Summer Philosophy Camp Encourages High Schoolers to Ask 'the Big Questions'
July 10, 2017
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore's inaugural Philosophy Camp is encouraging a small group of high school students to ask the "big questions" of life, of themselves and each other. Sponsored by UB's Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics, the camp is hosting 22 students in grades 9 through 12, in an on-campus day setting, July 10-14.
"The aim of the camp is for high school students to find out for themselves the value of philosophy for their own lives," says Fred Guy, director of the Hoffberger Center and associate professor in the University's Division of Ethical, Legal and Historical Studies. "The classical questions about truth, reality, knowledge, good and evil, and right and wrong apply as much today as they have for the past 2,000 years. Through skits, one-act plays, a moot court case, and ethics debates, students will find out how philosophical thinking can help them decide what is good or bad, true or false, real or unreal in such interests as social media, education, personal relationships, career choices, and government."
Guy said the students come from high schools throughout the city, and several are attending from out of state.
"We hope the walk-away value for students will be that philosophy is a lot more interesting and applicable to their lives than they thought beforehand," he noted.
Learn more about how philosophy is taught at the University of Baltimore.