Looking for some deep conversation about serious topics? Look no further, we have some great conversation questions that aren’t as lighthearted as our other questions.
We’ve broken down our deep conversation questions into separate topics. You can scan the topics to see what interests you or just choose a topic at random and get started. Remember to always ask follow up questions to find out more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Deep Conversation Topics and questions
Some of these are quite heavy and some can be a bit of a downer, so make sure your conversation partner is up for it and it’s the right environment to discuss these questions. They’re definitely not questions you want to bust out at a party.
Personal Questions
- Where’s your life headed?
- How do you think you will die?
- What are the highest and lowest points of your life?
- What is holding you back from being the person you want to be?
- How have your strengths help you to succeed? How have your faults hindered you?
- What are your biggest goals for your life? What progress have you made in attaining them?
- Who are you really? Who is behind the mask that you show to the rest of the world?
- How would you react if there was irrefutable proof that God doesn’t exist? How about if there was irrefutable proof that God does exist?
Human Nature Questions
- Are humans better at creation or destruction?
- What are the best and worst parts of human nature?
- What aspects of humans have made us a successful species?
- What makes people believe absurd conspiracy theories?
- What’s something terrifying that we’ve all come to accept as a fact of life?
- If you had to sum up the whole human species in 3 words, what would those words be?
- What is the best way to explore human nature: psychology, philosophy, or biology?
- Is human nature constant or is it molded by culture? Can human nature be completely changed by culture or society?
- Is what we perceive reality or just a construct of our minds? Can our minds correctly interpret reality or is reality subjective?
- Is tribalism and people separating themselves into “us” and “them” groups, a learned or genetic trait? Can it be overcome? If so, how?
- How does tribalism and creating in groups and out groups (e.g. race, religion, sport team fans, people with a hobby, etc.) help and hurt society?
- If pressing a button meant you received 5 million dollars but it also killed 5 people somewhere in the world, would you press it? What if it killed only 1 person or killed 20 people? What if the people were people you knew?
We have some other questions about human nature on our philosophical questions page.
Society, culture and the World
- What is a miracle that happens every day?
- What is the purpose of art in society?
- What would a perfect city be like?
- How important is freedom of the press to a healthy society?
- What would be different if the 9/11 terrorist attack never occurred?
- Should governments make laws to protect people from hurting themselves?
- What is the most uplifting thing happening in the world right now? What is the most tragic thing?
- Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? How?
- What does honor mean to you? How important is it to you? Does your culture value honor? What exemplifies honor in your culture?
- How important are morals in a healthy society? What are the most important morals for citizens to have?
- In the distant past, a person’s life was very similar to their grandparents’ and grandchildren’s lives. How has the rapid pace of technological advancement changed society?
- Do people have an obligation to help others or should people be responsible for helping themselves?
- What are the most important factors in maintaining a well functioning society? What does it mean for a society to function well?
- Should the government be involved in making laws to regulate moral behavior? If so, to what extent?
- With the invention of the internet and the advent of big data and crowd sourcing, it’s finally possible for citizens to govern themselves directly. Is it a good idea for the masses to directly govern themselves or is governance something better left to professional politicians?
We have even more questions about society and government as well.
Life and death
- What is a year of life worth? How about a day?
- What is the purpose of a human life?
- If you died today, how would you be remembered?
- Are some lives more valuable than others?
- What does the ideal life look like?
- What does it mean to die well?
- Who do you know who is living life to the fullest?
- If you died today, what regrets would you have about your life?
- If you were given an envelope with the time and date of your death inside, would you open it?
- Is taking a life ever justified? If so, where is the line? When is a person’s life considered forfeit?
- How would you like to die? Comfortably in bed surrounded by family, doing something you love, or some other way?
- If sacrificing your own life would save the lives of a specific number of strangers, how many strangers would need to be saved for you to sacrifice your own life? What if the people were friends? How about family?
Future of the human race
- What are the pros and cons of colonizing other planets? How could this help or hurt the human race?
- What is most likely to bring about the extinction of the human race? How can it be avoided?
- What would be the best possible scenario for how the world will develop in the next 25 years? What do we need to do to get there?
- Will humans as a species ever be able to work together as a whole to achieve a goal? What is holding humans back from working together on a global scale?
- What do you think about the singularity? The idea that eventually artificial intelligence will advance to the point where computers are more intelligent than humans.
- Will humanity continue to advance technologically or will we fall back to how we lived for thousands of years or fall back further to how we lived for a hundred thousand years ago?
For more future of the human race questions check out our philosophical questions about science and technology.
Emotions
- How are emotions useful for humans and the human race?
- Are emotions necessary for human survival? Why or why not?
- What is the most beneficial emotion? How about the most destructive?
- Do people have a right to be happy or should they have to earn it?
- Do animals experience emotions? If so, do they experience emotions in the same way humans do? If not, how do they experience the world and what dictates their behavior?