‘Raising young people to question is a good idea’

Philosophers tend to be very smart and creative thinkers. Research shows that philosophy graduates, along with physics graduates, are among the smartest people, Stephen Law tells Simonne Pace. Philosophy encourages us to take a step back and ask ourselves searching and difficult questions about how we are living our lives and why we believe in what we do. It’s only by asking such questions that moral progress is made. British philosopher Stephen Law says “research into those who rescued the Jews during the Holocaust reveals that the rescuers tended to be brought up to not passively accept whatever they were told but to think for themselves and take responsibility for making their own moral judgements. “If we want to avoid the moral catastrophes that marred the 20th century, I think raising young people to reflect and question in a philosophical way is a very good idea.” In a world in which we are working harder and facing more problems, we are constrained to think more. Is the strain on our brain or on our mind? Are the brain and mind one and the same thing or two separate identities? Law argues that the brain and mind cannot exist independently of each other.  According to...