Witherspoon Forum
About
The Witherspoon Forum provides a space for high school students who are serious about their studies to discuss foundational questions of human existence and contemporary cultural issues in dialogue with their peers and Witherspoon’s seminar leaders.
Each academic year, the Forum features five three-part virtual seminars that explore a common theme through interdisciplinary approaches, including political theory, philosophy, theology, and history. No subject matter expertise is expected, and no grades are assigned. Instead, the Forum seeks to foster rigorous conversation, meaningful reflection on fundamental questions, and intellectual friendship.
Open to students in grades ten, eleven, and twelve, applicants are invited to specify which seminars they plan to attend. If accepted, students commit to attending these seminars. Those who attend three or more seminars throughout the year will be recognized as Witherspoon Scholars. They will also receive priority consideration for the Witherspoon Institute’s week-long, summer seminar in Princeton, Moral Life and the Classical Tradition.
Minds and Machines
The Forum’s 2024-2025 theme is “Minds and Machines.” Throughout the academic year, we will reflect on the most pressing philosophical and theological questions arising from life in a technological society. We will explore how new technologies are reshaping our ideas about God, humanity, and the cosmos, and what a humanistic response might look like. We will bring key thinkers and ideas from philosophical and religious traditions into dialogue with contemporary debates in ethics, politics, and culture. What does it mean to be human in a scientific and technological age? How might we order our souls and organize our society?
Applications will open August 2024. Sign up below for notification of when applications open.
Fall 2024
A.I. and Religious Belief
Dates TBD
Technology and Human Agency
Dates TBD
Spring 2025
Genetic Engineering and Human Nature
Dates TBD
The Surveillance State and Society
Dates TBD
Transhumanism and Death
Dates TBD