Philosophy often brings to mind philosophers’ names, difficult terminology and thick books. Yet many philosophical questions arise in everyday life. When two claims contradict each other, how can we decide which to trust? If we promise to keep a friend’s secret, but that secret could harm someone else, should we tell? If a machine can hold a fluent conversation, does that mean it actually understands what is being said?
These questions concern knowledge, morality and consciousness. Exploring them does not require learning an entire philosophical theory first. We can begin with a specific situation, make a judgement, explain our reasons and then examine those reasons for weaknesses.
That was my starting point in developing Roadly Philosophy, a game for iPhone.
Roadly Philosophy turns philosophical questions into an interactive journey. Through scenarios, choices and thought experiments, players encounter different questions, make their own choices and consider why they chose as they did. Its themes include knowledge, freedom, morality, the self, reality and our relationship with technology.
The game does not ask players to memorise philosophers’ names, nor is its goal to count correct answers to knowledge quizzes. What matters more is being able to distinguish facts from judgements, identify the reasons behind a choice and consider whether those same reasons would hold in another situation.
Roadly Philosophy is now available on Apple’s App Store for iPhone.
Download: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6815896028
If you have been a regular reader of my website, you are welcome to email me for a free redemption code: [email protected]
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