Questions is unique. It is the only journal in the world devoted to publishing young people’s philosophical work. We publish stories, short-form and research-length essays, visual art, poetry, photography, multimedia projects, lesson plans, and open-form reflections. 

For those unfamiliar with past issues, Questions features short essays, discussions, drawings and photographs, multimedia projects, poetry, and other philosophical work by K-12 students of all ages. The journal is published annually by the Philosophy Documentation Center. It is our goal to engage young people in advanced philosophical thinking through related and common works of art. 

All issues are comprised of unsolicited submissions from K-12 students. As part of our anonymous review selection, we consider all submissions for correctness, accuracy, and the quality of the work given the writer’s age.

WHAT WE PUBLISH:  

Questions publishes a variety of content written by various age groups in order to demonstrate different phases of philosophical inquiry. Questions accepts:

• Short essays
• Discussions
• Drawings
• Multimedia projects
• Photographs
• Poetry
• Lesson Plans
• Reflections, such as student writing about their classroom experiences/ reactions to philosophy
• Book reviews of philosophically interesting books for young people
• Other thought provoking ideas
• Teacher reflections

Read issue #25 on the theme of “The Unknown” here. Issue #26, on the theme of “What is patriotism?” will be available this fall.

For more information about Questions, including access to all issues with additional functions, please visit the Philosophy Documentation Center.

To mark PLATO’s 30th anniversary, we have launched a yearlong initiative for the 2026–2027 academic year to examine the purposes of education. As a core part of this global conversation, Issue #27 of Questions: Philosophy for Young People is dedicated to exploring the question: “Why go to school?”

Some questions you might consider: 

• What is the true purpose of school? 
• If you could design your own education, what would you choose to learn? 
• Should we have grades, exams, or other forms of assessments?
• If technology and artificial intelligence can answer facts instantly, how does this change what should happen in the classroom? Should schools ban AI, embrace it, or rethink how they assess understanding altogether? 
• Who are you becoming, and how much of that is shaped by school? What values guide your sense of success or what makes someone smart?
• How would you describe a healthy school community? 

For ethics case submissions, please see the Ethics Case Submission Guidelines tab.

PLATO’s online, open-access Ethics Case Library contains case studies written by middle school and high school students. The cases, about ethical dilemmas relevant to young students, can be used in classrooms and other ethics forums. Any middle school or high school student from anywhere in the world can help build the library by submitting a case. Accepted cases will be published in Questions as well as on PLATO’s website, with credit to the writers. All published cases become the property of PLATO.

Guidelines: Each case should focus on an ethical issue, current or perennial, relevant to middle and/or high school students. The case must consider the ethical issue from at least two viewpoints presented fully and generously, so that the complexity of the case is made clear. Each case must include 3-4 discussion questions for students analyzing the case.

Topics: Cases should involve issues not already addressed in the Ethics Case Library. Here are some suggestions for topics, though we welcome other topics not currently covered by the Library:

• Prediction markets (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/opinion/prediction-markets-reality-democracy.html)
  
  
• Is patriotism a virtue? What is an appropriate attitude toward one’s homeland?
  
  
• Should the US adopt national service?
  
  
• Is beauty objective, subjective, or some combination of both?
  
  
• Do genuine relationships require face-to-face interaction?
  
  
• Do Americans spend too many resources on pets? Do some pets live better lives than some humans do?
  
  
• Medical assistance in dying
  
  
• Taking down references to slavery/civil rights at national monuments
  
  
• Recreational hunting
  
  
• Traditional Indigenous hunting practices
  
  
• Age of medical emancipation (e.g., when young people are permitted privacy with their physicians; how much information about their teens’ medical appointments and diagnoses should parents/guardians be entitled to have?

Length: 300-500 words

Format: Cases should be sent in Wordor Rich Text File formats (.doc/.docx or .rtf). Please do not send files in PDF format.

Sample case: “Standing for the National Anthem” (also see past accepted cases in PLATO’s Ethics Case Library).

Authorship: Cases can be written by individuals or a group of students (all contributors will be credited).

Submission Limit: Students may submit up to two cases.

Please submit using the form on the right (below on mobile) or this link. 

JUDGING CRITERIA

All submissions are anonymously reviewed by a committee of judges according to the following criteria:

• Does the case clearly articulate the ethical issue and its ethical complications?
• Does the case explicitly consider at least two viewpoints in a balanced way?
• Is the case well-written and clearly organized?
• Is the case on a topic not already covered in PLATO’s Ethics Case Library?
• Is the case the student’s original work?

The PLATO Ethics Case Writing Project is designed to encourage students to engage in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and creative writing. This is, of course, an ethics project, and to uphold its integrity all submissions must be the student’s original work and must not be generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Copilot, or other text-based AI systems.

We encourage students to incorporate feedback received from teachers, peers, and mentors. However, the work submitted must reflect the student’s own critical thinking and writing ability.

Students must attest that they have not used AI in their work. Submissions found to have been AI-assisted will be disqualified.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

1. While we are always accepting submissions, the deadline for each issue is April 30.
   
   
2. Please submit using the form on the right (below on mobile) or this link. 
   
   
3. Written submissions should be sent in Wordor Rich Text File formats (.doc/.docx or .rtf) and please include a paragraph about yourself: your name, age, school, and the town/state/country in which you live. Please do not send files in PDF format.
   
   
4. Please cite and format scholarly articles according to the guidelines in the Chicago Manual of Style; use endnotes rather than footnotes.
   
   
5. Send images, whether photographs, drawings, paintings, etc., as uncompressed image files with at least a 300 dpi resolution.
   
   
6. Students must attest that they have not used AI in their work. Submissions found to have been AI-assisted will be disqualified. 
   
   
7. If you are a publisher and would like to send us a book to review, please mail the book to the address on our Contact Us.

Images—whether photographs, drawings, paintings—should be sent as JPEGS (with at least 300 dpi resolution). Written submissions should be sent in Word or Rich Text File formats (as doc, docx, or .rtf). Scholarly articles should confirm to the Chicago Manual of Style for textual and citation manners; please use endnotes rather than footnotes.

Be sure to include contact information with your submissions. A copyright release is needed for publication.

Stone Addington and Ariel Sykes, Editors-in-Chief

Alexandra Chang

Mitch Conway

Corey R. Horn

Jana Mohr Lone, Founder and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Stephen Miller

Christine Salama

Tucker Sechrest

Gabiya Tonkunas

Wendy Turgeon, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus