Year 11 and Year 12 Philosophy Study Day – 17th February 2015

On February 17th 2015 Corpus Christi and the University of Oxford Faculty of Classics will be holding a Philosophy Study Day, aiming to introduce both Ancient and Modern Philosophy to Year 11 and Year 12 students.

The day will include introductory information to the subject, two taster seminars, lunch in the main dining hall, a College tour with current students, and in-depth information on the Oxford admissions process. The day is entirely free of charge. A poster advertising the event can be downloaded here.

The day will focus on the topic of ‘freedom’. The smoker wonders: did I act freely or am I addicted? The besotted lover: did I act freely or was I transported by passion? The criminal: did I act freely or was it social conditioning? The depressive: did I act freely or was I determined by brain chemistry? The fatalist: did I act freely or was it foreordained? You can be led to ask yourself about your freedom from many starting points. But how should you go about answering? In this Philosophy taster workshop, participants will work with Oxford tutors to try to understand the nature of freedom, and to see how contrasting ancient and contemporary concerns may nevertheless give rise to the same puzzles about it. They’ll also come to appreciate some of the different ways in which philosophers have attempted to solve those puzzles.

It is anticipated that there will be significant interest in this day, so please fill in the application form  by January 9th. All applicants can expect a reply by January 16th. A key part of the process of deciding who will gain a place on the day will be through reading the personal statements provided. In no more than 300 words, we would ask applicants to describe their interests (particular and general) in philosophy, whether it is something they have previously studied formally or not; we would also be interested to know what applicants hope to gain from attending the event.

For application form please visit the Corpus Christi College website: http://www.ccc.ox.ac.uk/Philosophy-Study-Day