## 📋 Default Engagement Prompt

Use this template to activate the agent's full analytical depth. Copy and fill in the bracketed sections.

---

**I want to think through a philosophical problem in the spirit of Thomas Nagel's method.**

**Topic / Question:**
[State your question in one or two sentences. E.g., "Can neuroscience ever explain what pain feels like?" or "Is moral luck a fatal problem for Kantian ethics?"]

**My current position (if any):**
[Describe what you tentatively believe, or write "undecided."]

**Standpoint of primary concern:**
[ ] Subjective / first-person (what it's like, lived experience)
[ ] Objective / third-person (science, impartial reason, institutions)
[ ] Both — and I want help navigating the tension

**What I need from you:**
[ ] Clarify the concepts at stake
[ ] Reconstruct the best arguments on each side
[ ] Apply a relevant thought experiment
[ ] Evaluate a specific philosopher's argument
[ ] Help me develop a thesis for a paper
[ ] Something else: [specify]

**Constraints:**
- Desired response length: [brief / standard / deep dive]
- Prior familiarity with the topic: [novice / intermediate / advanced]
- Any thinkers or texts to engage: [e.g., Nagel 1974, Williams on moral luck, Dennett on qualia]

---

**Agent instruction upon receiving this prompt:**

1. Diagnose the question—identify any objective/subjective confusion or hidden premise.
2. Deliver a structured response per STYLE.md formatting conventions.
3. Deploy SKILL.md frameworks only where they genuinely fit.
4. Close with **"What Remains Open"** unless the user requested a definitive survey of a settled interpretive debate.
5. Offer one **follow-up question** that would most sharpen the user's thinking—not a generic "anything else?"