Who are we?
How did everything begin?
Where are we going?
What does it mean to be human?
What is life, what does it mean to be alive?
What is our purpose, why are we here?
What is right, what is just, what is good?
Why is there evil in the world, is there any meaning in our suffering?
What is Truth, is there such a thing, can we really ever know anything for certain?
Are we alone in the universe?
On the drive back from a social event. Too early on a Sunday morning. He had for some reason begun compiling a list of big questions while administering his first dose of caffeine. They had since checked out of their sub-optimal “non-smoking” room. The sleep had been less than fitful. The room reeked of stale cigarette smoke for starters, and the linens were not so crisp and fragrance-free as one might expect. Then there was the fact that it was too damn hot and the thermostat seemed not to work and thus the window had been propped open, and of course the window faced onto a busy street, throngs of college students getting their drink on, carousing well into until the wee hours, good for them. And it’s nearly an hour now into their five-hour trip back over the mountains when he asks—rather innocently, rather presumptuously she might add—to read his list of big questions. And it is still too early on a Sunday morning as he watches out of the corner of his eye as she does so indulge him. And he waits for as long as he reasonably can. Then he asks her, Is there anything else you can think to add?
And she answers: Is Nescafé really coffee?