Greta's Philosophy

A philosophical theory about what happens after death, named after the Vermont libero from whom it originated. In which there is two heavens and two hells. One heaven is for genuinely good people and one is for people who followed the letter of the law but not the spirit. One hell is for truly bad people and one is for people who have done bad things or "bad" things but were overall good or kind people.

I believe in Greta's Philosophy, how about you?

by nonbeanarynerd May 8, 2024

philosophy

professional gaslighting

"He said he was a philosophy major... red flag"

by hawkear2021 December 4, 2021

Hard Problem of Philosophy

The ultimate "why are we even asking this?" question: Why does philosophy, as an activity, exist at all? Given that science handles facts, math handles logic, and art handles expression, what unique territory does philosophy claim that isn't just pre-scientific guessing or semantic hair-splitting? The hard problem is justifying its own necessity. If a philosophical question ever gets a definitive answer, it typically spins off into a science (e.g., natural philosophy → physics). So, is philosophy just the temporary holding cell for unanswerable questions, or is there a permanent, essential role for reasoned inquiry into fundamentals that can never be empirically resolved?

Example: The question "What is justice?" Science can study how brains perceive fairness, sociology can map its cultural expressions, but the normative essence—what it ought to be—remains philosophical. The hard problem: Does wrestling with that question produce real knowledge, or is it just intellectual shadowboxing? When philosophers debate for 2,500 years without consensus, it looks like failure. But maybe the point isn't to solve it, but to continually refine the asking, preventing societies from becoming complacent with shallow answers. Its value is perpetually in doubt, which is the problem. Hard Problem of Philosophy.

by Nammugal January 24, 2026

Epistemological Philosophy

The branch of philosophy that asks whether knowledge is even possible, and if so, how. It's the field that gave us Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" (the only thing he couldn't doubt) and every philosophy student's favorite question: "But how do you know?" Epistemological philosophy has spent millennia refining the art of skepticism, producing generations of graduates who can undermine any claim but can't actually prove anything themselves. It's the philosophy of "are you sure about that?" elevated to a discipline.

Example: "He asked his girlfriend if she loved him. She said yes. He, being a student of epistemological philosophy, asked how she could be certain, given that love was an internal state she could only access introspectively, and introspection was notoriously unreliable. She said she was sure. He asked if she was sure she was sure. She left. He then questioned whether he knew why she left, and the cycle continued."

by Dumu The Void February 14, 2026

Philosophy of Gemology

A branch of metaphysical inquiry that asks the deep questions about the nature of value, beauty, and existence as they pertain to pretty pebbles. It grapples with the ethics of desire: if a flawless ruby sits in a vault and no one sees it, does it still hold value? It explores the subjective nature of beauty, pondering whether a stone's worth is intrinsic or merely a collective hallucination agreed upon by De Beers and the global patriarchy. It’s less about Mohs hardness and more about the hard questions of aesthetics and human desire.

Example: "After spending his life savings on a diamond for his fiancée, Mark had a sudden philosophical crisis. He wasn't sure if he was buying into a symbol of eternal love or just participating in a multi-billion-dollar delusion about a compressed lump of coal. Welcome to the philosophy of gemology."

by Dumu The Void February 14, 2026

Sleep Philosophy

The branch of metaphysics that grapples with the existential terror of losing a third of your life to an activity that resembles death, yet is essential for functioning during the other two-thirds. It questions the nature of consciousness: if you are not aware of yourself for eight hours a day, are you still "you"? Is dreaming just your brain defragging its hard drive, or is it a window into a parallel reality where you're constantly unprepared for exams? Sleep philosophy doesn't have answers, but it does have a lot of late-night (ironically) questions.

Example: "Lying awake at 4 AM, staring at the ceiling, he engaged in some deep sleep philosophy. 'If I fall asleep now,' he thought, 'I'll get three hours of rest. But if I just stay awake, I'll be tired but will have gained three more hours of being alive. Which is the better use of my limited time on this earth?' He then watched three more hours of cat videos."

by Dumu The Void February 14, 2026

Dream Philosophy

The branch of metaphysics that questions whether your waking life is actually the "real" one, or just another layer of dreaming. It's the late-night, post-nightmare realization that if dreams can feel so real, what's to stop reality from being someone else's dream? Dream philosophy also grapples with the ethics of dream actions: if you commit a crime in a dream, are you guilty? (Legally, no. Existentially, you might want to examine that). It's the philosophy that makes you deeply suspicious of anything that makes too much sense.

Example: "After a dream where I had a long, detailed conversation with a floating lampshade about the meaning of life, I woke up and entered a deep state of dream philosophy. Was the lampshade wiser than me? Was I the lampshade? Why can't I remember where I put my keys? These are the questions that keep philosophers up at night—literally."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026