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International Philosophy Olympiad
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Chile Colombia Croatia Estonia India Israel Paraguay Slovenia Ukraine
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Topics
2009 (Finland) I. "If, then, there is some end of the things we do, which we desire for its own sake (everything else being desired for the sake of this), and if we do not choose everything for the sake of something else (for at that rate the process would go on to infinity, so that our desire would be empty and vain), clearly this must be the good and the chief good." (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics) II. In accordance with reason there is only one way that states in relation with one another can leave the lawless condition, which involves nothing but war; it is that, like individual human beings, they give up their savage (lawless) freedom, accommodate themselves to public coercive laws, and so form an (always growing) state of nations (civitas gentium) that would finaly encompass all the nations of the earth. (Immanuel Kant, Toward Perpetual Peace) III. Must a work of art be beautiful in order to be a work of art, or many a work of art be ugly as well? If the later is possible, why should we take interest in it? IV. It is not just the existence of God, but rather the very coherence of the idea of God, that is problematic.
2007 (Turkey) It follows, plainly, from the explanation given above, of
the foundation of state, the ultimate aim of government is not to rule, or
restrain, by fear, nor to exact obedience, but contrariwise, to free every man
from fear, that he may live in all possible security; in other words, the
strengthen his natural right to exist and work, without injury to himself and
others.
2006 (Italy) For a large classes of cases - though not for all - in which
we employ the word "meaning" it can be defined thus: the meaning of a word is
its use in the language. To know a thing we must love it, and to
love a thing we must know it.
2005 (Poland) If I had to choose between betraying my
country and betraying my friend, I hope l should have the guts to betray my
country. Hedonism, pessimism, utilitarism,
eudemonism - all these systems that measure the value of things taking into
account the pleasure or pain that go along with them, that is to
say, according to any non-core condition or facts, arę seen as if they do not go
in depth and being naive. Any man with his constructive faculty in place
and a conscience of an artist, can only regard this with irony and pity from a
distance." ( Language is a labyrinth of paths. You
approach from one side and know your way about; you approach the same
place from another side and no longer know your way about'." 2004 (South Korea) (Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals, 3-24) In fact, history does not belong to us, but we belong to
history. 2003 (Argentina) The maxims of the philosophers on the conditions under which
public peace is possible shall be consulted by states which are armed for war. The existence of this inclination to aggression, which we can
detect in our selves and justly assume to be present in others, is the factor
which disturbs our relations with our neighbour and which forces civilisation
into such a high expenditure of energy. In consequence of this primary mutual
hostility of human beings, civilised society is perpetually threatened with
disintegration. 2002 (Japan) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it. But to be able to say that a point is black or white, I must
first know under what conditions a point is called white or black; in order to
be able to say: "p" is true (or false), I must have determined under what
conditions I call "p" true, and thereby determine the sense of the proposition.
It is another paradox, but God as the true absolute must be
Satan too. Only then can God be said to be truly omniscient and omnipotent. [¡¦]
The absolute God must include absolute negation within himself, and must be the
God who descends into ultimate evil. 2001 (USA) If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are
intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the
onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance
with them. I just had to consult myself about what I want to do,
everything I feel to be good is good, everything I feel to be bad is bad¡¦ Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without
a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition, which is
called war; and such a war as is of every man, against every man. 2000 (Germany) The passing from the state of nature to civil society
produces a remarkable change in man; it puts justice as a rule of conduct in the
place of instinct, and gives his actions the moral quality they previously
lacked. (Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract) A process which led from the amoeba to man appeared to the
philosophers to be obviously a progress - though whether the amoeba would agree
with this opinion is not known.
1999 (Hungary) Desire is the essence of the human being. What we call 'laws' are hypotheses or conjectures which
always form a part of some larger system of theories and which, therefore, can
never be tested in isolation. 1998 (Romania) Wir sehen die Welt so, wie wir sie sehen wollen. Der Mensch wird durch die anderen geschaffen. Ubrigens ist mir alles verhaert, was mich bloss belehrt, ohne
meine Tatigkeit zu vermehren oder unmittelbar zu beleben. 1997 (Poland) Justice without force is powerless, force without justice is
tyrannical. (Pascal) The idea that one should seek the truth for its own sake
doesn't make sense to us pragmatists. We cannot regard the truth as the aim of
an investigation. The aim of an investigation is rather to come to an agreement
between people about what to do and about the intended ends as well as the
means, which we can realize these ends with. [...] All the descriptions we can
give of things are descriptions which conform with our ends. [...] All we have
to know is whether there are competing descriptions which are more useful to our
purposes. 1996 (Turkey) The evil in the world originates always from ignorance, and
good will may cause as much damage as malice, if it is not enlightened. The limits of your language are the limits of your world. So act that you treat humanity in your person, as well as in
the person of every other human being, also as a goal, never as a means.
1995 (Bulgaria) Actually it is impossible for us to consider ourselves
non-existent. Should we start from the premise that one is totally
forbidden to do injustice, or should we consider that under some circumstances
that is permitted? To be a philosopher means to travel all the time; questions
in philosophy are more essential than answers. 1994 (Bulgaria) Wo ist die Zeit geblieben? Bin ich nicht in einen tiefen
Brunnen gefallen? Die Welt schlaft. Wenn Beine und Arme einen eigenen Willen hatten, waren sie
nicht (in der Lage der) Glieder geblieben. (Pascal) 1993 (Bulgaria) Children are antiquities. Everything we see could be otherwise. Without "now" there wouldn't be time and without time there
wouldn't be "now". |