Paul Castles

Aanya Padhi is a junior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California. She is interested in applied ethics and political philosophy and is active in advocacy work to overturn wrongful convictions and address prosecutorial misconduct. Aanya is also a member of PLATO’s Student Advisory Council. I remember the moment when the world stopped being … Our First Ethics Bowl: Creating a Space for Ethical Dialogue

Marcello Oreste Fiocco is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine.  A metaphysician and epistemologist, he is the author of a number of papers in leading journals and of Time and the World: Every Thing and Then Some (Oxford University Press, 2024). I founded TH!NK in the spring of 2015, within a couple … TH!NK, Now More than Ever

Ellis Sobers is a high school freshman with a passion for philosophy, particularly Stoicism. In her blog and Tedx Talk, she focuses on how Stoicism can help us through everyday situations and can positively affect our lives while repairing political divisiveness.   A year ago, when I was on the line at a track meet … How Stoicism Helps Fill Our Present-day Void

Karen S. Emmerman is PLATO’s Education Director. As the end of the school year in Seattle approaches, I have been thinking about my role as Philosopher-in-Residence (PIR) and how it plays out over the course of a week. I tend to think in daily increments rather than weekly, focusing largely on what classes I will … A Week in the Life of a Philosopher-in-Residence

Edward Gelman is an undergraduate at Columbia University studying philosophy and Germanic languages. He is dedicated to applying ethical frameworks to contemporary social issues. I was the captain of my high school’s Ethics Bowl team, the student who stayed after school arguing about trolley problems and corporate responsibility. Still, my moral imagination had its limits. … Radical Conversation and the Work of Leadership 

Dr. Anne van Leeuwen is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at James Madison University. In her now classic book on pedagogy, bell hooks writes that education is enabling, that it “enhance[s] our capacity to be free.” Studying philosophy embodies this promise of freedom and equality precisely because it encourages a use of reason that is … Practicing Philosophy with Kids in the Shenandoah Valley

Karen S. Emmerman is PLATO’s Education Director. Some readers of Wondering Aloud will know that I have a long-standing interest in building philosophical skills in ways that are joyful and themselves philosophical. To be together in a community of philosophical inquiry requires that we all articulate our ideas as clearly as possible and also ask … Thinking Clearly Through Art

My name is Naphat Prateepveruriya (my nickname is In). I’m a 4th grade student at International Community School (ICS) in Bangkok. I really love my school because it is a place where we care about “who we are” as much as “what we learn.” My teachers always encourage us to be curious, and since my … Why I Wonder

Jana Mohr Lone is PLATO’s Executive Director. I Am Henry Finch by Alexis Deacon (illustrations by Viviane Schwarz) tells the story of Henry, a member of a community of finches, all of whom think and act alike. The flock is always together, and they do the same things, day after day. They are never quiet; … I Am Henry Finch: Identity, Courage, and Thinking for Yourself

Peter Fristedt is a member of PLATO’s Academic Advisory Board. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Stony Brook University and has published scholarship on ethics, Continental philosophy, and the philosophy of history.  I recently had the opportunity to attend a screening of the new documentary film “The Bowl,” from Ethereal Films and filmmaker Eli … “The Bowl” – A New Documentary Showcases High School Ethics Bowl