‘I found the Erasmus Essay competition to be a great opportunity to display what I had learnt outside the classroom. I had the chance to explore the philosophy of evil, and discuss it in an essay that was read by a well- recognized philosopher.’ Cheks, Year 12 had their essays chosen to be judged by the Dr Stephen Law of the Centre for Inquiry, and Cheks, Year 12 was awarded second prize. Cheks, Year 12: ‘How far are those who elect an official who commits or contributes to acts of evil responsible?’ I aim to show that those who elect an official who commits moral evil, that is, those who give other humans the power over others to commit such evil, are responsible for the evil that their appointees spread. I try to make this clear mainly by reference to two of the most famous experiments in Social Psychology, namely, Milgram’s Obedience experiment and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment. William, Year 12: ‘To what extent does free will solve the problem of evil?’ I argue in this essay that the free will defence does largely solve the problem of evil, as without free will and therefore evil, human beings would not be able to love each other in a genuine way. This position is consistent with an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. Edward, Year 13: ‘Does the existence of evil actually prove God’s existence?’ I argue that evil forms an important part in the providence of God from a Hegelian perspective. Indeed, evil is an integral part of the historical and dialectical process which is Reason acting upon the world. In this way evil actually proves God’s existence by way of affirming his presence in the world, and by allowing us fully to realise and actualise ourselves through Geist. mainly organised by Oxford and Cambridge colleges. The College also enters boys for the inter-school Erasmus Essay Competition. The Erasmus Essay Competition In recent years topics have included Inequality, Consciousness, Relativism, Privacy, Minds and Machines. Last year the theme was Evil. Three boys
He went on to become a Lecturer in Philosophy at Oxford University but unfortunately died in his early 30s. There are essays related to the topics in the Scholars’ Programme, as well as a few freer questions. Last year – in homage to old-style All Souls’ examinations – students were confronted with a list of abstract nouns, as follows:
1. Theatre 2. War
5. Power 6. Science 7. The Image 8. Fairness
3. The other 4. Language
A number of students chose to tackle this very difficult exercise. The best essays, published in Semantron 18, were: Harry, Year 11 Who are the most powerful people in the world? Edmund, Year 12 The other Aaron, Year 13 Cooling off: why humanity has lost its appetite for war Harry, Year 12 Power: the left-wing case for Trumpism Louis, Year 11 Is the rise of Artificial Intelligence a threat to human civilization? Luke, Year 10 Power and corruption Harry, Year 12 War and the role of the other Upper School Year 12 boys keen to apply to the most selective universities take a course in Critical Thinking and Philosophy. The course involves learning to analyse and evaluate argument, as well as a lecture series on some central philosophical topics. The course leads to an internal examination in the summer of Year 12: those who perform particularly well receive a prize and the title Gareth Evans Scholar. The course helps with A level subjects and the ability to think critically is an essential part of a liberal education. In the Upper School, boys are encouraged to enter the various essay competitions,
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