Oxford Philosophy and Theology Interview Questions

Could religion still have value in a world where God does not exist?

Would you choose a perfectly pleasurable simulated life if you would never know it was simulated?

In what sense, if any, can death be bad for the person who has died?

Is it possible to have a meaningful life without relationships with other people?

What makes an action morally right or wrong: the intention behind it, the consequences it produces, or something else?

Can you have true freedom if your choices are determined by your genes and upbringing?

Is someone who risks their own life and those of others in extreme sports or endurance activities a hero or a fool?

How would you judge the claim that 'suffering builds character': on what evidence?

If a religious text contains accounts that contradict modern scientific understanding, what does that tell us about the text's value?

Does the existence of suffering in the world prove that an all-powerful, all-good God does not exist?

How should we evaluate the moral claims of historical figures who held views we now consider abhorrent?

Imagine a society where no one ever lied. Would it be better than ours, or would something be lost?

If you could erase one book from human history, which would it be and why?

Suppose everyone in the world instantly gained perfect knowledge of what happens after death. How would society change?

If you discovered that your most deeply held moral conviction was shared by only 0.1% of humanity, would that change its truth value?

What if humans had been created with the ability to directly perceive moral truths, the way we perceive colour? Would ethics be different?

If you were to recommend a single philosophical or theological text to someone leaving school, what would it be and why?

What is a religious or philosophical question that you have genuinely struggled with, and how has your thinking changed?

Tell me about a moment when you changed your mind on something you thought you strongly believed. What prompted the change?

Is there a philosopher or theologian whose work has shaped how you think about the world? What draws you to their ideas?

What aspect of human experience, love, mortality, justice, identity, or something else, do you think requires philosophical or theological thinking?

If one person's flight does not change whether the plane flies, does that remove their moral reason not to fly?

What has to be true for one person genuinely to blame another?

Is it ever morally acceptable to break a promise to save someone's life?

Do wealthy people have a moral obligation to give away their money to the poor? If so, how much?

Can a act be moral even if no one benefits from it and no one ever finds out about it?