Why the Philosophy Olympiad is changing

Last year, the first round of the Philosophy Olympiad broke all records: 175 essays were submitted. It was already clear in previous years that more and more young thinkers are interested in the Philosophy Olympiad. 

As much as this makes us happy, it also presents us with challenges. As a growing but still small team of volunteers, we have repeatedly reached our limits in recent years when evaluating the essays in the first round. Even though, with the help of many motivated helpers, we have somehow always managed to evaluate all the essays, we have had to realize that this is not enough: If we carry on like this, we will soon no longer be able to guarantee the quality of our assessment. 

So we set out to find a sustainable alternative. Various ideas for a new preliminary round have been discussed in the SwissPhilO association over the past few months. In the end, we decided to try out one of them in 2024/2025:  A short online test with multiple-choice questions like many other Science Olympiads, to be completed at home or during class. 

We don't just want to test prior knowledge, so we have designed a test that we hope will test skills that will also help you write a good essay. For example, logical argumentation or philosophical understanding of quotations from primary texts, which often serve as essay topics. 

Participants who achieve the highest scores in the preliminary round will be invited to write an essay at home on one of four topics. An online workshop on writing philosophical essays will now be offered. After that, the procedure of the Philosophy Olympiad will remain the same as before.

DATES

MORE ON THE PROCEDURE AND CONTENT OF THE PREMILINARY ROUND

For questions and feedback, please contact us at philosophy@olympiad.ch. You can also meet us in person on SPO Day.