The Philosophy Department is pleased to open competition for The Philosophy Undergraduate Innovation and Research Awards. This program celebrates student achievement in rigorous analysis, innovative argumentation, and the creative authorship of essays, critiques and other papers.

Up to six awards will be made annually. These awards carry a prize of $125 each. Papers that have been written for any BGSU undergraduate course in Philosophy are eligible for the competition. All papers will be anonymously reviewed for originality, creativity, good writing and for superior comprehension and explication. The winning papers will be presented by their authors at a special spring semester conference at which undergraduate participants and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss both substantive philosophical issues and matters of professional development and scholarship. Since 2004, in a cooperative venture with the Department of Philosophy at Ohio Northern University, the competition and conference has been open to students from their department as well. For detailed information about the 2006 competition, click here. For a printable application form, click here.

Competition Winners

2002

• Betsy Barre, "Living After Loss: The Death of the Other as Catalyst for Authentic Living in Existentialist Thought."
• Meredith Briski, "Psychological Egoism: As Improbable as it is Illogical."
• Alex Frondorf, "Albert Camus and John Shelby Spong on the Problem of Natural Evil."
• Brystana Kaufman, "Scientific Explanation: A Subjective Endeavor."
• Jennifer Sproul, "Altruism: A Motivational Analysis."
• Donald S. Williams, "Did Socrates Commit Suicide?"

2003

• Charles Curry "A Rawlsian Response to Our Nation's Response to Terrorism."
• Dan Curtis "Terrorism Involving Non-combatants."
• Ajay Jetley "It's Not Our Fault, and I Have the Argument to Prove it."
• Andrew Kuntz "From Crisis to Conclusion."
• Donald Williams "Breaking the Circle: Piety and Justice in Euthyphro."

2004

• Jacob Castillo "Another Compatibilist ... From the Flip Side."
• Brent Domann "Ayer's Epistemological Skepticism on Scientific Theorization."
• Jason Dunlap "An Inquiry into the Psychological Continuity Criterion for Personal Identity."
• Nathan Howe (ONU) "The Minimum Condition Necessary for Deserving Moral Consideration."
• Peter Kuebeck "Aries and Death in The Hour of Death: the Final Reckoning."
• Eric Stencil "Determinism and Moral Responsibility."
• Levente Szentkirályi "Capitalism's Perpetuating Inequality."
• Timothy Underwood (ONU) "Justice in Same-Sex Marriage."

2005

• Matthew Gray "An Examination of the Moral Community."
• Kellie Drake "Death Systems: Past, Present and Future."
• Nicholas Huelsman (ONU) "Kierkegaardian Universality."
• Brandon Kyle (ONU) "A Reply to Findlay's Necessary Non-Existence of God."
• Benjamin Lucas "Discovering the Self: A Criminal Case Study."
• Bradley Showman "An Argument Against a Retributivist Theory of Punishment."
• Timothy Underwood (ONU) "Agency, Autonomy and the Ethics of Involuntary Commitment."
  

2006

• Brian Haring "What Can We Learn from Gattaca? Ethical Implications of Workplace Genetic Screening."
• Benjamin Kilbarger "Outline for a Diespositional Account of Moral Value."
• Zachary Martin "Can Epistemology be Naturalized?"

Rules And Procedures 1. The competition is open to all undergraduate students at Bowling Green State University. 2. Papers will be read by the Contest Director and the Contest Committee. Neither the Director nor the Committee will know the identity of the students submitting papers until after the papers have been evaluated. 3. Up to six awards will be made, including awards for the best paper written for Philosophy 101 or 102 and for the best paper demonstrating independent research. Fewer than six awards may be made in a given year if there are not enough submissions of high quality.

4. Papers are eligible for entry in the competition if they have been written for an undergraduate philosophy class since January 1 of the year prior to the submission deadline Papers may be revised for clarity before entry.

5. All papers must be submitted to the director by February 17.

6. All papers and their contents become the intellectual property of the Philosophy Department, which may publish, present or distribute them.

7. Papers selected for an award will be presented by their authors at a special undergraduate philosophy conference held in the spring.

8. All decisions of the Contest Director regarding the awarding of prizes and the procedures employed in connection with the competition are final.

For further information, contact:

Dr. Don Callen,
Philosophy Department, BGSU,
Tel. 372-8369 dcallen@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Or

Dr. Michael Bradie,
Philosophy Department, BGSU,
Tel. 372-8372 mbradie@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Department of Philosophy
305 Shatzel Hall,
Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, OH 43403.

Phone: 419-372-2117
Fax: 419-372-8191
Email: mdeluca@bgnet.bgsu.edu