The Philos-Sophia Initiative Foundation extends its gratitude to all the students who participated in the inaugural Philos-Sophia Essay Contest. We were privileged to read many insightful reflections by a number of talented young minds deeply committed to truth, and have great hopes for them and the impact they are sure to exert upon their public, private, and academic communities in the years to come.
Results
After careful consideration, a winner was selected. However, we are unable to award the Grand Prize scholarship, as the winner’s parents have elected to decline it.
It is, nonetheless, our great pleasure to announce two Honorable Mentions, each of whom shall receive a $500 scholarship prize from the Foundation this school year.
Honorable Mentions
Jill Cook — a rising senior of the Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family in Downers Grove — presented a rigorous teleological argument for the priority of the Good and its necessity for a fully human existence, accounting for the general malaise of modern man who subjugates his natural end to fleeting material and utilitarian comforts.
Jorge Rodriguez — a recent graduate of St. Thomas More Academy in Raleigh who begins at Amherst College this fall — presented his reflections in the classic “personal essay” style, stressing the importance of considering opposing viewpoints in the philosophical life, and highlighting the value of prephilosophical truth achieved in disciplines like literature and history.
A Final Word
The Foundation also extends its hearty thanks to all those who assisted in the promotion of this contest throughout their schools, academic associations and communities. We expect this to be the first of many contests, and your assistance in getting the word out about them — and indeed about the Initiative itself — is both vital and greatly appreciated.
