2018 MITx High School Philosophy Award Winners

Course: 24.00x Introduction to Philosophy: God, Knowledge and Consciousness

Cameron Greene is a junior at Regis High School (NYC) where he is a proud member of the school’s speech and debate team, competing in Public Forum Debate. Cam is an avid reader and writer who competes with the math team, is engaged in science research, and volunteers as a peer math and writing tutor. Cam is a competitive saber fencer and also enjoys spending time with friends in Ping Pong Club, Aquatic Science Club, Soccer Club, and Chess Club. He follows major European soccer leagues, supporting FC Barcelona.

Cam enjoys intellectual challenges, loves engaging in philosophical discussions with his friends, and was inspired by his experience with 24.00x to start a Philosophy Club at his school.

Course: 24.118x Paradox and Infinity

Award Essay: “Probability: Localism and Primitivism”

Jordan Hebert is a high school senior in the San Francisco Bay Area. His main interest is philosophy, and he currently works as a research assistant for a philosophy professor, providing summaries and criticism of contemporary philosophical articles on the topics of practical reason and the philosophy of mind. They are also co-authoring a paper on the epistemic limits of artificial intelligence. Jordan plans to continue his philosophical training in college. He also leads the environmental club at his high school, and is an avid rock-climber.

Course: 24.118x Paradox and Infinity

Award Essay: “The Demon’s Game”

Khiyali has loved math since the age of zero, developing her own method of subtraction and playing with concepts in calculus before coming across them in books. Paradox and Infinity was a feast for her imagination. She is growing up in Bel Air, Maryland and Mumbai, India, and enjoys reading, writing, gardening, activism, drama, and playing with her friends. Khiyali was homeschooled until age 14, when she joined the Science and Mathematics Academy at Aberdeen High School in Maryland. She is now in 10th grade and looks forward to further mathematical adventures, noting, as did G.H. Hardy, that no math she will do “is likely to make, directly or indirectly, for good or ill, the least difference to the amenity of the world.”

Course: 24.00x Introduction to Philosophy: God, Knowledge and Consciousness

Benjamin is presently a senior at Louis D. Brandeis High School in San Antonio, Texas. He is an avid French horn player, and enjoys performing in his school’s marching band and in the local Youth Orchestras of San Antonio. Additionally, he is the co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Ignition Green, which seeks to spread climate change awareness to the K-12 community. Ben’s passion for philosophy began with studying the subject for his school’s Quiz Bowl team, and he soon decided to pursue it independently. He currently plans to major in engineering, but looks forward to a well-rounded education in college where he can pursue his many diverse interests.

Course: 24.00x Introduction to Philosophy: God, Knowledge and Consciousness

Shuyuan is a high school junior in United World College and a lover of philosophy. She enjoys reading the works of the philosophers, walking into their minds, and see how they attack or defend each other’s’ or their own ideas. She started having interest in philosophy as she desired having answers for the grand strange questions, but as she went further, she discovers that these answers could never be found and turned to enjoy the process of seeking for them and breaking he questions into pieces. She finds the practice of philosophy full of challenges and treasures, and decides to continue her inquiry of philosophy in her further studies.