20 Deep questions that make you think about life (with thought provoking answers)

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By: Naveen B

The best way to develop think rationally is by asking serious deep and thought provoking questions that make you think about life.

In life, it’s better to be a why? person than a how? Person.

Why do we have gender inequality in pay and representation in government? How did humans manage to build these impressive structures thousands of years ago?

Asking challenging, critical questions allows us to challenge our own beliefs and assumptions. It also helps us understand issues like mind body problem, productivity, environment, relationships, space. Life, death or ancient civilizations more clearly (and, hopefully, support equal pay for equal work or preserve ancient ruins).

When people ask themselves hard questions about race relations, religion or women’s rights, they often realize their own biases and misconceptions.

Intellectual life is an immensely varied landscape. There are few absolutes when it comes to thinking, reading, writing and communicating.

People are always questioning things they see in their everyday lives, or seeking answers to their own inner thoughts.

It can be difficult to know where exactly to start in trying to find better answers for how you spend your time on earth.

So try these 150 thought-provoking questions that make you think about life with philosophical answers. The answers of my understanding on life may help you gain new perspectives on some of your current routines or practices. Leave your comments below, which question and answer inspired you the most.

Recommended reading: 50 Hardest questions with answers on life’s issues.

20 Questions that make you think about life with Answers.

deep questions that make you think about life with answers 20 Deep questions that make you think about life (with thought provoking answers)

Here is the list of deep thought provoking questions that make you think about life with Answers.

1. How much do we know?

Answer: Throughout history, Many prominent thinkers like philosophers, scientists and religious leaders have debated whether human beings are able to completely comprehend reality as it exists independently of human perception.

René Descartes believed our minds were separate from nature, but also capable of discerning it in what is now known as Cartesian dualism.

His epistemological stance is known as methodological skepticism. Another famous debate was between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr over quantum mechanics.

Today there are still many outstanding questions concerning how consciousness relates to physical reality, with highly regarded researchers who claim both positions still being defended. 

For example David Chalmers has recently propounded physicalism for which he offers further defense in The Character of Consciousness.

Whatever position one takes on these debates will have implications on other areas, including values , political philosophy , ethics , morals , etc.

2. What is it about humans that helps them survive?

Answer: When we look at other animals on earth, we can see they all have some sort of special abilities or characteristics to help them survive. 

There are so many of them, but for one thing or another, they all find a way to get what they need and then keep surviving but what about humans?

I’m not just talking about what we need to survive on a day-to-day basis, but survival as a species and here I don’t mean just physical survival, I mean intellectual survival too.

Humans are supposed to be different from other creatures, right? At least that’s what science fiction movies would have us believe.

Recommended reading: 500+ Questions that make you think

3. What would people be surprised to know about us? 

Answer: There are so many things but one thing I’ve never understood is why it’s so hard for humans to understand each other especially when we’re supposed to be capable of higher thinking.

But yet there are still always misunderstandings and hurt feelings even between family members and what about friendships?

It seems like sometimes it can take years before there are no more misunderstandings or trust issues left and even then, people can still leave your life forever with no explanations or regrets.

It makes me wonder what really goes on in people’s minds sometimes. Maybe it has something to do with our survival instincts kicking in before our emotions?

4. Are we responsible for our own actions?

Answer: I’ve always thought it was strange how no matter what someone does…it doesn’t really matter if they claim they had no control over their actions we usually still judge them.

Sometimes even more harshly than someone who knew exactly what they were doing and did it anyway.

Sometimes people will even make up excuses or blame something else in order to save face when really, there was no excuse needed to begin with. But then again, maybe I just don’t understand some things or human nature in general.

5. Is there any way to live life to its fullest potential? 

Answer: Live in accordance with nature is what Marcus Aurelius said when asked how to live life to its fullest potential.

But how do we go about doing that? How can I know if I’m truly living in accordance with nature…or anything for that matter?

If nature wants me to be sad, am I obligated to be sad too? If not, then maybe there is something wrong with me. Maybe my brain doesn’t work like it should.

6. Do we have a reason to be here? 

Answer: All I know is that no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to grasp anything on a mental level and it makes me feel like my brain is malfunctioning.

I try and try and try…but for some reason, nothing ever sinks in…then I get so frustrated with myself….why isn’t my brain normal?

Why doesn’t it work properly like everyone else’s does? Then when things don’t go right, my mind feels like it might just break at any moment.

Also read: Philosophical questions that make you ponder about life

7. Do we have free will or do we have pre-destined paths laid out before us?

Answer: The universe was formed with a definite aim in view. There are laws of nature which cannot be thwarted.

What man can do is to search for wisdom, truth and beauty within his own limitations, knowing he’ll never truly know everything there is to know about anything and knowing how to deal with what life throws at him.

8. Do we have a choice in who we marry?

Answer: Yes, Of course! But it’s so strange how some things just don’t really click on an emotional level.

Sometimes it feels like I don’t know what love is or something. How am I supposed to know if I’m in love with someone if my emotions never seem to show it and why do they even need to show it anyways?

Do they always need to feel like mine? Is there something wrong with me or am I missing something here? After all, emotions are sort of out of our control aren’t they?

The thing is though, we all humans are the same, but different on various levels. Some are very picky and others try to adjust and go along with whatever comes into their life.

So, it’s all come down to the matter of priorities, expectations, personality and the situations. We don’t know what the future holds in our lives but we definitely have the choice in who we marry.

9. How do you know you have found your soulmate?

Answer: People often say they’ve met their soul mate or, more commonly, they’ve found their soul mate. But if we never met our supposed soul mates, how can we really claim to have found them? It doesn’t really matter what we call it.

But if we keep an open mind and trust in ourselves. Intuition plays a significant role in relationships too because it is based on feelings not just actions.

So when you find that one person who makes you feel like there’s nothing else in life that matters other than them…then yes, I’d consider them my soul mate.

Also read: Brilliant questions that cannot be answered by science.

10. Do humans only get one chance at love?

Answer: I don’t believe humans are meant to stay with each other forever because people change all through their lives.

Everyone changes whether for better or worse depending on many factors like relationships with friends, family and loved ones; health; financial status; career; hobbies; values; priorities; interests etc.

So, keep your mind open and remember a lot of things happen in life…which will definitely change a person over time so it’s not really possible to say if humans get just one shot at love.

Serious questions that make you think about life with Answers

Serious questions that make you think about life with answers 20 Deep questions that make you think about life (with thought provoking answers)

List of serious questions that make you think about life with thought provoking answers.

11. Why do people believe in what they believe? 

Answer: Belief is subjective to each person’s understanding of themselves, others and situations.

It doesn’t mean their beliefs are right or wrong but it means believing in something enough to stand by your opinion even when other people disagree with it.

Believing in oneself helps develop confidence which is very important for any human being to have so more power to them!

12. How does somebody let go of somebody he/she loves? 

Answer: Someone who falls out of love with another person might seem like an impossibility given how many songs have been written about lost love over the years, but there are several different ways one can be torn apart from a loved one due to various reasons at different times during our lives.

During these tragic times its important to keep your emotions under control and behave rationally, in order to cope up with the loss and get over someone you love faster.

Also read: Deep Intellectual questions that make you question life

13. How to live an intellectual life?

Answer: There are many things in life to learn, but it doesn’t mean we should try learning everything at once.

The most important thing is to take one step at a time without trying to grasp too much all at once or take up things which are unnecessary for us.

I believe it’s very important to take up good interests and develop good habits early on in our lives because they’ll lead us toward what we really want out of life. Intellectual life is also good if not better than physical life so never stop exploring yourself both intellectually and emotionally! 

To be honest living intelligently may seem like something only nerds do…but I don’t care…I love being an intelligent person with unlimited potentials who can do anything they put their mind into!

14. Why do people feel sad even when there’s nothing wrong with them?

Answer: Sadness can happen for various reasons for example it depends on someone’s personality and how their brain actually wired since their birth.

But if someone has no good reason to be sad, they probably need help dealing with their emotions or they may be depressed in which case they’ll have to ask themselves these questions I just asked you to see if it applies to them.

If sadness is brought on by stress in daily life then finding ways to reduce stress would help because being happy in general is much more important than being sad.

It may seem trivial but its not so forget everything else and focus on having a positive outlook instead of stressing over things which are out of your control! Feeling down doesn’t mean bad things are happening so forget about it…think positive…and smile!

15. Why is the world going crazy? 

Answer: Well, I don’t want to sound pessimistic but I’ll just say people aren’t really getting any better and crazy behavior hasn’t changed all too much from centuries ago.

Maybe even from thousands of years ago but it’s been known to happen nd there’s no doubt about it.

But as long as there are good people in the world fighting for what they believe in, things will get better somehow! So keep doing what you’re doing because if enough good souls work together, nothing can stop them.

Also read: 250+ Unanswerable Questions (world’s most mysterious, unanswered and impossible questions)

16. Are we alone in this universe?

Answer: Right now we know a lot more about space than we ever did before but a whole lot still remains a mystery.

Even with all our new knowledge, it’s hard to say if anyone else is out there or not since there are billions of stars and planets which no one has even explored yet! 

I’m pretty sure there’s life somewhere out there though, since like on Earth, anything is possible so who knows maybe some day we’ll finally meet people from another planet! Stranger things have happened you never know.

17. How do friends become enemies?

Answer: There are two main reasons why people can be driven apart by their differences especially when they once were close to each other; either they grow apart over time due to their busy lives or they clash because of personality differences which just happen naturally.

18. Is empathy always good?

Answer: Empathy is a wonderful thing so I can’t say it’s bad. But there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing and some people can be extremely sensitive to other people’s emotions. 

Some people just need to develop their own boundaries because it is not healthy for anyone to be constantly depending on someone else for emotional support.

Yes, sometimes we need help but if someone needs help all or most of the time, something may be wrong!

People like these should try reaching out for professional help because they might actually have an undiagnosed condition which they’re not aware of yet!

If they want to live independently someday then they’ll have no choice but learn how; otherwise, things will only get worse!

19. How to train your mind for long term thinking?

Answer: All in all, I believe people can easily train their minds to be more future-oriented with just a few minor changes in their routines or by taking some time out of their day and meditating! 

Doing something they enjoy is also a good way…like reading a good book, playing video games, or watching TV (if it doesn’t get them addicted)

To begin with, one of my favorite books is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki because he offers simple explanations of how most people screw up when it comes to money; many never learn how they’re conditioned to think about money and they end up living poor lives!

20. Is there life after death?

Answer: The truth is there are plenty of smart people out there who have thought really hard about what happens after we die…but no one really knows.

Personally, though I do believe there’s another life somewhere else but sometimes I wonder if maybe dying isn’t so bad especially since even though it’s an upsetting experience at first (especially if you don’t know what to expect).

Eventually everything goes black like slipping into a deep sleep without waking up again ever again–but much later when it’s our time! Other times I imagine ghosts might actually exist too since who knows…? Anything’s possible though.

Related reading: Really hard questions that make you think about life

20 Questions that make you question life with answers

Serious questions to ask your boyfriend or girlfriend

Author

  • Naveen B

    Experienced Psychology and philosophy Writer, self-help and relationship Coach and thought influencer. He has 7 years of experience in Personal development industry. His expertise as a self-help and relationship Coach has been highlighted through his articles in medium and substack to name a few. To be updated with his latest work, connect with him by following his social media accounts.

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Author
Experienced Psychology and philosophy Writer, self-help and relationship Coach and thought influencer. He has 7 years of experience in Personal development industry. His expertise as a self-help and relationship Coach has been highlighted through his articles in medium and substack to name a few. To be updated with his latest work, connect with him by following his social media accounts.

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