's cat killed my pet squirrel whom I raised from a baby she was my first ever friend I loved her so much, i always asked my gf not to bring her cat home and 2 days ago this happened and I'm not speaking with her since . It just hurts Am i being wrong ? I'm 21 Male i live far from the
98. Why most philosophers of free will work with the assumption that determinism explains how physical universe works and then try to reconcile it with free will (or not), while we know that quantum theory is fundamentally indeterministic?
99. In the USA, we have a massive interstate system crossing the entire country that's less than 100 years old. How did the US federal govt get all the land to pull this off and what happened to any opposition efforts that tried to stop it?
100. During the European colonization of North America, how come Native Americans died en masse from European diseases, but Europeans did not die en masse from North American diseases?
101. If you weren't restricted by money or space, how many rooms would you wanna live in alone? (NSFW)
103. What makes something evidence for a hypothesis or theory or proposition? What makes something supporting evidence?
106. The Second World War is probably the most well-documented and widely studied conflict in history. What is an aspect of it that is still not well understood by historians?
109. If you own a sea plane, are you allowed to just land on any old lake or large body of water you want?
110. Why did many Japanese POWs (that is, Japanese soldiers that were captured) go into captivity mostly nude or completely naked?
114. Do any contemporary philosophers take the problem of hard solipsism seriously? I feel like the metaphysics of the past three hundred years has dispelled it as a real "problem" and I only see it come up in silly religious debates between christian presuppositionalists and atheists.
115. Why are drum magazines on the Thompson submachine gun commonly associated with organised crime in the 20s/30s? Is this just a trope? If not, is there a reason they were favoured, as opposed to box magazines used by the military, or is it simply due to different eras?
116. If "traditional men" want their partners to be tradwives but also make money, then what kind of job does he expect her to have?
117. Why were hijackings all the rage in the 1970s? What caused them to seemingly stop being the go-to thing to do for terrorists in the 80s? Why weren’t there post-9/11-style safety regulations implemented after the first hijacking?
119. How did bloodletting remain such a common medical procedure from antiquity to the 19th century when it was not beneficial and even harmful?
126. In the 1960s through 1970s the “Indian Health Service” forcefully or manipulatively sterilized 25% to 50% of Native American women as young as 11 years old. Why? Was there any Native resistance? Whatever happened to the survivors?
131. Is there a name in ethical philosophy for actions that may not be immoral on an individual level, but are problematic on a social level?
133. How does Chomsky respond to Geoffrey Sampson's accusation that nativism is largely non-scientific?
135. Can someone please recommend a book that’s accessible to a total layperson about the life of medieval pesants?
138. Has there ever been a period in history where prostitution was considered an honorable / respected profession?
140. Let's say there WAS room at the inn. What might Mary and Joseph's experience have been like at the 'first Christmas'?
141. If a kid being sent to one of those "kidnap you in the night" bootcamps kills someone during the kidnap, is it self defense?
143. HP Lovecraft was notoriously racist, even compared to his contemporaries. Is that because writers of his era were less racist than average? Or would HP Lovecraft’s racism be appalling to even an average person?
147. What's something somebody said that made you think to yourself "ya we'd never be friends"? (NSFW)
149. Medieval knights were trained from childhood, usually age 7-8, spent most of their youth riding horses, and had to maintain a high degree of athleticism for combat throughout their lives. Is there textual or archaeological evidence of knights having physical issues due to this, such as arthritis?
150. What happened to all of the life changing medical cures and advancements that were "right around the corner" 30 years ago?
151. How and when did America start viewing the Constitution & the Founding Fathers as the harbingers of absolute truth?
153. I am 1/4 black, 3/4 white college educated 20 yo. male. How will I be seen in the eyes of the US military during WWII?
162. Are there any notable examples of arguments in the history of philosophy that are generally regarded to be highly valuable but worded *terribly*?
166. Uranium ore is 40x more common than Silver, and 500x more common than gold. Has there been any historical uses of Uranium Ore before the discovery of Radioactivity?
169. If Donald Trump is openly telling people he will become a dictator if elected why do the polls have him in a dead heat with Joe Biden?
171. Why did Arabic numbers and mathematical notation see such quick and universal adoption while no common alphabet made traction?
174. Is it appropriate for me to pursue Philosophy formally? (Is it wise for a Youtube philosophy fan to actually go into the field?)
178. Hi I’m Paul, an interpreter at President Lincoln’s Cottage, Lincoln’s summer home where he developed the Emancipation Proclamation. From 12:45- 2:45 pm today I'll be answering questions about “the Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home” and how this place and the people he met here influenced his presidency.
180. What are philosophers that teach that the pursuit of knowledge should be driven through empirical evidence?
183. I read somewhere that "women are bourgeois beings", without commenting on this sentence, can you tell me which book it might come from?
185. Was the average person alive in the 18th century noticibly less intelligent than the average person alive today?
191. What is a thoughtful random action a friend did for you that you still remember to this day? (NSFW)
198. Is there a philosophical term for opposing something even if they agree that thing is true, efficient and safe?
201. What role did the Palestinians' ancestors play in the Jewish-Roman Wars? Were they on the sidelines? Not present at all?
205. Purchased an expensive computer. The merchant cancelled the charge according my credit card company, but the item was shipped and I received it. What can happen in this situation?
207. Why did some countries have elaborate flags in the era before screen printing or sewing machines?
216. In 1976 10 year old Brooke Shields did a number of nude photoshoots for Playboy. How in the world was this legal? Was there any public outrage? (NSFW)
225. Announcing New 'Office Hours' Feature: Questions and Discussion about Navigating Academia, School, and the Subreddit
229. Katanga seemed to be a state created solely by the will of the people. Both poor and rich Whites and Blacks fought alongside one another to protect the land and ensure it's independence from the Congo. If this is true, why exactly did the UN fight so hard to bring Katanga down?
233. What made 1848 such a big year? Did something specifically happen that caused like half of Europe to make new constitutions that year? Is it the biggest year in the 19th century?
235. I started my period when I was 10 years old. Does this mean in caveman times I would've started getting pregnant and giving birth at only 10? (NSFW)
236. How can i be sure the immoral personal beliefs of a philosopher didn't (in)directly influence their ideas?
238. How is it that Hinduism is still practiced as a major religion today but not ancient Greek, Egyptian or Persian (Zoroastrian) religions? What factors determine why adherents convert vs. hold on to certain faiths?
242. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as a woman that you wish you knew when you were younger? (NSFW)
243. Is stating an argument without backing it up then telling the opponent to "shut up" a fallacy of some kind?
246. Did Capitalist countries sabotage communist/socialist countries from achieving their full potential?
250. I'm trying to understand psychological egoism and I think I need help - it seems like it's just a tautology?
257. Who were the Troglodytae people, why have they been so maligned in history, why is it; even in modern times, to be called a Troglodytae such an insult? By all accounts Cleopatra was able to speak and understand their language so they must have been an advanced enough civilisation to trade with?
261. Noodles are pretty universal in different cultures across the world, but did they ever develop in the americas? Why or why not?
262. Who are some public figures who you've gained/lost respect for due to their behavior on social media? Why? (NSFW)
266. Women who once thought seriously about leaving the relationship you're currently in, but don't anymore: what changed? (NSFW)
271. What are you, like, 90% sure other women do but you've never been able or comfortable enough to ask? (NSFW)
273. What would be your thoughts if you discovered someone you were dating purchased sex work from Thailand before being with you? (NSFW)
275. What is an unspoken reality of casinos that is purposely kept hidden from the public's awareness?
276. Was their any truth to the theory that the American revolution happened because of fear that Britain would enforce Somerset vs Stewart (banning slavery on English soil) on it's colonies?
281. My university's textbook on collective bargaining claims that the term "strike" comes from the 1700s "when sailors enforced their demands for pay raises by striking the topsails, which made ships immovable." Was this actually effective in immobilizing a ship?
283. Has Hitler been viewed as the definitive example of a monster/evil in Asian or sub-Sahara African countries?
286. How have theist philosophers thought about the possibility of physically repairing dead bodies? How does this work with notions of the afterlife?
287. In the 1992 track ‘Baby Got Back’ Sir Mix-a-Lot raps, “I’m tired of magazines Sayin’ flat butts are the thing” Was there a time in history when flat bottoms were seen as the ideal form, and what led to the change?
291. In this video, Simon Blackburn seems to think that we are entering an era of post-analytic-philosophy. How common is this view among analytic philosophers today? Are there any good counter arguments to this view?
292. Popular culture is full of stories of "lost arts" that actually aren't (we do know how to make damascus steel, for example). Are there technologies or techniques superior to modern ones that actually were, and remain lost?
296. Women who have been raised by absolutely emotionally unavailable and emotionally abusive parents, how did you cope up with that? (NSFW)
298. Currently watching Band of Brothers and I'm struck by how often soldiers were receiving mail and sending large packages home (E.G. a full set of silverware). Logistically I'd imagine this posed some challenges; how did post work in the US armed forces during WW2?