The module aims to help students develop their critical writing and argumentation skills by providing an insight into, and giving tools to analyze, some of the main problems of philosophy (focusing on metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics). The module consists of seminars, each addressing a fundamental philosophical problem, and workshops where students can practice peer review by giving feedback to each other’s essays. Throughout the term, students will be encouraged to apply to the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO), the Baltic Sea Philosophy Essay Event (BSPEE) and other essay writing competitions – these are great challenges to further practice one’s reasoning and concentration skills. Finally, students will also critically engage with the prize-winning essays of previous year’s essay-writing competitions.
This is the 5th time this module is running. During the past years, students won awards at the IPO, BSPEE and other essay-writing competitions. Furthermore, in 2021, the first, the second and the third prizes of the philosophy OKTV (National Secondary School Study Competition) all went to the learning lab’s students. Below you can find articles about what former students attending the module have achieved in philosophy essay writing competitions and what they have to say about the Philosophy Learning Lab.
“In Milestone, I took part in the Learning Lab of László Kőszeghy. All in all, this was the most useful as the emphasis was not on learning about famous philosophers, but rather on improving our analytical thinking skills. Laci worked a lot on our preparation by reading and analysing every single bit of our essays. He helped me to realise whether my logical inferences are correct and showed me how to structure my essays. I received a lot of attention from him. When I notified him a week before the competition that I got into the IPO, he immediately offered a video call to talk through all my previous essays to help me bear in mind the things I should pay special attention to.”
Marcell Vida, Participating at the International Philosophy Olympiad with Hopes of Studying Law in University, https://archive.milestone-institute.org/2020/06/12/participating-at-the-international-philosophy-olympiad-with-hopes-of-studying-law-at-cambridge/ (Links to an external site.)
“I had the chance to talk to and argue with lots of talented Milestone students, and their opinions, thoughts and criticism definitely contributed to my knowledge and formed my way of thinking.”
Bence Örkény, The Aim is Independent, Critical Thinking, https://archive.milestone-institute.org/2021/04/28/the-aim-is-the-independent-critical-thinking/ (Links to an external site.)
Cf. also: Young Thinkers’ International Success – Milestone Students Among the Best in Canadian Journal’s Essay Prize, https://archive.milestone-institute.org/2021/01/20/young-thinkers-international-success-milestone-students-among-the-best-in-canadian-journals-essay-prize/