Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon
Philosothons are events in which students practise Community of Philosophical Inquiry, usually with awards being made using three criteria: critical thinking, creative thinking and collaboration. This seems to generate a tension. On the one hand it recognises collaboration as a valued trait; on the...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jps.bham.ac.uk/articles/abstract/161/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89821 |
| _version_ | 1848765287868923904 |
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| author | Tapper, Alan Wills, Matthew |
| author_facet | Tapper, Alan Wills, Matthew |
| author_sort | Tapper, Alan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Philosothons are events in which students practise Community of Philosophical Inquiry, usually with awards being made using three criteria: critical thinking, creative thinking and collaboration. This seems to generate a tension. On the one hand it recognises collaboration as a valued trait; on the other hand, the element of competition may seem antithetical to collaboration.
There are various possible considerations relevant to this apparent problem. We can pose them as seven questions. One, do the awards really recognise the best performers? Two, do the students and teachers see the awards as fair and reasonable? Three, do the awards recognise cooperation as a valuable contribution? Four, do Philosothons generate enthusiasm and goodwill? Five, might awards motivate students to try harder to do well? Six, if competition is normal in society, does it follow that it is justified as part of the Philosothon? Seven, do awards have a role in bringing the event to a climax? In this article, we will develop and evaluate the arguments suggested by these questions. Our conclusion is that the competitive element in the Philosothon is not antithetical to the collaborative ideal of philosophy. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:32:52Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-89821 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:32:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-898212023-01-31T04:17:22Z Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon Tapper, Alan Wills, Matthew 4407 - Policy and administration Philosothons are events in which students practise Community of Philosophical Inquiry, usually with awards being made using three criteria: critical thinking, creative thinking and collaboration. This seems to generate a tension. On the one hand it recognises collaboration as a valued trait; on the other hand, the element of competition may seem antithetical to collaboration. There are various possible considerations relevant to this apparent problem. We can pose them as seven questions. One, do the awards really recognise the best performers? Two, do the students and teachers see the awards as fair and reasonable? Three, do the awards recognise cooperation as a valuable contribution? Four, do Philosothons generate enthusiasm and goodwill? Five, might awards motivate students to try harder to do well? Six, if competition is normal in society, does it follow that it is justified as part of the Philosothon? Seven, do awards have a role in bringing the event to a climax? In this article, we will develop and evaluate the arguments suggested by these questions. Our conclusion is that the competitive element in the Philosothon is not antithetical to the collaborative ideal of philosophy. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89821 https://jps.bham.ac.uk/articles/abstract/161/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | 4407 - Policy and administration Tapper, Alan Wills, Matthew Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title | Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title_full | Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title_fullStr | Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title_short | Cooperation and Competition in the Philosothon |
| title_sort | cooperation and competition in the philosothon |
| topic | 4407 - Policy and administration |
| url | https://jps.bham.ac.uk/articles/abstract/161/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89821 |