Questions tagged [society]

Society in general refers to a group of people who have distinctive cultural relations and institutions sharing the same territory. These organised groups of people associate for some specific purpose or on account of some common interest. Usually, they provide protection, security, continuity and a national identity for its members.

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Does every nation on Earth have a right to exist or do only peaceful nations have a right to exist?

I have been wondering lately as to what it is that gives every nation on Earth the right to exist. Throughout human history, at any point in time, the Earth has been a mixed bag of nations that were ...
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Would Karl Marx have been for or against workers having the choice to work from home?

I have been wondering lately if Karl Marx would have been for or against workers having the choice to work from home. I only have a general knowledge of who Karl Marx was and about his overall ...
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What is Kant's opinion on gossip?

Just curious this evening what Kant and other, contemporary, deontologists say about gossip. I don't mean deliberate lies, but a certain attitude to truth and truth telling in which both the ...
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3 answers
349 views

What is "high art"? [closed]

Does the difference with low art still matter, and is high art not merely socially sanctioned by class but superior to low art, to the extent of the latter being an embarrassing mistake? Feel free to ...
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2 votes
4 answers
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Is everyone's sense of power always predicated on diminishing that of someone else's? [closed]

Why think that everyone's sense of power always predicated on diminishing that of someone else's, and is it the case? I think the question isn't a trivial "no reason to think it". power ...
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1 answer
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Is there a consensus that cultural, erotic, social capital exists and can be bought with each other and economic capital?

Is there a consensus that cultural, erotic, social capital exists and can be bought with each other and economic capital? This was the basis of the great British class survey, and differing ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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What is the name of sociological phenomena where selfish behavior of each individual leads to losses for all of them?

I am trying to identify a specific sociological phenomena which seems pretty obvious to me that it is well known and studied but after quite of googling, its name remains elusive - I'm just not ...
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Is the task of philosophy to reduce fear?

There seems little contemporary work on 'fear'. I certainly couldn't see anything which gave it such important a role. But Fear, in the Ethics, seems to be government’s most valuable means of ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Reference request for philosophical texts on race

Is there even such a thing as the philosophy of race, or race viewed from a philosophical point of view? If so, I would like to read some references on the philosophy of race. I would be very ...
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Is it unbiased to value social freedom more than scientific results

Is it unbiased or impersonal if we don't want to change our society towards what is right based on research into the biological grounding of psychology? Say that scientists found that (a) the concept ...
Ram Angelo Caceres's user avatar
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2 answers
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Did any philosophers defend Slave Morality?

I think slave morality creates a peaceful society and Master morality would be negative for most people. To restrain ambition and desire is one of the reasons mankind have survived so long. But slave ...
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7 answers
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Two ways of thinking about social reality (progressive/fluid vs conservative/structure)

Regarding topics on biological sex, gender, sexual orientation and relationships it seems there are broadly 2 ways of thinking about social reality (roughly corresponding to more progressive and more ...
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4 answers
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To what extent can philosophical discipline permeate into normal life, e.g. the abortion debate?

As just one example of public debate where emotions run high: The abortion debate in the USA seems to be hopelessly polarised. My rational approach would include: Consider the safety health of the ...
chasly - supports Monica's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
218 views

Confucianism and other cultures/peoples

Are there considerations and reflections about other cultures and peoples (than Confucianism and confucianist societies) in Confucianism? For instance concerning the kind of relationship a ...
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Philosophers answering "what happens to a society that does not believe in free wıll?"

The Scientific American article, What Happens to a Society That Does Not Believe in Free Wıll?, looks to answer the question from a research perspective and The clockwork universe: is free will an ...
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What do Marx and Marxists say about the role of bureaucracy in socialism?

By bureaucracy, I mean that important state decisions are made by officials elected at best by their own party. Does Marx approve of this? Do any Marxists not approve of it?
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What is the importance of intellectuals in shaping the society and the world? [closed]

What is the importance of intellectuals and intellectual thought in influencing the worldviews and beliefs of people, in shaping society and the world?
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1 answer
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Can I agree to what I do not allow the sovereign?

Suppose we enter a social contract to bring about some power Social contract arguments typically are that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms ...
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2 answers
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What are the arguments against modern technology, medicine and society? [closed]

In today's society, manual tasks have become automated. Digital communication devices have connected people across the globe. Medications and surgeries have lessened symptoms of illnesses, delayed ...
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Is it morally wrong to deny food to the mother in this specific case?

A women has two sons, A and B. The son A has denied to keep her, take care of hers and give her food. The woman strongly loves Son A but not Son B. So, she decides to stay at Son A for most of the ...
Rony's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is it ethical to impose ethical values on others? [closed]

The question is motivated by reading the discussions on veganism: Is 'veganism' a settled issue in Philosophy and Ethics? Why is it okay to eat meat but not to be cruel to animals? While these threads ...
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4 votes
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What topics of philosophy should I study to understand the dialectics of societies?

I am new to this site, it will be really helpful if you can help me with tags. I live in an area which is a socially, morally and intellectually very backward part of the world, although materially ...
Ben's user avatar
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3 answers
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Is gender sex-based, socially constructed or both? [closed]

Does the mere existence of intersex people (and people with 1 XX chromosomes, for example XXY) destroy the claim that gender is based on biological sex? Can this be considered a valid exception, and ...
Cris's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is evil neccessary to society?

Despite attempts to improve the world around us, evil continues to exist. What may come off as incredulous to someone wants to do no harm, may be reasonable to the people doing immoral actions. Take ...
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4 answers
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Are 'fearless' people a threat to society?

In childhood we are all told legends and myths about different heroes. Most of the time they are portrayed as fearless characters who doesn’t fear anything and sacrifice themselves for their people ...
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impact of different Christian theologies on the psyche [closed]

I am afraid I do not have the expertise to form this question correctly, but I will give it a try: I want to understand how each of the different Christian theologies that exist (Evangelical ...
hawfinch's user avatar
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1 answer
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If Socrates time travelled to the 21st century, would he still face the same fate?

I believe that the Athenian community and authority did not appreciate his philosophy and political view. Sometimes, I tell himself that they just didn't know his worth as he was way ahead of his time....
OBezzad's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is ideological dogma an example of exogenous instinct?

By my current understanding: Individual instinct is instantiated primarily by lower brain systems, which provide motivations of attraction and repulsion toward particular internal and external objects ...
Michael's user avatar
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7 answers
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Does anyone talk about loneliness not as a failure of love

Does anyone (ideally philosophy, not self help) talk about loneliness not as a failure of love for or by others, even yourself, nor as a virtue - but as something which can be won nevertheless - but ...
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21 votes
8 answers
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Is it ethical to convince someone to get vaccinated?

I'm currently writing about the ethics of vaccinations, and I have two long-standing concerns about the matter. "Is refusing vaccination a morally justifiable position?" will be my question. ...
Ericleast992's user avatar
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Is there a quantitative measure for a philosopher's skill?

Obviously, the property you should be interested in here is fame. Below a ranking of the philosophers included in Leiter's list, sorted by fame (measured in dBHa, the international logarithmic unit of ...
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1 answer
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Rousseau Experts, Assemble! (to identify a quote)

I know this is a long shot, but I am looking for a quote from Rousseau. I heard it a long time ago and have looked for it many times, but I have not been able to find it. In the quote (only about 1-to-...
Just Some Old Man's user avatar
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1 answer
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Which Philosophers talk about the Future. the technologies beyond AI and John Searle?

I like philosophy since long time ago I know a little about Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Hegel, Marx, Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Leibniz. I like his work but there is a topic that I am really ...
rubengavidia0x's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
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What if heroin was served instead of alcohol? [closed]

If instead of alcohol heroin would have been part of the alcoholic beverages that are sold and served everywhere. And alcohol was extracted from plants like heroin is now. Would the attitude to heroin ...
Deschele Schilder's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
188 views

Can we say that human beings are behaving more and more like machines?

In all societies people complied to some behavioral expectation. In the middle age for instance people felt that they were assigned by God their position in society, and they would comply to the ...
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2 votes
0 answers
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Non-traditional (individuals = graph edges) views on societies

In his book Large graphs and graph limits, mathematician and Abel prize winner László Lovász says on page 4: We can say that the whole universe is a single (really huge, possibly infinite) network, ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
585 views

How is Society shaped?

I'm interested in what shapes society? Yes, individuals shape society and society shapes the individual, but I want more detailed analysis. My humble take is: Culture is the most important thing that ...
Invader Zim's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
188 views

Is it ethically OK to read letters of a dead person, that were not addressed to you?

I hope, this stackexchange site, is the right one for this topic, because I have more of a morality/ethics question than plain philosophy. I've been researching my family history for quite some time ...
s137's user avatar
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2 answers
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Why have we used money when it creates so much inequality in our lives? [closed]

I'm not sure if this question fits on this site, but I had this question the other day. Why have we used money when it creates so much inequality in our lives? Money is nothing more than a concept but ...
Sirswagger21's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
549 views

Would Ayn Rand's Objectivism work in a society?

For some background, I'm not a serious academic or philosopher, but I have been studying Ayn Rand, her novels, and her philosophy of Objectivism in my English Literature class. A large part of ...
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1 vote
5 answers
423 views

Is corruption always morally wrong?

The question is whether corruption is always morally/ethically wrong. To set up the premise, let me start with some examples. In third world countries (I'm from one myself, so I can speak from ...
fogof mylife's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
25 views

Is there a philosophical model of sensations-emotions-thoughts?

Ten years ago, I read Vankatesh Rao's blog post The Gervais Principle. It blew my mind, as it did the minds of many other people. It quickly became Rao's most popular blog post entry, prompting a ...
Ram Rachum's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
216 views

Why can community benefit if its individuals be free to act selfishly?

I never studied philosophy. Can someone kindly explain like I'm 5 the emboldened sentences below? What does "the defendant may benefit from considerations such as the effect on the community if ...
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0 votes
1 answer
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What's the "truth context" of societal philosophies? Can one infer whether some belief/philosophy is true? How?

What's the "truth context" of societal philosophies? Such as political philosophies (and ideas of ideal societies etc.) put forward by: Hobbes Locke ... And "practiced" by people....
mavavilj's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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Is it difficult to know "general opinion"?

Is it difficult to know "general opinion"? Or can it be measured well somehow? I have had this problem of thinking that, when I get another person agree with me that I "possibly" hit a general ...
mavavilj's user avatar
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-4 votes
1 answer
189 views

How is it possible that so many people get together, get married, have kids and *then* divorce and break up? [closed]

I have always been fundamentally baffled about this fact, as a male currently in his mid-30s who never managed to attract any female. If this had happened, and we had got so far as to get married, ...
Stavros's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
96 views

When describing someone are virtues and character the same?

Are virtues and character the same thing? If not how would they differ
Nate Langner's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
56 views

What is the idea that a moral system is ethical if it can function when everyone in a community adheres to it?

What is the ethical paradigm from the title called? To restate the concept in the negative, a moral system would be considered unethical if, when universally adhered to by everyone in a community, ...
TheMisfit's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
445 views

Maximizing freedom in a society

A friend and I were trying to come up with the most basic rule that, if followed, would lead to a functional (and preferably good) society. He said: "People should be free to do whatever they want, ...
jazhang's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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From knowledge based society to society based knowledge?

I would like to know what do these two terms (society based knowledge and knowledge based society) mean and what is the difference between them? And also what does it mean that we are moving from KBS ...
Lauren Sin's user avatar