NAIS Student John Locke Success

The John Locke Essay Writing Competition invites students to explore and express their ideas on themes related to philosophy, politics, and social theory, inspired by the Enlightenment thinker John Locke. Open to participants from various educational levels, the competition encourages critical thinking and eloquent writing. Students are encouraged to submit essays which address contemporary issues through the lens of Locke’s principles of liberty, democracy, and human rights. Winners receive recognition for their intellectual achievements and the opportunity to contribute to meaningful discourse on fundamental societal questions. 

Essay prizes are judged by a panel of academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.  Judges choose their favourite essays from seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject.

NAIS Pudong IB students Tia B and Yeonjin K both submitted their essays for the competition, withTia choosing the category of Philosophy and aiming to answer the question of "Should we be held responsible for what we believe?"  Tia based her essay around the argument that "What you believe affects your actions. You should be held responsible for your actions. Therefore, you should be held responsible for what you believe."

Yeonjin chose the Economics category and set out to answer the question of "Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?" She structured her essay around a summary that “examines the role of news agencies, the benefits and dangers they bring to society, as well as the consequences of being subsidised by taxation."

Less than 20% of submissions were selected for advancement to the next stage, including both Tia and Yeonjin’s entries, so we send a huge congratulations to both!  As finalist for the global prize, they are now invited to the awards ceremony and gala dinner in London next month.  They, along with other short-listed students will go for a third reading by senior academics at Oxford and Cambridge universities who will decide the overall winners and commendations.

Watch this space for updates on the process, and good luck to both Tia and Yeonjin!