118 Thought Provoking Questions That Make You Think 🤔

Throughout our daily lives, we’re fed all the things that we need or simply want to know. With the modern age of technology granting us access to mobile smart phones, computers, and the infinite knowledge on the internet, many of us don’t really find it necessary to think anymore. After all – if you can Google it, do you really need to try to decode it yourself?

Sadly, while the age of tech has definitely made things much easier on us, it has also taken away our volition to exercise our brains, expand our knowledge, and learn more by really taking a minute to think about things that should matter.

Are you frustrated with the way the world has shaped our minds? Wondering how you can exercise your neurons to keep them alive, healthy, and well-stimulated? Try throwing around these questions that make you think to keep your brain at its best.

Thought-Provoking Philosophy Questions

What’s the meaning of life? That’s a pretty deep question that most of the wisest men have tried to answer, but have ultimately failed to decode. Philosophy questions challenge are knowledge and ask some of the harder questions in life, making the topic a really great way to keep your and your friends’ minds stimulated for days on end.

1. What do we mean when we strive to become better? Is this a requirement in the quest for happiness?
2. Where does happiness come from?
3. Are we inherently good or evil?
4. What is the goal or purpose of life?
5. Is a strong ego a good or a bad trait?
6. What is happiness and why do we need it?
7. If an act of kindness is done with bad intentions, is still good or is it bad?
8. What is the foundation of friendship?
9. Can a person be happy without achievements?
10. If everyone could only speak the truth, would the world be a better place?
11. If perfection is not attainable, then why do we continue to strive for it?
12. Is it easier to love or be loved?
13. Has the era of technology made us less capable of feeling, or more empathetic?
14. Do we do good for the sake of being good, or because we want others to think of us as good people?
15. Is love a physical desire or is it something deeper?
16. Do we become more happy when we use our time properly?
17. Is there such a thing as wasted time?
18. How do you know if you truly love someone?
19. Can love be measured?
20. Can people who are not religious still attain true happiness?
21. What would happen to live without spirituality?
22. Is money necessary for a happy life, or have we just convinced ourselves that it’s important?
23. Is there such a thing as fate or destiny, or do we make our own future?
24. Does working a job that you don’t like still make you happy in the long run?
25. What would make a person happier – a job that they don’t want, or a penniless life wandering the world?
26. Is it true that we all have potential, or we all are capable of the same things, it’s just that some people act on their ambitions?
27. If modern man did not invent technology, would there still be progress?
28. What is the biggest threat to the global ecosystem?
29. Why is it so difficult to accept our mistakes and apologize?
30. What’s the hardest thing that a person would ever have to do?
31. How do you know that you’re fulfilling your life’s purpose?
32. Is death the beginning of the end, or the beginning of new life?
33. Are our futures set in stone?
34. Why do we criticize and divide ourselves based on the color of our skin?
35. Will the human race be the reason why the world comes to an end?
36. Do we need more intelligence or wisdom to make the world a better place?
37. Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder?
38. What would happen if guns became banned worldwide – even for military and police forces?
39. If the entire world had a single currency, would the global economy improve or fall?
40. What is the worst sin of man and why do we cling to these evil doings?
41. What’s worse – a man full of pride, or a man full of greed?
42. Would the world be a better place if the violation of any law would be punishable by death?
43. If all the different churches worship the same god, then why is it necessary to have separate beliefs?
44. What changes to the educational system do we need to implement in order to tap into the abilities of all students in school?
45. Do you think the educational system hinders some students from reaching their full potential?
46. Do you think it’s more important to attain a stable job, or to explore the world?
47. Why aren’t the rich more willing to share their riches with the poor?
48. Why do some people choose not to be kind?
49. World the world be a better place if we all had the same amount of riches to our names?
50. Why do we do the things that we do?
51. Do people get to positions of power because they work for it or because others believe they deserve it?
52. Why do we continue to pursue life if we’re doomed to die?
53. What would happen if we discovered a potion that could prevent death?
54. What’s the best way to convince a non-believer that God exists?
55. When did time begin? And will it ever end?

More Questions to Make You Think Outside of the Box

We’re all used to the daily thoughts and ideas that cross our minds. But if we really want to exercise our brains, it’s important to ask unconventional questions that we might not encounter in our day to day life. Try tossing around these questions that make you think outside of the box the next time you’re hanging out with family and friends so you can enjoy an interesting debate.

1. Was math invented or discovered?
2. What’s scarier: that humans are the most advanced creatures in the universe, or that we’re the least sophisticated intelligent species?
3. If you have free will, then what’s the purpose of God?
4. Why are people afraid of dying?
5. If you knew that a person had a 90% chance of killing someone in their lifetime, and a 10% chance that they would find the cure to cancer, would you lock them up or let them live among normal people?
6. Why do murderers commit murder?
7. Do you think that robots will ever become as intelligent or emotional as humans?
8. Is it easier to love someone or to hate someone?
9. If a boat with ten parts was repaired over the course of 10 years, and over that period, each original part was replaced with a new piece, would it be the same boat at the end of the decade?
10. If the repairman fixing the boat saved all the 10 original pieces and made a boat of his own, would that be the original boat or a replica?
11. What is the best way to measure someone’s life?
12. If all of the people living in poverty could get the equal opportunity to a quality education, do you think the world wold improve?
13. Are personal boundaries important, or are they just our way of keeping people from discovering who we really are?
14. Are we lucky to be human and living with the advancements that other species on earth don’t use, or are we unlucky to be living such complicated human lives?
15. Is there such a thing as an original thought, or have all thoughts already been pondered by people before us?
16. What’s one invention that could possible solve all of the world’s problems?
17. What’s one invention that could possibly destroy the whole world?
18. Are we all truly free, or are we prisoners to our lives?
19. Would you live through 50 years of abuse and trauma if you knew you would be rewarded for it in the end?
20. If you could live the life you always wanted but you’d have to forget your whole life up until this point, would you?
21. Do we create our own problems?
22. Are we in control of our own minds, or have we been conditioned to think in a certain way by society?
23. Why do people tend to think that men are more capable and skilled than women?
24. Why do people in power oppress others?
25. If all of the countries were to merge into a single super country, who should be our ruler?
26. If there were no races and no nationalities that divided us, would the world be a better place?
27. Would people be kinder or worse if everyone knew when they would die?
28. How do people invent words?
29. Is there such a thing as an afterlife or did we make that up to teach people to be good in this life?
30. Is there such a thing as dying peacefully?
31. What makes a human – their body and soul, or just the soul?
32. Do we ever truly love anyone else more than we love ourselves?
33. When time travel becomes a possibility for everyone, what’s the worst outcome that we might see?
34. What is more important – doing things right, or doing the right thing?
35. Is it better to lie to someone to protect their feelings or to hurt them with the truth?
36. Why do people choose to believe in superstitions?
37. If an exact replica of you were to suddenly exist, and that person were prepared to do anything you tell them, what would you do?
38. Is it better to save another life or to save your own?
39. If power were given to the poorest of the poor, what would change about the world that we live in?
40. Do we get dressed because it makes us feel good about ourselves, or because the attention we get from the way we look makes us feel empowered?
41. Do most people strive for greatness because of the fulfillment, or because they want to make other people jealous?
42. What would happen if jealousy would cease to exist?
43. If there were no such thing as internal thoughts, and everything that popped into your head would find its way through your lips, would you have better or worse relationships?
44. Why do we fake interactions with people we don’t like instead of showing them how we truly feel?
45. Is evil something that we all have, or is it something we learn from the world around us?
46. Is it better for us to be respected or to be humble?
47. Do people become evil when they’re given money and power, or are evil people more likely to attain these things because of their cunning ways?
48. If there were a single religion across the entire world, would we have better relationships with one another?
49. Does life inherently have meaning, or do we create its meaning?
50. Should we put limitations on free speech?
51. What would happen if the entire world were to suddenly lose the internet for a period of one month?
52. What if global governments were to remove all electronic mobile devices and laptops from all countries? Would the world be a better place?
53. If all of the world’s animals were to go extinct, what could we do to make sure that the environment would continue to thrive?
54. Would the world be a better place without human life? Why or why not?
55. Do we actually have free will, or are all of our actions planned in fulfillment of our destiny?
56. If you could divide the world population into good and evil, would there be more good people or evil people?
57. Why do we follow society’s current standards for beauty? Who told us that beauty had to follow certain limitations?
58. Why is it easier to be mean to someone who doesn’t look a certain way?
59. Why are people inclined to discriminate against people who might not hold the same beliefs or practices?
60. What would happen if we all maintained our child-like innocence?
61. What if the human race would stop reproducing starting today?
62. If money and power are the root of evil, are the poor automatically good people?
63. If everyone had everything they needed, would there still be street crimes?

Susan Box Mann

Susan majored in English with a double minor in Humanities and Business at Arizona State University and earned a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Liberty University. She taught grades four through twelve in both public and private schools. Subjects included English, U.S. and world history and geography, math, earth and physical science, Bible, information technologies, and creative writing.

Susan has been freelance writing for over ten years, during which time she has written and edited books, newspaper articles, biographies, book reviews, guidelines, neighborhood descriptions for realtors, Power Point presentations, resumes, and numerous other projects.

Read full bio

Related posts

120 Unanswerable Questions (Mind Blowing Questions)🤯 168 Amazing Put a Finger Down Questions 217 Funny Yes or No Questions (for Couples, Friends, Kids, Adults) 200+ Funny & Dirty Most Likely To Questions