The Royal Institute of Philosophy is very pleased to announce this year’s essay competition for our journal Think.
Think is our publication designed to be fully accessible to all audiences, while still challenging its readers. The winning essay submission will be published alongside articles from leading philosophers from across the world.
We are looking for essays of no more than 1,200 words, engaging with one of the following questions*:
- Plato suggests we are trapped in a world of shadows and only philosophical reflection can provide knowledge. Is there any truth to this view?
- Does the existence of evil provide good evidence God does not exist?
- Do ‘objective values’ exist?
- Could a person migrate from one human body to another, as some movies suggest (e.g. Freaky Friday)?
- What ethical responsibilities do we have towards future generations (e.g., creating a cleaner environment, reducing pollution)? If you believe we don’t have these responsibilities, explain why?
- Do we have freedom of speech? Should we?
* If you are studying Philosophy, you may want to particularly engage with questions 1, 2 or 3. However, each applicant is welcome to answer any of the six questions.
The winner will be published in an upcoming issue of Think, the shortlisted candidates will win a year’s free subscription to the journal, and other prizes will be awarded to all those who make the longlist.
Your essay submission will be assessed for academic merit and rigour. We look forward to receiving your submission via this link.
Please read the Rules of Entry below before completing the form.
The Closing Date for Submissions is Tuesday 22nd April, 2025.
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Rules of Entry & Eligibility Criteria
1. Word documents should be submitted to the Royal Institute of Philosophy (TRIP) up to and including the deadline date of midnight on Tuesday 22nd April, 2025. Submissions after this date will not be accepted.
2. In order for us to consider your essay, email your Word document to thinkessay@royalinstitutephilosophy.org
3. Authors can be of any nationality and based anywhere in the world. They must be aged between 15-18 years old by the closing date of the competition.
4. Essays must be an original work and submitted in English, using 12 pt font, double line spaced, Calibri font or similar.
5. The essay must not exceed 1,200 words.
6. Please avoid all notes and references in your submission. They are not required. You can refer to an article or book by an author if you wish, but just give the author’s name and then the title in the main text, if that seems appropriate. Nothing else is required. The style of your essay should be non-academic, like that adopted by, for example, Aeon online magazine, which can be viewed here: https://aeon.co
7. Use one line breaks no indentations to mark new paragraphs.
8. In order for us to consider your essay, you must title your Word document with your surname followed by your first name.
9. Multiple submissions are accepted, although only one submission per topic will be considered. If multiple submissions for the same topic are received, the first to be submitted will be the only one considered.
10. As part of the submission process an explanation from the author explaining why the work should be considered can be included.
11. Whilst there will be one overall prize winner, the Royal Institute will look to create age group categories that recognise high quality entries by age range.
12. The administration team and the judge has the final decision as to whether an essay is eligible. No correspondence will be entered into.
13. Should the work be accepted to the longlist those authors will be advised. Those submissions not accepted to the longlist will not be receive any correspondence from the Royal Institute.
14. The author accepts by submitting their essay to abide by the rules of the prize.
15. General enquiries about the prize should be sent to ThinkEssay@royalinstitutephilosophy.org