We all know what it is like to be bored. It usually strikes when are alone and not engaged in anything in particular. But if we actually try to define what boredom is, we may struggle to do so. Boredom isn’t simply the absence of activity. It is a unique kind of mental state –…
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The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote extensively on – what he believed to be – the intrinsic misery of existence. Even if you don’t end up agreeing with Schopenhauer’s pessimistic worldview, reading some of his writings on the human condition is still a reliable way to dampen your mood. As I will elaborate in this…
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What are the essential features of a scientific argument? In answering this question, we first have to define the terms ‘scientific’ and ‘argument’. This will help to outline how a scientific argument differs from other kinds of arguments. While philosophers disagree about what ‘scientific’ means exactly (Karl Popper associates it with the concepts of falsifiability…
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Phenomenology is a philosophical movement, founded by Edmund Husserl (1859 – 1938), which concerns itself with direct experiences. Phenomenologists study the nature of consciousness as it is experienced subjectively in the first person. Through systematic reflection on experiences from the first-person point of view, Husserl believed we could better understand the structures of consciousness and…
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Consciousness is present throughout our everyday lives and in every situation, we are involved in, be that solving a problem or dreaming in a state of deep sleep. However, if I try to pinpoint one common, underlying feature in these experiences, in order to realise what defines consciousness, no one aspect of the experience palpably…
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