2025 Philosophy Summer Academy

Politics, Law, and Philosophy

Sponsored by the American Philosophical Association, 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 Politics, Law, & Philosophy. Students will consider questions such as: What justifies political power? What (if anything) justifies the market system? Are there some things that should not be for sale? How should goods be distributed?

Location:
Markham District H.S.
89 Church St, Markham ON L3P 2M3

*Financial assistance available

Brochure: Click here

Philosophy Summer Academy is made available at a discounted price due to a generous grant from the American Philosophical Association’s Teaching Fund.

Meet The Team

Program Director
Victor Chung
University of Toronto

Program Instructor
Fallon Taylor-Kanary
University of Toronto
York University

Session 2: July 21 - July 25
Enrollment: 12/20
Program Fee: $275

Session 1: July 7 - July 11
Enrollment: 19/20
Program Fee: $275

“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, 2023 Philosophy Summer Academy

Register
Register

  • Monday: 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? 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 (St. George Campus) to attend talks from philosophy professors. This year we feature Professor Caitlin Hamblin-Yule who will give a talk about moral personhood, as well as another professor who will give a talk about the value of achievement.

    Thursday: Health and Distributive Justice
    How should healthcare be distributed? What does a just distribution of wealth look like? Highlights:

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

    Friday: Ethics of Migration and 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

    On Wednesday, we will embark on a field trip to the University of Toronto to attend a talk from philosophy professors.

    On July 9, we will head to the Centre for Ethics, and on July 23, we will head to the Department of Philosophy.

  • Are both weeks the same?

    Yes. The same content will be taught for both weeks. The only difference will be the guest speakers for the field trip.

    Who will be speaking at the field trip?

    The field trip will be held at the University of Toronto St. George campus. On July 23, Professor Caitlin Hamblin-Yule will give a talk about moral personhood. On July 9, another professor will give a talk about the value of achievement.

    Is lunch provided?

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

Victor is a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He was formerly a Race, Ethics, and Power Project Fellow at the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics. He has presented his research at various academic conferences, including at the Berlin Social Science Center, the University of London (UK), KU Leuven (Belgium), and the American Philosophical Association.

Fallon is a graduate student at York University in the Social & Political Thought program. She graduated from the University of Toronto, receiving her Honours Bachelor of Arts as a philosophy specialist. Her research interests include social and political philosophy, particularly feminist philosophy.

Program Instructor
Coye Zhou
University of Waterloo

Coye studies at the University of Waterloo, where she is working towards a co-op degree in philosophy. Exposure to philosophy gave her the chance to develop many skills that she continues to use every day: reading carefully, writing clearly, and analyzing issues from multiple perspectives.

Past Programs

2024 Philosophy Summer Academy

Sponsored by the American Philosophical Association, Philosophy Summer Academy is a program for students in grades 9-12 hosted at Markham District High School, where students learn to reason and debate topics related to philosophy, politics, and society.

Politics, Law, & Philosophy
Learn to critically think about modern political and legal issues in Canada and the world!

Applied Ethics & Social Issues
Develop your logical reasoning by constructing ethical solutions to contemporary social issues!

2023 Philosophy Summer Institute

A week-long summer program for high school students, where students develop valuable, widely-applicable skills such as:

  • Constructing and presenting well-reasoned arguments

  • Engaging in logical reasoning to analyze the strength of an argument

  • Communicating clearly and concisely to persuade others

…all while discussing and learning about philosophy!