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In this book, you get to look at some incredibly interesting questions dealing with issues of belief, skepticism, and knowledge; good and evil; free will and determinism; the nature of a person; death and life after death; the existence of God; the truth about success and happiness; and the meaning of life. As children, we were endlessly curious about life. And as we age, that should not stop. Philosopher John Locke once wrote: “There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than then discourses of men, who talk in a road, according to the notions they have borrowed and the prejudices of their education.” In these pages you get a chance to explore some of those questions once more.

This book touches on many of the main fields of philosophy — epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion. And it consults many of the great thinkers in history. Throughout, the discussion will be as practical as it is theoretical, because I believe that the best use of theory is in better practice. With each issue, you should ask what difference it makes in your own life, and how it can help you to chart your way forward in the world.

Here are some of the questions you can expect to find in these pages:

 How can we really know anything?

 What is the importance of rationality to a good life?

 What does the word “good” really mean?

 Is ethics just a matter of opinion, or do objective moral rules exist that bind everyone?

 Why should we be moral?

 Why do people disagree so much on ethics?

 Are people really free, or are our actions all determined by genetics and environment?

 Can anyone predict the future, in principle, in every detail?

 What’s the difference between a human being and a robot?

 Do people have souls, or are we just physically complex organisms?

 What is death?

 Why is death so feared by so many people?

 Do we somehow still exist after death?

 Where does the concept of God come from?

 Does a God really exist?

 Why does the world contain so much evil?

 Can anyone prove what the truth is on such ultimate issues, or must we accept them just as matters of faith?

 What, for that matter, is faith?

 What is the meaning of life?

 How can people have true success and actually be happy?

These questions cover only a few of the basic concepts that I consider with you throughout this book. Ultimately, I hope to help you ask your own questions a little better, or a bit more deeply, and perhaps even come to some revelatory and satisfying answers. As the famous novelist James Thurber once pointed out, “It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.” Asking the right questions well, and living with them, can enhance our lives.