American Philosophy Olympiad / Open (APO) 2024

Announcing the 2024 High School Philosophy Essay Writing Contest!

The American Philosophy Olympiad / Open 2024

The APO is sponsored by the American Philosophical Association
and is the official USA Delegation to the IPO. 

This year the XXXII IPO will meet in Helsinki, Finland. Here is the link.

The American Philosophy Olympiad--or Open--(APO) is a pre-college Philosophy writing contest for American students that is connected to the wider world of international philosophy. Students compete by writing philosophical essays on specific topics. The top two writers from the USA will be chosen to compete in the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO).  The two U.S. student winners will then join their international peers from high schools from 50 countries in Helsinki, Finland in the 32nd annual IPO. The mission of both the APO and IPO for HS students is to contribute to the development of philosophical inquiry, critical, creative, and international thinking.

There are two stages of submissions to the APO, which means two essays. To enter the contest, an interested American High School student, residing and studying in the U.S.A., writes their first essay in English and then submits it via email to the APO. All submitted essays are then reviewed by the APO panel to see which essays meet the criteria for the second stage of the competition. At this stage, the panel reviews the candidate's skill at writing about a philosophical question, problem, or issue. If a student's essay meets the criteria, they will be invited by email to the second stage of the competition. For the second stage of the competition, the student will be invited to write an essay in French, German, or Spanish. No contestant may write the IPO essay in the national language of the country they are representing as per the rules of the IPO. High School students studying in the USA may not write in English at the IPO. This means that it is necessary, but not sufficient for an American student to be an excellent writer who can develop philosophical thinking and writing in English. Moreover, they must be able to convey these ideas and concepts in their chosen target language--French, German, or Spanish. The second stage essay will be written in the student's target language live on a Google Doc while being proctored by APO staff. Please keep in mind that the American student writer must be able to write a philosophical essay in their target language at a minimum of a post-AP level. Please keep this in mind before submitting a stage one, English essay.

After the Stage 2 essays are written in French, German, or Spanish, the panel will choose the two student essays that demonstrate the strongest philosophical thinking in the language that the student has chosen. Final selection for the two U.S.A. winners may include an interview with a member of the APO board via video conference (Zoom). In addition, winners must submit a permission letter from their parents / guardians and from their school principal to travel to Finland between the dates of May 14th and May20th, 2024. Potential national winners must also be willing to participate in a video (Zoom) conference along with at least one of their parents / guardians and the Director of the APO before the selection of a national winner can be declared. This is a significant and exciting process that the committee takes very seriously. We encourage you to apply to take advantage of this remarkable opportunity.

Here are the two APO2023 winners at the IPO in Olympia, Greece last May.
Center: Charles De Belloy, Honourable Mention at IPO2023, Stanford U.'28.
Right: Benjamin Ming Who, Harvard U.'28. Left: Joseph A. Murphy, APO Director.  

QUALIFICATIONS

Participants in APO2024 must

• be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and current high school students in the USA and have a valid, current passport with an expiration date not sooner than December 2024
• participate in a high school philosophy class, club, Ethics Bowl, or core subject with a philosophical bent or concentration
• be highly proficient in any one of the following three of the four official languages of the IPO; French, German, or Spanish

REQUIREMENTS

Stage 1

Submit an essay via email in English of approximately 800 words that responds to one of the two topics listed below.

Deadline for the English Essay Submission is Sunday, February 18, 2024

Stage 2

Finalists from Stage 1 will compete in a 3-hour timed essay writing contest online in which the students must write an essay in French, German, or Spanish on a philosophy topic revealed at the beginning of the online session.

Finalists Online Contest Date is March 2, 2024 / Alternate Online Contest Date is March 3, 2024.

COSTS

There is no cost to apply. The APO assumes all implementation and processing costs and this year there is no registration fee. For our two APO winners, the IPO host country pays for all in-country expenses (meals and lodging). Our two APO winners, however, must be able to cover the cost of their own transportation to and from the IPO host country venue, which is Helsinki, Finland (plus one extra night on either end of the competition dates). If necessary, contestants are encouraged to seek sponsorship beyond family from town, community, corporate, and / or educational institutions.

BENEFITS

The two victorious 2024 APO contestants win the opportunity to travel to Helsinki, Finland to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience networking face-to-face with other high school students from around the world and meeting some world-renowned philosophers. Winners of the APO through the IPO competition receive international recognition by UNESCO, the Federation of International Philosophy Societies (FISP), and other international philosophy organizations--honors that will make the student, their parents, friends, school, and community very proud. The general theme of the event this year has to do with Climate and Democracy. But the writing topics at the IPO do not correspond to the theme of the IPO. Here is the link for the IPO2024 website.

APO Topics for 2024

Here are the two topics for APO Stage 1

The writer may choose either one of the topics. This is not a research paper, so please do not use any sources, Generative AI (ChatGPT, for example) or any research tools, or literature. Writers must use their own free thinking.

---oOo---

TOPIC 1 OF 2

In an interview with Richard Marshall, Ernest Sosa, the Rutgers University philosopher, said the following.

"Knowledge in my view is a form of action. It involves endeavors to get it right, and more broadly it concerns aimings, which can be functional rather than intentional. Through our perceptual systems, we represent our surroundings, aiming to do so accurately, where the aiming is functional or teleological, rather than intentional. And the same goes for our functional beliefs. Through our judgments, however, we do intentionally, even consciously, attempt to get it right."

TOPIC 2 of 2

In a Wikipedia article on the philosopher and ethicist, Peter Singer, the following is written.

"In Practical Ethics, Singer argues in favour of abortion rights on the grounds that fetuses are neither rational nor self-aware, and can therefore hold no preferences. As a result, he argues that the preferences of a mother to have an abortion automatically takes precedence. In sum, Singer argues that a fetus lacks personhood."

---oOo---

Important Submission Information

Please submit your essay in either PDF Format (.pdf) or MS Word Format (.docx) written in Times New Roman, font size 12, double line spacing. Send it as an attachment to an email message. Write the following in the subject line of your email: APO 2024 Stage 1 Essay.

Be sure to include the following information on a cover page accompanying the essay. But please do not include any of this information on the essay itself except for the topic chosen (Topic 1 or Topic 2) and the writer's initials.

• the writer's full name
• the name and full address of the writer's school
• the school principal's full name
• the language (French, German, or Spanish) in which the Stage 2 essay will be written
• the estimated target language proficiency of the writer--academic (e.g., Spanish 4 years or AP French), heritage speaker (e.g., Speaks Spanish at home), or native speaker
• the topic chosen for this essay (written on the cover page and on the first page of the essay)
• a very brief personal introduction

Submit essays to the APO's official email address:

PhilosophyAPO@gmail.com

For additional information about the IPO and to view sample essays and a writer's guide, visit the International Philosophy Olympiad.

Bonne chance! Viel Glück! ¡Buena suerte!