Answers to philosophical questions must be reasoned

My friend wrote a short guide on what makes a question philosophical. The 3 conditions for a question to pass the philosophical test are interesting.

Has not been answered by science

The obvious reason is that, if it’s answered by science, there’s no point in answering it (philosophically).

For example, “Can penguins fly?” is answered by science. It’s “no”. Their bodies aren’t made for flying. Although…

More than one possible answer

If there’s only one answer, there’s no point in answering it.

For example, “Is 1+1 = 2?” has the answer “yes”. There’s no other answer.

Unless you’re talking about base 2…

Cannot be answered by conducting an experiment

“Can common salt be produced by mixing two liquids together?” can be answered with experiments. After laborious testing, you find that if you mix sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, you get sodium chloride (and water), or more commonly known as salt.

If a question can be answered with experiments, then there’s no point arguing about it. Just do the experiment to test the answer.

So I conclude…

that my friend doesn’t like science. *smile*

No, it’s that when a question can only be answered by reasoning it through, then it’s considered a philosophical question.