At my university (TU Delft), we have to include a set of premises/statements that are open for questioning during the thesis defense. You're supposed to list te

At my university (TU Delft), we have to include a set of premises/statements that are open for questioning during the thesis defense. You're supposed to list ten statements and the usual breakdown is that a few will be on the specific topic that you're graduating on, a few will be about the field of research at a whole and the rest are "philosophical musings". I've started thinking about mine and I actually think it's a valuable exercise to have this as part of the culmination of a long and arduous journey. I think it's in our graduation process now as a matter of tradition, rather than an impetus to spawn true philosophical debate, which is a shame. Friends who have graduated have put down some pretty deep thoughts, which I think reflects upon the fact that a PhD done right provokes you to think about the nature of research and the world around you.