Kids revel in deep questions posed by Philosophy Institute

BY LISA TREI

Before Heather Guibert arrived on campus, she thought of philosophy as the purview of "old men with beards, walking around and talking about the sun." But after spending three weeks at the Philosophy Discovery Institute, a residential summer program for high school students, Guibert concluded that the subject can be applied practically and that it has taught her to think more clearly.

"I want to build spaceships," said the 17-year-old from West Palm Beach, Fla. "In order to do that, you have to think about everything that could possibly go wrong. It's really the philosophical thought process that helps you determine how to do that."

From left, Jessica Travis, Lee Reitrelman, Joel Cretan, Whitney King (speaking) and Jake Haskell took part in a debating exercise at the Philosophy Institute, a summer program for high school students. Photo: L.A. Cicero

Classmate Vanessa Simmons, 15, of Holliston, Mass., added that philosophy forces "you to make your line of thinking really reasonable, linear and clear. That's hard."

Despite the challenges, teaching assistant Tamara Jih, a Stanford senior in international relations, said the teenagers rise to the occasion. "It frustrates them, but they can do it, which is kind of exciting," she said.

The Philosophy Discovery Institute is the creation of Robert Reich, assistant professor of political science, and Susan Verducci, a researcher at the Center on Adolescence. It is supported academically by the Program in Ethics in Society.

Now in its third year, the course attracts three times the applicants nationwide for each available slot. It is the most popular of four institutes organized by Stanford Summer Session for high school students. At first glance, that may seem surprising, given that the other institutes teach theater, creative writing and environmental studies. But philosophy is popular, partly because it is rarely taught in high school, Verducci said.

"The kids are going through adolescence and opening up to larger kinds of questions, such as 'Who am I in this world?'" she said. "They notice the hypocrisy of adults, and they are concerned with the development of their own identity. These are [issues] fundamental to philosophy."

Teenagers are natural philosophers, Reich added. "They're always asking questions about moral dilemmas," he said. "My goal is for the students to go home feeling that they understand what it means to philosophize. I want them to get jazzed about the topic."

For Hada Flores of Houston, that seems to have happened. "I have all these questions, such as 'What is truth?' and 'What is justice?'"

At home, the 17-year-old said she gets puzzled responses from her family when she tries to discuss such topics. But at Stanford, she said, teachers and students have been willing to talk, often late into the night. "That's what I like about philosophy," she said. "You can question anything. There is no right or wrong answer."

Diverse participants

The course brings together students from across the United States and, this year, one from England. Reich said he is committed to attracting a diverse group of participants, partly to encourage more minorities and women to study philosophy, a subject that he said is dominated by white males at the college level. One-third of students come from low-income families and receive scholarships through the Stanford Summer Session office. The institutes' tuition ranges from $3,000 to $4,600, and up to 6 college credits are offered.

All students in the Philosophy Institute take Philosophy and Social Justice, a course that provides an introduction to philosophy and philosophical reasoning in order to discuss issues of social justice. During the first week, participants studied animal rights, a subject many said they had never thought about. Afterward, Jih said, most of the students concluded that animals have rights but that they would continue eating them anyway. "How can we think that something is immoral, yet we can feel totally comfortable doing it?" Jih questioned rhetorically. "That's what's interesting."

The students also choose between studying film, literature or bioethics from a philosophical perspective. The classes are designed to illustrate the complexities that arise when philosophers explore questions such as "What is a person?" and "How should we live?" In addition, the program requires students to write two five-page essays and participate in debates on social justice. This year, guest experts presented lectures on death and the virtues of tolerance.

For many students, the institute was the first time they had experienced the freedoms and responsibilities of college life. On a Monday morning, Andrew Gay, a 16-year-old from Lake Oswego, Ore., slumped into a lecture hall seat, his eyes closed. To complete a paper, "I pulled an all-nighter," he groaned.

For some students, it was their first time away from home. "I had never met any honest Republicans," said Simmons from Massachusetts. "There are never any debates in my class [at school] unless we're assigned topics, because everyone thinks the same way. It's really cool that people really think differently. I've realized that there are prejudice and stereotypes on both sides."

Monica Villa, 16, is from Houston but attends a boarding school in Tennessee on a scholarship. "Other kids here have more opportunities and advantages," she said. "I felt intimidated at first, and I'm not usually someone who feels intimidated. But in meeting them, it makes me want to go back to my school and work harder."

Archie Ekong, 17, also from Houston, said the institute "made me stronger in my writing, speaking and going up in front of people and not being afraid of saying what I think. You realize that this is what college is like. I'm lucky to be here." Ekong, an African American who wants to become an actor, said the program would benefit from an even broader group of participants. "When you have an equal amount of diverse opinions, it makes the conversation more interesting," he said.

Ekong and Flores attend the same inner-city charter school, YES College Preparatory, in Houston. School Director Chris Barbic, a one-time colleague of Reich's, has sent two students each year to the institute. Besides reaping the benefits of studying philosophy for personal ethical reasons and learning how to think, Barbic credits the program with raising his former students' academic horizons. "It really lit a fire under them," he said. "For them to sit around with a bunch of kids who can articulate what they think challenged them." The four students who attended previous Philosophy Institutes have gone on to attend Cornell, George Washington, Brown and Columbia universities. They were the first in their families to go to college, Barbic said.

After thinking about philosophy for three weeks, Flores still had difficulty coming up with a definition of what it means to her. "That's hard," she said. "It's the seeking of truth. That's important because if you just stood around and didn't question anything, there wouldn't be any movement. I don't think that would create a good society. People should ask questions. The more you question something, the more you learn." SR