Philosothon

Last Wednesday night, 29 October, Scotch College, together with 23 other schools, competed in the annual Philosothon; a competition that involves students exploring philosophical and ethical issues in communities of inquiry. Each school was invited to enter one team comprising one student from each year group from Year 8 to Year 11.

The topics covered in this year's Philosothon were:

Could it be that the pursuit of happiness is self defeating?

What are the limits of skepticism?

Does belief in free will make us better people?

Are rich countries morally obliged to provide debt relief?

Following a night of intense discussion from students across all schools, leading academics in Philosophy from universities across Perth awarded Scotch College first place. The results achieved by Scotch College have not been seen before by any school in the competition's history. The team comprised Felix Jones (Year 9, Brisbane), Austin Bantock (Year 10, Ferguson), James Naylor-Pratt (Year 11, Anderson), McCarthy Hanlin (Year 12, Stuart) and Sam Daisley (Year 12, St Andrews - who participated in two of the four communities of inquiry as reserve).

Results:

Scotch College team - First

Best Year 8 philosopher - Felix Jones

Best Year 9 philosopher - Austin Bantock

Best Year 10 philosopher - James Naylor-Pratt

Best Year 11 philosopher, second place - McCarthy Hanlin