I attend a weekly "Philosophy" class which teaches us that this life is a dream and that following re-incarnations (until we are "realized") we will end up in an eternity of bliss. This philosophy is being taught by an organization which runs a junior and secondary school and is presumably teaching this same philosophy to the students. My children do not attend these schools nor would I want them to as I am especially opposed to the theory of karma and the idea that a person who suffers misfortune in this life is paying for past misdeeds. I feel that it is wrong for the school to be teaching these ideas under the guise of "philosophy" as I feel that the school in in fact teaching a religion. Am I right or wrong to be suspicious?

I am a Chinese undergraduate girl living in China and planning to have further study abroad. For preparation, these days I try to know ABC about Western philosophy, but I find it hard to start. Considering my major is in the field of engineering, I am not sure whether or not Western philosophy will play an important role in my future life in the US or Europe. Could you tell me how much Plato's or Socrates' thoughts have influenced Western people's way of thinking, and how the philosophers' thoughts have exerted an significant influence on various aspects of Western people's life? Could you please enlighten me what should I prepare pertaining to philosophy before going abroad? Thank you ever so much. =)

In a conversation with a teacher today I expressed that I thought that teachings from the Bible and any other “facts” or “information” gained through reading it are false. My teacher responded to this by saying, “you do realise I am a Christian, don’t you?” I did, in fact, know that she is a Christian but I do not see why, just because she is a Christian, I have to pay such high respect to what she believes to be “truth”. I believe that the Bible is neither truth nor fact, yet she would not have to pay respect to my opinion. This has lead me to ask why we should have to give so much respect to someone’s views when they are based on religion. Why does religion demand such high respect when it is simply an opinion?

The average American doubtless knows more about subjects like math, history and science than did an average American 200 years ago. Does philosophy also enjoy this kind of broad progress? Is the average person more philosophically able now than in the past? Or are advances in philosophy typically enjoyed only by specialists?

My husband and I are agnostic. His ex-wife is Christian. His children (ages 7 and 11) go to church with their mother and very religious stepfather. She has told them that she divorced their father because he wasn't Christian and that it's not okay to not be Christian (she left out the part about her adultery, but I digress). They have learned in church that all non-Christians go to hell and are not loved or forgiven by God. We found a worksheet from church with a list: Christian/Non-Christian. Under the Christian list, there was a glistening gold heart. Under the Non-Christian list, a flat black heart. Under each was a list describing the wonderful things that happen to Christians and the horrible things that happen to Non-Christians. You get the picture. The oldest son believes that my husband's grandmother, his great-grandmother, will go to hell when she dies because she is Jewish. They have been told not to question the Bible (or their church's interpretation of the Bible) because they are...

I am about to start college and plan to do either an English honours course or a philosophy honours course for my graduation. But my parents are not quite supportive of this as they think that I am working myself into a dead end and these courses won't get me a job and are completely pointless. I am unwilling to do something more "career-oriented" as my interest lies in the aforementioned subjects. Am I being impractical by doing so as I don't have any long term goals? Will I repent my choice later?

Dear sirs and madams, I recently met my cousin, who is a very bright biologist. When she learned that I studied political science and philosophy at university, she asked respectfully me why I would study a self-perpetuating field. I know what my reasons are, but I would be interested in reading what some of the professionals have to say: Why study philosophy? Moreover, why study it since there is an impracticality associated with it? Have you ever gotten any flack from loved ones for philosophizing? Thank you for your time, -Justin

It’s been said that philosophy can help develop useful critical thinking skills, and analysis of argument, concepts, and hypotheses, etc. seems to be much of what philosophers do. But what about the creative aspect to their work? Can studying philosophy help us to better hypothesize, speculate, generate more and better ideas or problem solve generally? Critical thinking can be studied separately from philosophy, but are there resources for exercising this creative aspect? It would seem to me that this area is just as useful and transferable to other disciplines as critical thinking, yet not much seems to be said of it. Or is it that creativity is something that a person just has (like a talent) in a certain area and it’s not easily transferred form one area to another? For example an artist can be very creative with her paintings but stumped when it comes to generating ideas for resolving her business problems. How do the really good philosophers come up with the great unifying theories, persuasive...

If you were to build an introductory philosophy course for community college kids, would you choose to focus more on the philosophers and their theories or would you focus more on philosophical questions (what is being, is there a god, is there a soul). Which do you think would be more effective for struggling or non-traditional learners?

Hi, I am interested in taking a post-graduate philosophy program (MA or Doctorate) in Vietnam. It has been nearly impossible to get any information about the programs, and sometimes the pages of the university don't translate into English. I do not speak Vietnamese. I was wondering if you can give me any advice into the English-language speaking philosophy programs that Vietnam offers? Can you direct me anywhere where I can find this information? Thanks for your help! -Nadia