Goodtalk
Goodtalk

Philosophical Questions

Do we have free will? Can you be too honest? These questions have no answer key. They get everyone thinking, and often disagreeing in the best way.

Good for: Dinner parties, study groups and friends who love a good discussion.

Play 80 cards

Tips for playing

  • Have someone argue the opposite of what they believe.
  • Ask: Why do you think that?
  • No answer is wrong, but every answer needs a reason.

Depth: lightLight questions

Easy to start with. Good for warming up.

  1. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?
  2. What makes something beautiful?
  3. Where's the line between playing and being serious?
  4. Is nostalgia a gift or a curse?
  5. What's the difference between courage and recklessness?
  6. Can you be too honest?
  7. Is a hot dog a sandwich, and why?
  8. Is there a right answer to what looks good?
  9. Would you rather know everything about the past or a little about the future?
  10. If you replace every part of a bike, is it still the same bike?
  11. Can an animal be your best friend?
  12. Is it ever okay to cheat at a game?
  13. What turns something into art?
  14. Can you waste time, or is all time spent on something?
  15. Can you be friends with someone you disagree with about everything?
  16. What's the difference between being smart and being wise?
  17. Is it more important to be polite or to be honest?
  18. Can you miss something you've never had?

Depth: mediumA bit more personal

For when the conversation is flowing.

  1. What defines who you are: your thoughts, your actions or something else?
  2. If you could know everything about the universe, would you want to?
  3. Can you be happy without knowing it?
  4. What would a perfect society look like?
  5. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?
  6. Which is worth more, knowledge or wisdom?
  7. Could a machine ever become conscious?
  8. Does time move in a straight line or in circles?
  9. Can you ever fully know yourself?
  10. Which is more true, what we feel or what we think?
  11. Can you change the past by changing how you remember it?
  12. Do we have moral duties to people who haven't been born yet?
  13. What matters more, intentions or consequences?
  14. Is happiness something you find or something you create?
  15. What would the world be like without language?
  16. Is it right to lie to protect someone?
  17. Can you love someone you don't know?
  18. What makes humans fundamentally different from animals?
  19. Could people live without art?
  20. Is the mind part of the body, or something separate?
  21. What matters more, being respected or being loved?
  22. Is it possible to live a life with no regrets at all?
  23. Is boredom a sign that something is missing, or a chance for something new?
  24. Can you ever really own anything?
  25. What's the difference between believing and knowing?
  26. Is loneliness worse than bad company?
  27. What would happen if everyone always told the truth?
  28. Is progress always a good thing?
  29. If you could live forever, would you?
  30. Is there anything all people agree on?
  31. Where's the line between influencing someone and manipulating them?
  32. Do we have a duty to help strangers?
  33. Is it possible to be completely free?
  34. Does a lie become true if enough people believe it?
  35. What do we owe the people who come after us?
  36. Could a machine ever understand a human being?
  37. Can a society be happy if some of the people living in it aren't?
  38. Can you love several people equally?

Depth: deepDeep questions

Take your time. These are the ones people remember.

  1. What do you think is the purpose of human existence?
  2. Is there such a thing as objective truth, or is everything relative?
  3. Is free will an illusion?
  4. Is evil just the absence of good, or is it something in itself?
  5. What makes an action morally right?
  6. What's the difference between living and just existing?
  7. Do we need suffering in order to feel happiness?
  8. Which is scarier, a universe with meaning or one without any?
  9. Is justice a human invention or a law of the universe?
  10. Is death an ending or a transition?
  11. Which is scarier, endless space or no space at all?
  12. Can two people ever truly understand each other?
  13. What would you sacrifice for world peace?
  14. Are people basically good or basically bad?
  15. Is a long, calm life better than a short, intense one?
  16. If you could know exactly when you'll die, would you want to?
  17. What gives a life value if no one remembers it?
  18. Is there anything worse than death?
  19. Would you choose a truth that hurts over a lie that comforts?
  20. How much of who you are did you choose yourself?
  21. Can you be a good person and still do something very wrong?
  22. How does thinking about death change the way you live?
  23. Do we have free will, or does it just feel that way?
  24. What would you stand firm on, even if everyone else disagreed?

80 cards in this deck.