University of Melbourne Philosophy Excursion
On Friday 23 May, students from across the School visited the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. The event involved multiple guest presentations and lectures, exposing 32 Ivanhoe Grammar School students to contemporary philosophical debates currently being investigated in academia. Pitched at a robust academic level, students did exceptionally well in engaging with the complex abstract ideas presented throughout the day.
Students commenced with a visit to the famed Arts West Research Lounge, where Carley Tonoli spoke about the moral repercussions of cognitive offloading to Large Language Models. Students learnt about moral deskilling and the risks involved in allowing ourselves to defer judgment to algorithms. Students had some great ideas about this applied ethical issue, considering the limits of what is and is not acceptable use of AI. Following this, Kyle Blumberg introduced students to epistemology – the study of knowledge, where they conducted a conceptual analysis on the difference between beliefs and knowledge. Like most epistemic discussions, the students grappled with scepticism and whether knowledge requires certainty to count as knowledge.
After a quick break, students then dropped into a third-year university lecture by Associate Professor Karen Jones as part of the subject Race and Gender. The lecture covered the politics of hate speech and JS Mills harm principle. There, students investigated competing accounts of hate speech and uncovered the mechanics that distinguish it from other forms of speech. It was fantastic to see students engage with university students in the Socratic method, working together to attempt to resolve some outstanding issues in this field.
Following these three talks, students had lunch and a tour of the university. While the history of the Old Quad and the birth of the union movement in Victoria was interesting, revealing a part of Melbourne’s history that they were previously unaware of. The highlight of the tour was the university crepe stand where students devoured copious amounts of chocolate and cream.
Concluding their visit, students had one last guest talk by Kelly Herbison, who challenged students with the continental philosophy of phenomenology. Students investigated the phenomenological method and then applied it to art, learning how impressionist works reflect our relationship with our own embodiment.
The event provided a challenging but rewarding opportunity for students to contemplate many big questions being considered in contemporary academic philosophy. We are very grateful to our speakers, and to Mr Nelson and Mr Fotinopoulis for assisting with the organisation of this terrific event. We hope to offer similar opportunities in the future, so for all students interested in philosophy, ethics, and politics, keep an eye open for our next event!
