40 questions to think about and face uncertainty

These questions contain several philosophical debates, as well as personal doubts.

For as long as we can remember, human beings have always asked ourselves questions, some of them of great transcendence and others much more mundane. How we deal with uncertainty speaks to who we are. In this article we will look at different questions to think and reflect on different topics, with which to test bothwith which to test both the degree of knowledge and the management of doubts.

A brief selection of questions to think about

Below you will find a series of questions to think about that can help us to meditate on different aspects of our daily life, or to elaborate more transcendental reflections.

What is the meaning of life?

A very typical question, but the truth is that it is one of the most is one of the questions that has intrigued mankind the most.. The answer is totally subjective.

2. How much do I love myself?

Although it may seem an exercise in self-centeredness, the truth is that many people do not value themselves positively and do not know how to give or appreciate themselves as they deserve. Thinking about this issue will help us to see if we are underestimating or overestimating ourselves to some extent.

3. Is it better to be a dissatisfied human or a satisfied pig?

This question, coming from a phrase of Stuart Mill, discusses whether it is preferable to remain in ignorance but being happy and content with what we already have and know, or if on the other hand it is not better to investigate, reflect and know the world even if it makes us see realities that make us unhappy.

However, we must keep in mind that one thing does not take away the other: we can be unhappy without knowing what is going on in the world or we can be immensely happy being wise and knowing how the world works.

4. Does destiny exist or do we create it with our actions?

This question is controversial and has led throughout history to many philosophical discussions. multiple philosophical discussions throughout history.. On the one hand, there are those who believe that everything is written and that what will happen will happen no matter what we do. Others consider that there is nothing pre-established and that everything depends on the acts we carry out. We can also find intermediate beliefs.

5. What can I know?

We can learn about a great number of subjects and aspects in our daily lives, as well as master different skills and techniques. But can we know everything, and what can I really know?

6. What should I do?

One of the reasons for the greatest human anguish is uncertainty, fear of what might happen or the lack of knowledge of one's role in the world or in the specific situation being discussed. What to do and how to act are doubts that can be of great concern to us..

7. What can I expect?

Expectations about what we can expect from life, from ourselves or from others.We can also think about and reflect on what to expect from life, from ourselves or from others. This and the two previous questions have been asked by many people throughout history, such as Kant.

8. What is worse, to fail or not to have tried?

Sometimes we do not act in pursuit of what we want for fear of failure and the consequences of doing so. and the consequences of doing so, among other possible reasons. But even though we may fail, isn't it better to at least try and take away the doubt of what might have happened if we had?

9. How have we changed over the years?

With the passage of time we human beings change continuously. Although our personality may remain more or less stableEven though our personality may remain more or less stable, we live through different experiences, we mature, we are happy and we suffer, which in the long run generates changes. From the time we were children until now, what changes have we made and why?

10. How far can we go to achieve our dreams?

It is worth asking ourselves what we would be able to do to achieve our deepest desires, the time and effort we would be able to spend on it and whether or not there are limits to achieve them. One of those thought-provoking questions that make us reflect on our potential.

11. To which activities should we devote less time than we do and to which more?

It is common that in general we tend to spend large amounts of our time on things that are not excessively important while neglecting others that are of great value to us. Thinking about this can help us help us to reevaluate each of the aspects that we carry out..

12. If we could see our future... would we want to know it?

In a similar way to what happens with the idea of destiny, it is suggested that on the one hand knowing our future can be curious and can offer us hope, but on the other hand we can find ourselves with something that we would not want to know, besides breaking the illusion of achieving things little by little without knowing where we will end up.

Not to mention that knowing what may happen in the future could alter our behavior in such a way that it may never happen.

13. How much of what we have do we really need?

We live in a society in which the constant consumption of goods and services by the population is promoted and required for it to function properly. But do we really we really need everything we consume or acquire?Do we really want it?

14. What values guide our behavior?

Each of us has our own value and belief system that makes us act in a certain way, but often we are not fully aware of it. We do something because we feel it is the right thing to do (or not, which would generate cognitive dissonance), without asking ourselves exactly why.

It is therefore useful to assess what kind of elements move us. And although values can be personalMost of them are socially and culturally acquired, so we can also assess what kind of values prevail in our environment, society and culture.

15. What am I passionate about?

This is a seemingly simple question, but for many people it is difficult to answer. We can easily say things that we more or less like or dislike, but... what kind of activities or stimuli really make us vibrate? What makes us feel alive?

16. Why do we not seem to learn from past mistakes?

This question can be asked on a personal level, on a societal level or even on a human level. We continually find ourselves in situations similar to those we have experienced before, after which we promise ourselves to correct our mistakes, only to fall back into them. Typical examples are social relationships and relationships with partners or employment.. We can also see how the same patterns are repeated in wars and military conflicts.

17. Is there a limit to what we can achieve?

In ancient times no one believed that human beings could fly. Nor that we could reach space. Or live to be eighty years old. These are supposed limits that, little by little, human beings have been able to overcome. Is there really anything we cannot reach with enough time or patience?

18. Do we live or do we survive?

In today's society, human beings tend to limit themselves to doing what they are supposed to do, establishing relatively rigid patterns of behavior and often abandoning their aspirations and dreams in pursuit of stability. In reality, many people limit themselves to surviving without seeking what makes them feel alive, or what they really want or would like to achieve. What about us? Do we live or do we survive?

19. What are we doing to improve the world?

Knowing our role in life can be complicated, but most people seek to be a presence that improves the world in some way. It is not necessary to do great deeds but to make the world a better place for others, even if it is only for our immediate environment.

20. What defines us as human beings?

It is easy to say that we are human beings. But what does it mean to be human? What makes someone or something human? In this sense, it is worth asking, for example, whether an android could become human and why it could or could not be considered as such. This is one of the one of the questions to think about that touch on the existential issue..

21. Would you change anything in your story?

Our life has its lights and shadows, its moments of happiness and pain. For better or for worse, all this has led us to the point where we are right now, and altering it would put us in a different situation from the current one. Would we change anything of what we have lived through?

22. What is lacking in today's society?

Our society has its virtues and its defects. Asking ourselves what it lacks will make us see what we consider valuable and can make us think of ways to implement it.

23. Is it a good thing that everything is constantly changing?

We live in a liquid and fluid society, always changing. This can be positive for many people in many ways. But although change is positive, perhaps it occurs in an excessively accelerated manner (although in some aspects there is still a great deal of immobility), which can lead to the loss of stable points of reference on which to base ourselves.

24. What is happening to relationships and has romanticism been lost?

Personal relationships, both social and couple relationships, have suffered a certain decline. We live in an increasingly individualistic, cold, superficial and materialistic society, where it is not uncommon to feel (but not to be) alone despite being surrounded by people or used by others. and materialistic society, in which it is not uncommon to feel (not to be) alone despite being surrounded by people or used by others for their own benefit.

25. Where are our actions leading us?

The question basically asks us to reflect on where our actions lead us, both as individuals and as a species.

26. Why do we consider as madness that type of thinking that does not coincide with our own?

Human beings tend to think that their way of seeing the world is the correct one. It is something logical and normal, after all, it is the explanation that one the explanation that one gives to the things and that have been elaborated by means of the experience..

But we must bear in mind that it is the same for the rest of the world. And in fact, my explanation of reality is neither better nor worse than someone else's, it is simply different. Other approaches may, in fact, be much more adaptive and positive than ours, and have enough flexibility to recognize this and introduce modifications in our way of seeing reality.

27. Are we prejudiced?

Most of us will quickly answer this question no. But is it true? Often there are more prejudices than we realize, and many of them we are not even aware of. we are not even aware of. Thinking about this issue can lead us to identify and combat many of them.

28. Is there anything that is eternal?

Throughout our lives we often find that everything has a beginning and an end, including our own existence. Is there anything that lasts forever?

29. What makes us happy?

A question that everyone has ever asked is how we can achieve or enhance our own and/or others' happiness. However, there is there is no clear answer It all depends on the person, their conception of happiness, their beliefs and values, among other aspects.

30. How does the world work?

This is one of the questions that has generated the greatest amount of reflection in human beings, and science was born mainly to try to answer it.

31. What is the best possible educational system?

Perhaps you have legitimate doubts about whether the prevailing educational system in the West is really respectful of children and their genuine ways of learning.

32. Am I as many people as human beings have an impression of me?

A relativistic doubt that can make us think about how others value us.

33. Why do human beings treat animals badly?

Many will argue that we must feed ourselves and animal protein is irreplaceable. This may sound reasonable, but are we really doing all we can for animals to live in peace and harmony?

34. Is it better to be right-wing or left-wing?

Progressivism versus conservatism, and millions of arguments for and against each political position.

35. Is there an end to man?

Are we designed for some kind of transcendental goal, or are we slaves to a meaningless free will?

36. What is religion?

An existential question we have all asked ourselves at one time or another. What is religion for? Must we believe in something? And if we believe in something, must the teachings be mediated by an institution made up of men and women of flesh and blood?

37. Is every human being worth the same?

Are we all worth the same, or is there reason to think that some people deserve special consideration?

38. Why does sexism exist?

It is possible to ask what are the reasons for the existence of discrimination between human beings.

39. Who is the most execrable historical figure?

Who did the most damage to humanity, and why?

40. Do things have a meaning by themselves, or do we humans give meaning to what we perceive?

A philosophical question that can make us think and reflect for hours.