Politics, Law, & Philosophy Week 1 (July 7-11)

Week 1: July 7-11

Day 1: Political Power - What is power? What justifies the government in the first place? Do citizens have a duty to obey the law because it’s the law?
Day 2: Markets & Morality - How do markets work? What (if anything) justifies the market system? What is the point of regulating corporations? Are there some things that shouldn’t be for sale?
Day 3: Field Trip
Day 4: Health & Justice - How should healthcare be distributed? What does a just distribution of wealth look like?
Day 5: Ethics of Migration & Philosopher’s Conference - Students will have a chance to bring together their newly-developed critical thinking skills to construct and debate their own position on one of the topics we have discussed throughout the week.

By the end of this program, students will be able to:

• Identify the parts of an argument. Students will learn what an argument is, the parts of an argument, and most importantly, what makes a well-reasoned argument.

• Reconstruct an argument from a text. Students will learn how to identify the premises and conclusion of an argument from many texts, and how to reconstruct the argument in its logical form.

• Evaluate the strength of an argument. Building upon their argument reconstruction skills, students will learn to critically evaluate an argument by analyzing its logical structure and the truth of its premises.

• Develop convincing objections and replies. Students will learn to clearly and concisely communicate why an argument fails or succeeds, based on their critical analysis. They will apply this to form well-reasoned opinions on philosophical issues.

Click ‘Register Now’ above to fill out the registration form and enrol in the program. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Full payment is required at the time of registration.

Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 20 students per session.

Financial Assistance

Financially underprivileged students are eligible to register for the program at reduced cost. If you would like to apply for financial assistance, please contact registration@philosophyforyouth.ca.

Confirmations

Confirmations will be sent by email shortly after we have received and processed your registration. We will let you know by email if there are any problems with processing your registration.

Transfers

Students may transfer to another session free-of-charge, provided the session they wish to transfer to is not fully enrolled. We permit transfers up to 5 business days before the start date of the session you wish to transfer out of.

Cancellations & Refunds

Cancellations for any session must be given by email to registration@philosophyforyouth.ca by July 2, 2024, for a refund of 80%.

In case of low enrollment for a given session, we reserve the right to cancel the session, and a full refund will be provided along with the option to transfer into another session.

We cannot issue refunds for days where a student is absent. However, we will provide the student with material to catch up on what they have missed. Days of absence cannot be made up.

Class Size

Each session is limited to 20 students, with an instructor to student ratio of 10:1.

Location

The camp will be located in Markham, Ontario at Markham District High School (map)
Address: 89 Church St, Markham, ON L3P 2M3.

Entrance: Use the main entrance of Markham District High School.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up: Our registration desk will be in the main lobby of the school. There is free on-site parking available.

Daily Schedule

9:10am - 9:30am: Drop off and sign in
9:30am - 10:45am: First half of morning session (activities, discussions, debates, simultations)
10:45am - 11:00am: Break
11:00am - 12:00pm: Second half of morning session (lesson)
12:00pm - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm - 2:00pm: First half of afternoon session (activities, discussions, debates, simultations)
2:00pm - 2:15pm: Break
2:15pm - 3:30pm: Second half of afternoon session (lesson)
3:30pm - 4:00pm: Afternoon games and activities
4:00pm: Sign out

Program Content

• Lessons and lectures

• Learning activities (simulations, debates, discussions)

Program Materials

• Philosophy For Youth folder

• Philosophy For Youth pen

• Name tag

• Handouts and readings

Opportunity to make new connections and learn about university programs and admissions!

09:30 - 10:00 Case Study: What are markets, and how do they work?
10:00 - 10:30 Activity - Trading Game: How might markets promote human welfare?
10:30 - 11:00 Logic: Daily logic lesson
11:00 - 11:30 Lesson and Discussion: Consequentialist arguments for markets
11:30 - 12:00 Activity - Corporatopia: Students participate in a market simulation game - negotiate business deals, produce market failures, and lobby the government to learn when, and how, markets fail.
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch Break
13:00 - 14:00 Activity - Corporatopia (Continued)
14:00 - 14:30 Lesson: Markets and other values; are there some things which shouldn’t be for sale?
14:30 - 16:00 Activity - Ethics Bowl: Construct, defend, and debate a position on the moral limits of markets!