Category: Paradoxes and Dillemmas

Introduction: Two Gambles, One Life The concept of choosing between life and death is as old as humanity itself. But when juxtaposing quantum suicide and Russian roulette, we encounter two radically different interpretations of that choice. One is a brutal game of chance rooted in physical danger. The other is a theoretical thought experiment stemming…

Introduction: What Is the Trolley Problem? The Trolley Problem is a famous thought experiment in moral philosophy, originally introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967. At its core, it’s a question about whether it is morally acceptable to sacrifice one person to save many others—a scenario that highlights the tension between utilitarianism (maximizing outcomes) and deontology…

What Is the Gaia Paradox? The Gaia paradox refers to a fascinating tension in how Earth and other complex systems maintain homeostasis—a stable, life-supporting balance—through self-organization. Named after the Gaia hypothesis by James Lovelock, which envisions Earth as a single, self-regulating organism, the paradox asks: How can a complex, decentralized system spontaneously create and sustain…

What Is Quantum Immortality? The quantum immortality thought experiment is one of the most mind-bending implications of quantum mechanics. Based on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, it suggests that in scenarios involving life or death, you might always survive—at least in one branch of reality. Imagine a version of the famous Schrödinger’s cat thought…

What Is Hilbert’s Hotel? Imagine a hotel with an infinite number of rooms, all occupied, and yet somehow still able to accommodate more guests. Welcome to Hilbert’s Hotel, a thought experiment invented by German mathematician David Hilbert. Though it sounds like a fantasy, it poses a real challenge to how we think about infinity. Hilbert’s…

What Is the Grandfather Paradox? The grandfather paradox is one of the most well-known and perplexing thought experiments about time travel. It presents a scenario in which a person travels back in time and kills their grandfather before their parent is born. This leads to a contradiction: If the grandfather died, the time traveler would…

Ship of Theseus: A Paradox That Refuses to Sink The Ship of Theseus is one of philosophy’s most enduring puzzles. It asks a simple but profoundly unsettling question: If every single part of a ship is replaced over time, is it still the same ship? From ancient mythology to modern thought experiments, the Ship of…

Click Here for Video What Is the Paradox of Hedonism? The paradox of hedonism (also called the pleasure paradox) is a fascinating puzzle in philosophy and psychology. It reveals that pursuing pleasure directly often leads to less pleasure and greater unhappiness. This goes against the intuitive idea that pleasure-seeking is the surest way to a…

Click Here for Video What Is Buridan’s Donkey? Buridan’s donkey is a classic philosophical paradox named after the 14th-century French philosopher Jean Buridan. It illustrates a dilemma of decision-making in which an agent, faced with two equally desirable options, becomes unable to choose and thus suffers paralysis—often symbolized by a donkey dying of hunger between…

What Is Roko’s Basilisk? Roko’s Basilisk is a modern thought experiment that emerged from online discussions about artificial intelligence (AI), ethics, and philosophy. It combines ideas about superintelligent AI, decision theory, and existential risk — and it has earned a reputation as one of the most unsettling paradoxes in recent digital philosophy. At its core,…