Dennis had just poured milk over his cereal when there was Da knock at the door. He went to answer it. "Hello," said the man on the doorstep. He had a strangely familiar voice. "I am here to take you to our universe." He smiled and gestured, as if in explanation, first to the tall woman standing next to him, and then to the giant spaceship that was parked in the middle of the road, creating a line of cars either side of it. It was only when Dennis gave his uncertain "Hello" back to the man that he realised where he'd heard his voice before: it was Dennis's own voice. 'My voice sounds much less posh than his does,' Dennis thought. "I don't think you can park there," he said.
"Oh, don't worry about that," said the other, "those cars won't be bothering you much longer."
"Sorry," he said eventually, "Who are you?" He had to speak up over the honking horns.
"Why don't we go somewhere a little quieter, hmmm?"
The man led their way through Dennis's house, towards the living room. Dennis sadly eyed his now soggy cornflakes as he walked past the kitchen table. The man sat in Dennis's armchair, crossing one leg over the other. "Dennis," he said: "I am you." He smiled as if that explained everything. Dennis leaned forward from his seat on the sofa, waiting for a better explanation. "What?" He said.
"I am you. I am also Dennis -"
Denne historien er fra June/July 2024-utgaven av Philosophy Now.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June/July 2024-utgaven av Philosophy Now.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Two Dennises
Hannah Mortimer observes a close encounter of the same kind.
Heraclitus (c.500 BC)
Harry Keith lets flow a stream of ideas about permanence and change.
Does the Cosmos Have a Purpose?
Raymond Tallis argues intently against universal intention.
Is Driving Fossil-Fuelled Cars Immoral?
Rufus Duits asks when we can justify driving our carbon contributors.
Abelard & Carneades Yes & No
Frank Breslin says 'yes and no' to presenting both sides of an argument.
Frankl & Sartre in Search of Meaning
Georgia Arkell compares logotherapy and atheistic existentialism.
Luce Irigaray
Luce Irigaray, now ninety-two years old, was, among many other things, one of the most impactful feminists of the 1970s liberation movements - before she was marginalised, then ostracised, from the francophone intellectual sphere.
Significance
Ruben David Azevedo tells us why, in a limitless universe, we’re not insignificant.
The Present Is Not All There Is To Happiness
Rob Glacier says don’t just live in the now.
Philosophers Exploring The Good Life
Jim Mepham quests with philosophers to discover what makes a life good.