2026 Philosophy Summer Academy

Politics, Law, and Philosophy: Democracy in the Age of AI

Philosophy Summer Academy is a yearly summer program for students in grades 9-12 hosted at Markham District High School, developing students’ critical thinking skills through logic and philosophy.

This year’s theme is Democracy in the Age of AI. Students will consider questions such as: Is more democracy always better? What are the costs and benefits of AI? How should goods be distributed? What (if anything) justifies the market system?

Session 1: July 27-31
15 spots left
Earl Haig Secondary School
100 Princess Ave, North York, ON M2N 3R7

Session 2: August 10-14
14 spots left
Milliken Mills High School
7522 Kennedy Rd, Markham, ON L3R 9S5

Pricing Options

Early Bird until May 15: $225
Priority until May 31: $275
Standard starting June 1: $325

*Financial assistance available

“The program was interesting and fun. The instructors were well-informed and invited you to consider all opinions whilst challenging your own. They promoted and achieved an inclusive environment where everyone was free to share their thoughts.”
— Student, Grade 11 (2023 Cohort)

  • Monday: Political Power and Democracy
    What justifies the government in the first place? What parts of society should be democratic? Highlights:

    • The Leviathan simulation: Students participate and compete in a political simulation to understand the public goods justification of the state.

    • Logic: Students will learn the basics of propositional logic and argument diagramming.

    Tuesday: Markets and 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? Highlights:

    • The Corporatopia game: Students will participate in a market simulation game - negotiate business deals, produce market failures, and lobby the government!

    • The Great Debate: Students will collaborate in teams to debate the moral limits of markets.

    • Logic: Students will learn about logical validity and how to apply argument inference rules.

    Wednesday: Field Trip to the University of Toronto
    Students will embark on a field trip to the University of Toronto to tour the campus and meet graduate students and faculty.

    Thursday: Artificial Intelligence
    What is intelligence? How might we test whether AI is truly intelligent? How is AI being used in society, and what are the social benefits and costs? Are cases of AI use ethical? Highlights:

    • The Turing Test: Students participate in our version of the Turing Test, where they try to determine whether they are interacting with a human or an AI

    • Logic: Students will learn advanced inference rules and argument reconstruction techniques.

    Friday: 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.

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • Program Content

    • Lessons and lectures

    • Learning activities (case studies, 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!

    Field Trip

    Students will embark on a field trip to the University of Toronto on the Wednesday of each week to tour the campus and meet graduate students and faculty.

    On July 29, we will head to the St. George Campus, and on August 12, we will head to the Scarborough Campus.

  • Are both weeks the same?

    Yes. The same content will be taught for both weeks. The only difference is the camp location and the field trip location.

    Is lunch provided?

    No. Students are expected to bring their own lunch or obtain parent/guardian permission to sign themselves out for lunch.

    Can I receive financial assistance to afford the program?

    If the program fee is a barrier for you, email us at registration@philosophyforyouth.ca

Meet The Team

Victor Chung
(University of Toronto)
Program Director (Week 2)

Victor is a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Philosophy and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He was formerly a Race, Ethics, and Power Project Fellow at the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics.

Fallon Taylor-Kanary (University of Toronto)
Program Director (Week 1)

Fallon received her Honours Bachelor of Arts as a philosophy specialist from the University of Toronto and her Master’s degree in Social and Political Thought from York University. Her current research interests revolve around the intersection of feminist science studies and the alignment of political policies with the ethics of well-being. She has presented her research at academic conferences, including at the University of London (UK).

Coye Zhou
(University of Waterloo)
Program Instructor

Coye studies at the University of Waterloo, where she is working towards an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Her current research topics are in disability justice, social epistemology, and the ethics of care. She is passionate about teaching others how to apply philosophical concepts and skills to everyday life.

Michael Diiorio
(University of Waterloo)
Program Instructor

Michael is currently perusing an Honours Bachelor of Arts double major in philosophy and sociology. He is interested in the relationship between social theory and epistemology. Michael believes that a good philosophical education has great importance for people within democratic systems.

Matthew Mavrogiannis
(Western University)
Program Instructor

Matthew specialised in philosophy at the University of Toronto, from which he received his Honours Bachelor of Arts in 2019. After some time off spent exploring various non-academic interests, he moved to England to attend the University of Oxford where he completed a two-year BPhil degree in philosophy in 2022. Since then, Matthew has returned home to Canada and is currently wrapping up the third year of a four-year PhD program in philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. His dissertation for this program is a study in the metaphysics of Plato.