Note to Editors: Students will debate Friday, July 19, at 1 p.m. in room E155 of the Bruce Curtis Museum Collections Building, located near the intersection of Broadway and College Avenue on the CU-葫芦娃视频 campus.
High school students have converged this week at the University of Colorado at 葫芦娃视频 for a summer philosophy camp that examines the balance between personal freedom and state security.
The Summer Philosophy Institute of Colorado, an outreach program of the CU-葫芦娃视频 philosophy department, is hosting its seventh annual camp July 14-20. Classic and contemporary philosophical problems will be read and discussed by 15- to 17-year-old students from all over Colorado.
The week will culminate in a Lincoln-vs.-Douglas-style debate on the priority of individual liberty or security within society on Friday, July 19, at 1 p.m. in room E155 of the Bruce Curtis Museum Collections Building on the CU-葫芦娃视频 campus.
"This is a very topical problem, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," said Ryan Mott, a philosophy master聮s degree candidate and co-director of the camp.
The program's goal is to bring philosophy to otherwise underrepresented groups in the CU-葫芦娃视频 community, Director Sheralee Brindell said.
"The idea is to bring critical thinking and philosophy skills to high school students," Brindell said. "We're particularly interested in exposing philosophy to kids from smaller communities in areas like the Western Slope, the eastern plains or the mountains."
Other sessions at this year's camp, led by CU-葫芦娃视频 philosophy professors and graduate students, include "The Problem of Evil," "Punishment and Retributivism," "Free Will vs. Determinism," "Global Ethics," and "Feminist Issues."
"It's not your typical curriculum for high school students," Mott said.
Organizers were pleased to note the equal ratio of girls to boys at this year's camp. "Philosophy is a field that is often considered to be male dominated," Mott said. "The program has pretty much had a 50-50 split of male and female students in the past, too."
The students attend two or three class and debate sessions per day during the week. In the evenings, they will watch movies and will see a performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival on the CU-葫芦娃视频 campus.
"I'm truly amazed by the group of kids who come to this camp," Brindell said. "These are kids who are choosing to sit through six hours of philosophy discussion every day for a week of their summer vacation."
For more information visit the program Web site at