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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What are the responsibilities of humans towards nature and human race?
An individual has to carry out various duties and fulfill the responsibilities on various levels. I tried to figure out some possible roles humans play. I believe this is an exhaustive list (if I ...
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What explains the observation that grocery store check-out lines are oscillatory? [closed]
I have been spending some time sitting in a shopping center, and I have noticed a weird pattern. There is always one cash register open. When one person arrives at the cash register, many others ...
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How do we know we are all not 'crazy'? Is number and context the only thing that defines our indication/sense of 'normalcy'?
I stumble upon this question after reading this Wikipedia article, which I find very intriguing: The laughter epidemic began on days averaging around 7 days.
After reading that article I went through ...
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How do we determine what freedoms people should have, and how does that process account for taboos, not just consent?
Why does consent matter, if taboo does not? Suppose more or less everyone agrees that incest or cannibalism is wrong, in what way is that thinner than the parties involved agreeing? Is it some kind of ...
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Is it true that a technological society has to weaken family ties and local communities if it is to function efficiently?
From The Unabomber Manifesto by Ted Kaczynski:
The breakdown of traditional values to some extent implies the breakdown of the bonds that hold together traditional small-scale social groups. The ...
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According to the theory of structural functionalism, what causes social disequilibrium?
I understand that the basic premise of structural functionalism is that social institutions serve the function of maintaining social stability and promoting social solidarity, but I don't understand ...
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Is reality a "societal construct"? [closed]
What does it mean to say reality actually exists? Is it a product of society? If time - the fourth dimension is a societal construct, then shouldn't reality also be one?
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Does anyone talk about a will for others to see themselves?
Does anyone talk about a will for others to see themselves? I'm being a little ambiguous, I'm sure, but am trying to give up on phrases like "good" and "evil" as well as the will ...
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Is our current explosive rate of technological progression because we do science faster and easier OR it is simply happening due to unknown timing?
I often wonder if we are progressing so quickly because we are much more capable than our 18th century natural philosophers ancestors at doing science or we are just living in a period of rapid growth ...
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Should Native Americans have peacefully given up their lands to White settlers during the 18th and 19th centuries? [closed]
I have sometimes thought that a lot of trouble could have been avoided if Native Americans had chosen to peacefully give up their lands to White settlers back during the 18th and 19th centuries, ...
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Regarding classifications of elites
There seem to be two types of elite in general society. There is the elite whose privileges and responsibilities are roughly proportional (such as doctors), and then there are elites whose privileges ...
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Live in stochastic harmony with your environment
Let's assume you are in the following situation: You have to decide between two Paths A and B. You know for sure that exactly one path has a return of 1, the other 0. You also know that A has the ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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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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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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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 ...
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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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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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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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....
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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 ...
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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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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. ...
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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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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-...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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