I always wanted to know what influences the tastes we have? Is it a rational justification or a causal consequence? I know that's two questions but to put it this way: in the end why do I prefer blue shirts more than yellow ones, why do I prefer Salinger more then Stephen King? I can imagine that my tastes are determined by my emotions, my culture, my education or my genetics but that doesn't seem to answer anything since I have the profond impression that I choose, what I like and what I don't, freely and rationaly. More generaly, I believe that the question "What influences the moral values we have?" is an equivalent question.

Given the complexity of human relations, given the death of "till death do us part" and given the near-acceptance of a normal human acquiring more than one partner during his/her lifetime, we have entered an age where the phrase "I love you" has been devalued from the "I love you, for ever and ever" of our forefathers to the "I love you at the moment" of today. My question therefore is: Is it possible to love two people at once?

When someone accepts responsibility for a pet, what are the moral and ethical imperatives they are (or should be) committing to? What is the appropriate context for making decisions about whether the pet is to be kept safely indoors (probably living longer) or let free to roam outdoors (with all the risks that carries)? Or whether to give an ailing pet expensive surgery or have them put them to sleep? Some people feel that their pet is deserving of or entitled to the same care as their own children. Others feel some lesser committment is sufficient. And so on. How does one make such decisions if not by analogy to ones obligations to other humans, which many of us fail to fulfill anyway?

How can God exist if every thing that exists is finite? If an entity is infinite does that not conclude that it does not exist? My question is, have I even scratched the surface at disproving the existence of God? Descartes said that an infinite essence created all living things, but if this is the case, how can nothingness create existence? A comment would be much obliged. This is driving me crazy. Any opinions?

My girlfriend has an eating disorder. Is it morally wrong to use her love for me in order to get her to seek help (something she doesn't want to do)?

Is it always important to have a good grounding in 'analytic' philosophy, no matter what area of the subject we are studying? For example, must I familiarize myself with logic and linguistic thought despite studying thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger or Hegel?

Is fishing unethical? Always unethical? What do the panelists feel and why? BW

Dear Philosophers, What's it like to be another person? Milo (age 6)

When I encounter a rock is there a two way flow of information? The rocks rockness reaches out and meets my me-ness at some point and information about the rock is sent to me via my senses. Is there a reciprocal flow of information to the rock? I'm finding it hard to express my thoughts about this. Is there a 2-way communication between me and the rock? Steve B

Since life first evolved on Earth, a huge number of species have developed only to subsequently become extinct, a key feature of Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' model of evolution. A number of species face extinction today - is it right for mankind to intervene to try and stop this process?