Young Thinkers Summer School - Detailed Outline (Online)

This page provides a detailed outline of the online Young Thinkers Summer School, a two-day course for students aged 11-14 who enjoy big questions, lively discussion, moral dilemmas, and the challenge of thinking clearly about complicated ideas. Across the course, students explore philosophy through thought experiments, debates, problem questions, and collaborative discussion.

The course is taught fully live online, with students working together in real time to test ideas, build arguments, respond to different viewpoints, and develop confidence in explaining their own thinking. It is designed to introduce students to philosophy in a way that is serious, accessible, and enjoyable – not by asking them to memorise answers, but by helping them ask better questions.

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Day One – Who Am I, and What Can I Really Know?
Day Two – Ethics, Morality, and Political Philosophy

Across the two days, students explore some of the central questions in philosophy: what makes us the same person over time, how we know whether our experiences are real, where morality comes from, and what a fair society might look like. They are encouraged to think independently, listen carefully, give reasons for their views, and become more comfortable with uncertainty, disagreement, and open-ended discussion.

10.00 – 12.30 Personal Identity – What Makes Me, Me?

What makes you the person you are? If you changed all your memories, would you still be the same person? And how do you know that you are the same person today as you were yesterday?

This session introduces students to the fascinating field of personal identity, using thought experiments inspired by philosopher Derek Parfit. Students will explore ideas like the Ship of Theseus and teleportation paradoxes to challenge their understanding of what it means to be an individual. They will also learn about how philosophers have tried to answer these questions and debate their own views on whether identity is fixed, fluid, or even an illusion.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Theories of Knowledge – What Can I Really Know?

Can we ever be sure that what we experience is real? What if everything around us is an illusion? Could we be living in a simulation?

This session introduces students to epistemology, the branch of philosophy that studies what we can truly know. They will explore famous questions like Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am”, the idea of the brain in a vat, and whether our senses can ever be fully trusted.

Through thought experiments and case studies, students will challenge their own assumptions about reality, perception, and knowledge.

10.00 – 12.30 Ethics – The Study of Right and Wrong

The day begins with a fundamental question: why should we be ethical? Students will explore whether morality is an essential part of being human or whether it is something we are taught by society. The session will examine the role of empathy and human dignity in shaping ethical concerns and encourage students to think about where morality actually comes from. Is it simply about following rules, or do emotions and intentions matter just as much as actions?

Students will tackle complex philosophical problems, questioning whether moral principles can be universal or whether ethics depends on individual and cultural perspectives. They will be challenged to consider whether an action is right because of its outcome or because of the motivation behind it. Through real-world examples and thought experiments, students will engage with ethical dilemmas that have puzzled philosophers for centuries.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Building A Society

In this session, students will take on the role of political philosophers as they design their own society from scratch. They will work under philosopher John Rawls’ idea of the “veil of ignorance,” where they must create rules and laws without knowing their own place in that society. Without knowledge of whether they would be rich or poor, powerful or powerless, students will have to think carefully about fairness, justice, and equality in the systems they create.

As a group, they will debate the strengths and weaknesses of different social structures, considering real-world parallels to the decisions they make. The session will encourage students to reflect on the core principles that shape the societies we live in today and question whether the world as it is now is truly just.

This outline provides a detailed view of the themes, ideas, and activities explored during the online Young Thinkers Summer School. The programme is designed to introduce students to philosophical thinking through questions of identity, knowledge, ethics, justice, and political society, in a way that is intellectually challenging while remaining accessible for younger students.

You can also return to the main Young Thinkers Summer School course page for full details about the course and how to apply.