Our panel of 91 professional philosophers has responded to

36
 questions about 
Literature
58
 questions about 
Punishment
2
 questions about 
Culture
39
 questions about 
Race
75
 questions about 
Beauty
67
 questions about 
Feminism
1280
 questions about 
Ethics
170
 questions about 
Freedom
34
 questions about 
Music
5
 questions about 
Euthanasia
69
 questions about 
Business
88
 questions about 
Physics
23
 questions about 
History
392
 questions about 
Religion
208
 questions about 
Science
374
 questions about 
Logic
54
 questions about 
Medicine
80
 questions about 
Death
43
 questions about 
Color
105
 questions about 
Art
27
 questions about 
Gender
75
 questions about 
Perception
24
 questions about 
Suicide
282
 questions about 
Knowledge
68
 questions about 
Happiness
574
 questions about 
Philosophy
110
 questions about 
Biology
77
 questions about 
Emotion
151
 questions about 
Existence
96
 questions about 
Time
31
 questions about 
Space
4
 questions about 
Economics
110
 questions about 
Animals
117
 questions about 
Children
58
 questions about 
Abortion
134
 questions about 
Love
70
 questions about 
Truth
154
 questions about 
Sex
124
 questions about 
Profession
51
 questions about 
War
221
 questions about 
Value
32
 questions about 
Sport
244
 questions about 
Justice
284
 questions about 
Mind
218
 questions about 
Education
287
 questions about 
Language
2
 questions about 
Action
89
 questions about 
Law
81
 questions about 
Identity

Question of the Day

If I really believed that you really believed that these are the only two alternatives, then I'd probably believe that you're stupid. But I don't believe any such thing. I'd be willing to bet a tidy sum that if someone else asked you the very same question, you wouldn't have any trouble pointing out a whole bunch of alternatives that they're overlooking.

Since I don't know anything about your circumstances, I wouldn't presume to guess which alternative best fits your circumstances. But I do think the idea that there's a "real place" for each of us is something to be suspicious of, and I'm also pretty skeptical that even self-aware people are always reliable about what they're capable of.

Of course, if you've already grasped the second horn of your dilemma (false dilemma though it is), my reaction won't count. In spite of this, I'd suggest that one kind of reaction it's often wise to ignore is the one that tries to shame you into not trying things. The approval of people who react like that isn't worth having anyway.