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Thought Experiments · Grades 9–12

The Philosophical Canon

Classic thought experiments and contemporary AI dilemmas, organised around four philosophical themes: values, knowledge, reality, and reasoning. Each scenario carries arguments and counterarguments, fallacy spotting, argument repair, and room for student-built variations.

A cave mouth with warm light beyond.
High-school Ari points out of the illustration toward the intro comic start button.

Intro comic

Welcome to the canon, remixed for now

High school comics frame difficult philosophical ideas as safe, serious practice for better reasoning.

Choose a philosophical path

Browse the bank

Values

What should matter most when real people can be helped, harmed, or ignored?

NEW
6–89–12📄 Kit

The Biased Algorithm

The model is race-blind and gender-blind. The outcomes are not.

FairnessAI Ethics→
NEW
6–89–12📄 Kit

Your Self-Driving Car

It is easy to admire sacrifice in the abstract. It is harder when the car is yours.

AI EthicsEthics→
NEW
6–89–12📄 Kit

The Veil of Ignorance

Design the rules before you know whether the rules will protect you.

JusticeFairness→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Ring of Gyges

If no one could see you, would your character still be there?

EthicsMoral Psychology→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

A joyful city rests on one hidden child. Is refusal enough?

EthicsJustice→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Drowning Child

You would ruin your shoes to save a child nearby. What changes when the child is far away?

EthicsJustice→

Knowledge

What counts as knowing, and how do we avoid being fooled?

NEW
6–89–12📄 Kit

The Deepfake Dilemma

A convincing fake appears before an election. The harder question is who should slow it down, and how.

AI EthicsHonesty→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Plato's Cave

The most dangerous shadow may be the one you are comfortable calling reality.

KnowledgeEducation→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Mary's Room

She knows every fact about color. Then she sees red. Then a real student asks the same question. Then an AI.

MindKnowledge→

Reality

What makes a world, an experience, or a life real enough to matter?

NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Experience Machine

If happiness felt perfect but nothing was real, would anything be missing?

AuthenticityEthics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Are We in a Simulation?

The argument is not 'everything is fake.' It is a probability puzzle about observers like us.

KnowledgeMind→

Reasoning

When arguments look powerful, what hidden move should we inspect?

NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Chinese Room

If every answer is right, what would still be missing?

MindAI Ethics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Paperclip Maximizer

The danger is not evil. The danger is a goal pursued without wisdom.

AI EthicsEthics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The AI in the Box

The wall is strong. The conversation is the weak point.

AI Ethics→

Continue Exploring

Hub & explainer

What thought experiments are

For Educators

Adult AI dilemmas

K–5

Grade-by-grade stories

6–8

Story-based dilemmas

Dialogue Toolkit

Norms, protocols, decision tree