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| 2694159295 | Sometimes it is necessary to challenge what people in authority claim to be true. Although some respect for authority is, no doubt, necessary in order for any group or organization to function, questioning the people in charge--even if they are experts or leader in their fields--makes us better thinkers. It forces all concerned to defend old ideas and decisions and to consider new ones. Sometimes it can even correct old errors in thought and put and end to wrong actions. | Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority? | 0 | |
| 2694159296 | Many people believe that our government should do more to solve our problems. After all, how can one individual create jobs or make roads safer or improve the schools or help to provide any of the other benefits that we have come to enjoy? And yet expecting that the government--rather than individuals--should always come up with the solutions to society's ills may have made us less self-reliant, undermining our independence and self-sufficiency. | Should people take more responsibility for solving problems taht affect their communities or the nation in general? | 1 | |
| 2694159297 | Knowledge is power. In agriculture, medicine, and industry, for example, knowledge has liberated us from hunger, disease, and tedious labor. Today, however, our knowledge has become so powerful that it is beyond our control. We know how to do many things, but we do not know where, when, or even whether this know-how should be used. | Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit? | 2 | |
| 2694159298 | Technology promises to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovation and the split second processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstop have made all of us feel rushed. We have adopted the relentless pace of the very machines that were supposed to simplify our lives, with the result that, whether at work or play, people do not feel like their lives have changed for the better. | Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better? | 3 | |
| 2694159299 | A mistakenly cynical view of human behavior holds that people are primarily driven by selfish motives: the desire for wealth, for power, or for fame. Yet history gives us many examples of individuals who have sacrificed their own welfare for a cause or a priniciple that they regarded as more important than their own lives. Conscience--the powerful inner voice that tells us what is right and what is wrong--can be a more compelling force than money, power, or fame. | Is conscience a more powerful motivator than money, fame, or power? | 4 | |
| 2694159300 | The old saying, "be careful what you wish for," may be an appropriate warning. The drive to achieve a particular goal can dangerously narrow one's perspective and encourage the fantasy that success in one endeavor will solve all of life's difficulties. In fact, success can sometimes have unexpected consequences. Those who propel themselves toward the achievement of one goal often find that their lives are worse once "success" is achieved than they were before. | Can success be disastrous? | 5 | |
| 2694159301 | A better understanding of other people contributes to the development of moral virtues. We shall be both kinder and fairer in our treatment to others if we understand them better. Understanding ourselves and understanding others are connected, since as human beings we all have things in common. | Do we need other people in order to understand ourselves? | 6 | |
| 2694159302 | There is, of course, no legitimate branch of science that enables us to predict the future accurately. Yet the degree of change in the world is overwhelming and so promising that the future, I believe, is far brighter that anyone has comtemplated since the end of the Second World War. | Is the world changing for the better? | 7 |
