For several years Ian Olasov has set up “Ask-a-Philosopher” booths around New York City, answering questions from passers-by. Now in this book he offers answers to the real-life questions on people’s minds.

ASK A PHILOSOPHER:
Answers to Your Most Important—and Most Unexpected—Questions
by Ian Olasov
Thomas Dunne Books, September 2020

Ian Olasov answers questions such as:
– Are people innately good or bad?
– Is it okay to have a pet fish?
– Is it okay to have kids?
– Is color subjective?
– If humans colonize Mars, who will own the land?
– Is there life after death?
– Should I give money to homeless people?

ASK A PHILOSOPHER shows that there’s a way of making philosophy work for each of us, and that philosophy can be both perfectly continuous with everyday life, and also utterly transporting. From questions that we all wrestle with in private to questions that you never thought to ask, ASK A PHILOSOPHER will get you thinking.

Ian Olasov is an adjunct professor and doctoral candidate at the City University of New York, Graduate Center. He won the American Philosophical Association’s Public Philosophy Op-Ed Prize in 2016 and 2018. His Ask-a-Philosopher series has received a lot of publicity coverage over the years including in Newsweek, The New York Times, qz.com, and WNYC.