Examples of Oral Presentations:

• Artificial Intelligence:
  • Put light on the differences between macine-like and human intelligence-like behavior.
  • Can computers ever be made to think like humans? Can artificial intelligence ever be made like human intelligence? Use this discussion to put light on possible differences between human intelligence, human abilities to learn, to feel, etc. and similar behaviour created by a machine.
  • How can the development of AI be a challenge to understanding the concept of human intelligence?
  • Whether it is possible or not to compare the human brain with a harddisc and mind with software.
  • The Chinese Room and other wondrous things.
  • What is real in the world of virtual reality?
  • Is it possible to create robots that can think as independently as human beings?
  • Is the Internet AI? - a search for extra-human intelligence
• Logical thinking:
  • Investigating three different aspects of logical thinking, illustrated by examples. (Inductive Logic, Deductive Logic, Folk Logic)
  • What is the difference between a logical and an illogical process of thought? How is knowledge, truth and logic related?
• Mathematics:
  • What kind of knowledge is Math? Is it (just) a language? Is it (just) a logical game? Is it (only) a human activity or is it part of the Universe? Is it something invented or something discovered?
• Science and reality:
  • A look at the similarities and differences of the two areas of knowledge concerning the natural sciences (e.g. Physics) and Human Sciences (e.g. Psychology)
  • The Chatolic Church vs. Galileo
  • Big Bang versus Steady State Theory.
  • The validity of a scientific theory, based on a study of the cognitive perception.
  • Does it matter whether or not our perception of reality is true?
  • Ghosts. Use this concept to put light on some of the following aspects: belief and knowledge, excistence, reality, truth, evidence, psychological aspects, mind and body, the soul, scientific "proofs".
  • Scizophrenia - biolocial or psychological?
• Language:
  • Is it possibel to think without language?
  • Can language be compared to other forms of symbolic representation?
• Ethics, moral:
  • Human Cloning and genetic manipulation - the ethical concerns raised
  • Does morality necessarily involve action, or can it involve thoughts and attitude alone?
  • What ethical issues are raised by highly skilled Internet users breaking into private and public computer systems?
  • To what extend do moral values differ, depending on thesociety or the historical time? For example can a practicesuch as slavery be right in one era or region and wrong in another?
  • Should scientific research be subject to ethical principles, or is the the pursuit of scientific knowledge intrincically worthwhile?
  • How do we know whether we are acting in a good or moral way? Select any ethical issue and examine it from two or more possible ethical viewpoints. The purpose is to seek the differing grounds on which claims to justifying moral behaviour may be made, not to prove that any one way is the ‘right’way. (Abortion. Euthanasia. Prejudice and Discrimination. Cheating. Punishment.)
• History and politics:
  • Can man know anything about his past or his future?
  • What is the past, and how do we get knowledge about it?
  • Is history a science? Give an account of possible failures historians can make and discuss
  • Is politics primarily concerned with what is or what ought to be? Is it a study of the workings of power, oris it a study of ethical concepts of how people ought to live together in a society?
  • Are the following ideas political, ethical, or both: justice,rights, social responsibility, equality, property, and freedom?
  • Is there an obligation on an individual to be politically aware, or even politically active? Can one avoid being affected by politics?
  • Without a knowledge of the past, would we have any knowledge at all?
• Knowledge and belief:
  • Consider the distinction between knowing and believing. What are good reasons for believing something? (Based on a newspaper-article of low standard).
• Litterature, art:
  • The approach to writing literature and gaining knowledge through it
• Other topics:
  • Are we in control of our own life - or is man controlled?
  • Does perfect happiness exist?
  • Does man have a free will?