International essay competition success for Perse student
Helen (Lower Sixth) was philosophical about her success in the John Locke Institute’s illustrious Global Essay Prize competition.
With more than 34,000 entries from across the world in a range of categories, Helen did exceptionally well to be highly commended in the philosophy category with her imaginative approach to the question ‘Should I be held responsible for what I believe?’
Rather than write a regular essay, she composed a Socratic dialogue between herself and John Locke, the 17th Century philosopher after whom the educational institute organising the competition is named, based on asking and answering philosophical questions.
Helen said: “I’ve always been interested in philosophy and I thought this competition would be a good way to apply my interest and enhance my research skills.
“I took a gamble with what the judges would think of the ‘essay’ being done like this, but I found it a good way of including that element of debate because there’s no correct answer.
“The idea is I’m a student journalist who has travelled back in time to interview John Locke about the topic. He walked me through the points and we defined what belief and responsibility are, how we form beliefs and how they might change over time.
“I articulated my essay around his philosophy, which says we are born like blank slates, and concluded that we should be held responsible or our beliefs.
“It took me two or three months to properly research and format my ideas. It’s the first time I’ve done any research where I’ve had to include a bibliography and footnotes, which was a whole different area of research in itself.”
Having been shortlisted for the prize, Helen attended a special presentation ceremony in London and was delighted to be highly commended.
She said: “There was a genuine melting pot of young people from different cultures at the ceremony. It was really fun because every conversation was like a debate within itself, so it was a great experience.
“It took me by surprise to be highly commended, but I was really happy about it. I’m so proud of the achievement and how much I learned from doing the research.”