ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that if people think it's pointless to argue over Big Questions, they must take themselves to have answered a Big Question. Is that right? If we are right, does it mean that the view that it's pointless to argue about Big Questions is self-refuting? Or is there another option? The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was an especially astute observer of human nature. In his book titled Metaphysics, Aristotle observes that we each desire to know. Aristotle is often taken to be saying that humans are naturally or insatiably curious and eager to learn. The humanizing element of our social relations makes possible civic-mindedness, the disposition to think not merely of one's individual good, but to consider also the shared good of the group. Families are the first places where these group-minded goods begin to motivate humans, but that civic-mindedness grows to larger associations, and ultimately to the state.
