We humans have a knack for taking on questions that would tax even the most hardened abstract philosopher.  Maybe there are answers to these questions, or maybe there are no answers, but in trying to answer them we might gain a better understanding of ourselves and of the universe.  Here are three of the toughest:

Do humans have free will?

This is a question that can be difficult to get your head around.  From our perspective, we have full control over our actions.  Sure, we sometimes succumb to the lure of chocolate cake and beer, but these are influences, and for the most part, we have the will to choose our actions.  Right?  Maybe not.  The whole universe exists under the governance of physical laws; our brains are no different.  There can only be one outcome to an exact force acting upon an object.  So the electrical impulses that caused you to read this article were started by your decision to… but what started your decision?  And what started what started your decision?  You can follow this chain of cause and effect back to the dawn of time.  Where does human free will fit in?

Is there intelligent life on other planets?

Are we the sole beacon of light, in a lonely universe?  Given the vast reaches of space, is it inconceivable that somewhere out there, orbiting one of those twinkling lights we see in the night sky, or perhaps one so far away that its light has not yet reached us, is a being thinking the same thought as it gazes at a different constellation?  How would we ever know?  Perhaps the average life-span of an intelligent civilisation, coupled with the likely hood of it achieving long-distance space travel, makes the probability of two alien societies meeting so small as to be effectively zero.

What is beauty?

A tough question; what is beauty? In terms of physical beauty, western culture places the thin-ideal on a pedestal, while other cultures prefer larger body shape (such as Ghana).  Where do these preferences come from, how do they develop?  Who is right?  What about other forms of beauty?  Imagine two people looking at a painting – one says it is beautiful, the other, ugly.  Can either one be correct?  If they could, how would you determine which one?

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