Philosophy is a vast network of our strangest thought processes and perceptions we can’t understand as a collective; fundamental questions about our existence, never proven. It’s derived from the Greek root word “philosophia” meaning  “Love is Wisdom”. Diving into deep moral ethics, I’ll explore with you 5 bizarre theories revolving around life itself. 

• Boltzmann Brain 

This thought experiment proposes the intricate possibility that you are merely a single, self-aware brain with false memories that spontaneously form out of chaos. For a complex, orderly universe, we simply have to exist. This theory primarily focuses on the simple life and history we have, but it generally suggests fluctuation within a mere disordered void. However, it’s a challenge to exist outside of our brain’s knowledge of everything. 

• Teleportation Paradox

This theory is more simplistic than the last. A device transports you whilst dismembering all of your atom makeup, transferring you to a new machine with a new copy of “Yourself”. So, if in the first machine you are destroyed, then so is everything that returns as a copy: a sorry duplication of yourself as you develop over time. A duplication paradox questions the nature of identity and consciousness when a person is teleported. Our intuition would struggle to grasp the two viewpoints, and to understand the process of destruction and creation of matter. 

• You Are Not Free 

Do you feel like you have free will and control? Well, technically, you don’t. When you’re met with a decision between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, you are swayed by the illusion of choosing chocolate. In reality, that “choice” doesn’t exist, and the “want” simply appears in your consciousness: your desires navigate your continuity. Are you really just obedient to our world?

• Ship of Theseus 

Over time, the wood planks of Thesues ship are replaced, one by one. As the years pass by, filled with experiences and adventures, is this ship still the same, or an entirely new entity? Another ship is built with all of the discarded materials from the ship, but which ship is the “Ship of Theseus”? You are not what you were 10 years ago, so if all the parts of you have ultimately changed, then are you still…you? 

• Ethical Egoism 

This concept describes acting in your own self interest to guide yourself to the best path. A thought that throughout history, morality, kindness, and sacrifice was derived from the weak to disadvantage and hypnotize the strongest individuals. Animals fight, and acting to the best of our abilities to survive is something we have evolved into and from. Why should humans be any different? Morality can be viewed as a social tool made from the needy to glamorize selflessness, so what if helping yourself renders the most benefit? Progress and innovation can spread the most when someone is working dynamically to create the best version of themselves, branching opportunities to others indirectly. 

Take all these theories and unjustifiable questions with a grain of salt, but remember that some things may not always be perceived as they seem. Being able to appreciate the intricate possibilities of our world broadens what truly is imaginable.