Think Essay Prize Competition Prompt 1

​The Royal Institute of Philosophy has announced the prompts for their annual Think Essay Prize, inviting high school students aged 15 to 18 to engage with profound philosophical questions. This competition offers young thinkers a platform to explore complex ideas and showcase their analytical skills.​

Essay Prompts for 2025:

Participants are asked to submit essays of no more than 1,200 words on one of the following topics:

1. Plato suggests we are trapped in a world of shadows and only philosophical reflection can provide knowledge. Is there any truth to this view?​

2. Does the existence of evil provide good evidence God does not exist?​

3. Do 'objective values' exist?​

4. Could a person migrate from one human body to another, as some movies suggest (e.g., Freaky Friday)

5. What ethical responsibilities do we have towards future generations (e.g., creating a cleaner environment, reducing pollution)? If you believe we don't have these responsibilities, explain why.​

6. Do we have freedom of speech? Should we?

Submission Guidelines:

• Essays must be original works, written in English, and should not exceed 1,200 words.​

• Submissions should avoid notes and references; if mentioning an article or book, include the author's name and title within the main text.​

• The deadline for submissions is midnight on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.​

Detailed submission guidelines and the entry form are available on the Royal Institute of Philosophy's website. ​

Benefits of Participation:

The Think Essay Prize is a prestigious competition that encourages critical thinking and philosophical inquiry among high school students. The winner's essay will be published in an upcoming issue of Think, providing recognition and exposure. Shortlisted candidates will receive a year's free subscription to the journal, and additional prizes will be awarded to those who make the longlist.

Engaging in this competition not only enhances one's philosophical understanding but also demonstrates a commitment to intellectual exploration—a quality highly regarded by university admissions committees.​ It is an extracurricular that will move the needle of admissions officers in the right direction.

Here is a list of sources for addressing the first prompt: Plato suggests we are trapped in a world of shadows and only philosophical reflection can provide knowledge. Is there any truth to this view?​

Primary Sources

1. Plato's "Republic," Book VII (380 BCE)

• Contains the original allegory of the cave

• Prisoners chained in a cave see only shadows cast on the wall

• One prisoner escapes, sees the real world, returns to tell others

• Represents the journey from ignorance to philosophical enlightenment

• Establishes Plato's theory of Forms (true reality beyond appearances)

2. Plato's "Phaedo" (360-380 BCE)

• Discusses the separation between the sensible world and the world of Forms

• Argues that the soul can access true knowledge when liberated from bodily senses

• Reinforces how philosophical reflection leads to understanding reality

Historical Philosophical Resources

3. Aristotle's "Metaphysics" (350 BCE)

• Critiques Plato's theory of Forms

• Proposes an alternative where forms exist within objects themselves

• Provides a counterpoint to Plato's strict separation of appearance and reality

4. Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy" (1641)

• Uses methodical doubt to question sensory information

• "Evil demon" hypothesis parallels the cave allegory

• Proposes rational reflection as a path to certainty

5. Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" (1781)

• Distinguishes between phenomena (appearances) and noumena (things-in-themselves)

• Argues we can never know reality directly, only as it appears to us

• Develops transcendental idealism, which has similarities to Plato's view

6. Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" (1807)

• Charts consciousness's journey from sense-certainty to absolute knowledge

• Offers a dialectical approach to understanding reality

• Shows how self-consciousness develops through reflection

Contemporary Resources

7. Wilfrid Sellars' "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind" (1956)

• Critiques the "Myth of the Given" - the idea that sensory experience provides direct knowledge

• Discusses how conceptual frameworks shape our understanding of reality

• Shows how science and reflection can improve our epistemological position

8. Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" (1974)

• Explores limits of human knowledge and perspective

• Suggests certain subjective experiences remain inaccessible

• Questions whether complete objective knowledge is possible

9. Robert Nozick's "Philosophical Explanations" (1981)

• Chapter on "Knowledge and Skepticism" addresses Plato's concerns

• Proposes "tracking truth" as an alternative epistemological approach

• Discusses how knowledge connects to reality under different conditions

10. Martha Nussbaum's "The Fragility of Goodness" (1986)

• Examines Plato's metaphysics in relation to ethics

• Discusses how philosophical reflection shapes our understanding of the good

• Considers practical implications of Plato's epistemology

11. Catherine Elgin's "Considered Judgment" (1996)

• Argues against foundationalism in epistemology

• Proposes reflective equilibrium as a method of gaining knowledge

• Offers a modern approach to how reflection improves understanding

12. David Chalmers' "The Conscious Mind" (1996)

• Explores the "hard problem" of consciousness

• Considers whether certain aspects of reality are accessible only through reflection

• Discusses limitations of materialist explanations of mind

13. Timothy Williamson's "Knowledge and its Limits" (2000)

• Challenges traditional epistemological frameworks

• Proposes knowledge as a fundamental mental state

• Considers boundaries between appearance and reality

Key Questions and Issues to Address

1. Interpretation of the Cave Allegory: What exactly does Plato mean by "shadows"? Are they mere sensory inputs, cultural constructs, or something else?

2. Epistemological Framework: What constitutes "knowledge" in Plato's view versus contemporary understanding? Is knowledge justified true belief or something else?

3. Role of Philosophical Reflection: How does philosophical thinking provide access to knowledge that sensory experience cannot? Is this claim defensible?

4. Modern Science vs. Platonic Rationalism: How do scientific methods of acquiring knowledge compare to Plato's approach? Are they complementary or contradictory?

5. Mind-World Relationship: Is there a gap between mental representations and external reality? If so, can it be bridged?

6. Contemporary Relevance: Does Plato's view still have value in an age of scientific empiricism and cognitive science?

7. Partial vs. Complete Knowledge: Is Plato suggesting we can achieve complete knowledge through philosophy, or merely improved knowledge?

8. Alternative Paths to Knowledge: Are there other ways besides philosophical reflection to transcend limitations of ordinary perception?

9. Social and Political Dimensions: How does the allegory relate to education, social structures, and political systems?

10. Pragmatic Implications: What practical difference does it make if we accept or reject Plato's view?

A strong essay will engage with both historical and contemporary perspectives, carefully defining key terms, addressing the strongest counterarguments, and developing a clear thesis on whether and to what extent Plato's view contains truth.

If you want help winning this competition, schedule a complimentary consultation with an expert philosophy essay writing coach today.