The winner of the competition is Kan Zhang from BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour with his essay titled: ‘Could a Person Migrate to Another’s Body? A Realistic Solution to a Fanciful Problem’. This essay will be published in Think.
Dr Stephen Law, Editor of Think and Chair of the Judging Panel, writes:
“Kan Zhang’s submission addressed the question of whether a person might migrate from one body to another. The paper developed a novel line of argument for the conclusion that migration is possible. The argument was developed with care and precision, and it exhibited all the virtues of good analytic writing. It is a worthy winner.
This year’s THINK essay prize has been a phenomenal success, with around 750 entrants. The Royal Institute of Philosophy has had to expand the number of assistant judges in order to cope with demand. The consistently high standard demonstrated by contestants has made judging especially challenging.
“I’d like to thank all the judges for their hard work and dedication, and for doing a very thorough and professional job.
“Thank you once again to every single applicant. We greatly enjoyed reading all your essays. We also owe a big thank you to the very many schools with students who submitted essays – we appreciate your support.”
Kan Zhang – who was also shortlisted for the prize last year – said:
“To me, the prize is distinguished for its open-mindedness toward unorthodox takes. Over the past two years, I opted to focus on the questions themselves and give with unusual or even outright weird arguments. I also enjoyed citing linguistic, biological, and other scientific evidence to establish philosophical conclusions. Being shortlisted again this year means a lot to me because it shows how the prize consistently values creative approaches. I believe this aspect of the prize is crucial for nurturing young philosophy students, as it is from such approaches that most new, original, and fun ideas arise.”
Read the winning essay
For the chance to read Kan Zhang’s winning essay, take out a subscription to Think, our accessible philosophy journal, which is aimed at a general audience. Prices start at just £10 per year for the unwaged. Or get student or full membership of The Royal Institute of Philosophy, which includes subscription to a journal and starts from just £15.