The Philosophy Gym


The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking is a book by Stephen Law. It is an introduction to philosophical thinking aimed at adults. It covers twenty-five philosophical questions, chosen for their relevance to today's society. The book aims for accessibility. This is often done, as in "What's wrong with gay sex?", by putting the question into a theatrical script.
The German version of The Philosophy Gym won the first Mindelheim Philosophy Prize in 2009.

Chapter list

  1. Where did the universe come from?
  2. What is wrong with gay sex?
  3. Brain – snatched
  4. Is time travel possible?
  5. Into the lair of the relativist
  6. Could a machine think?
  7. Does God exist?
  8. The strange case of the rational dentist
  9. But is it art?
  10. Can we have morality without God and religion?
  11. Is creationism scientific?
  12. Designer babies...
  13. The consciousness conundrum
  14. Why expect the sun to rise tomorrow?
  15. Do we ever deserve to be punished?
  16. The meaning mystery
  17. Killing Mary to save Jodie
  18. The strange realm of numbers
  19. What is knowledge?
  20. Is morality like a pair of spectacles
  21. Should you be eating that
  22. Brain transplants, teleportation and the puzzle of personal identity
  23. Miracles and the supernatural
  24. How to spot eight everyday reasoning errors
  25. Seven paradoxes