Frequently Asked Questions

A Philosothon adapts the hackathon format for philosophical inquiry. Instead of programming, teams collaborate on developing philosophical arguments and perspectives within a limited timeframe.

Not at all! We welcome students from any program with an interest in philosophy. The event is designed to be accessible to those with varying levels of philosophical background.

The event runs from 8:30AM to late evening on Monday, April 7th, and from 10:30AM to 2PM on Tuesday, April 8th. You should be prepared to dedicate most of Monday to the event.

Teams are created based on the preferences you indicate when signing up. You can request specific teammates, indicate whether you prefer working with people with similar or different interests, and specify if you'd like to mentor or be mentored.

You can request specific teammates on the sign-up form. If they also request you, we'll do our best to place you together. However, to maintain the experimental nature of the event, we'll limit pre-formed teams to maximize new connections.

Not at all. The team formation process is designed to create balanced teams. First-year students bring fresh perspectives that are valuable to philosophical discussion, and if you prefer, you can be paired with more experienced students who can provide guidance.

When you sign up, you'll rank the potential themes in order of preference. We'll use a ranked choice voting system to determine the winning theme, which will be announced at the opening of the event.

Each team will give a 10-minute presentation to the panel of judges. You have creative freedom in how you structure this, but it should clearly present your philosophical argument. Your presentation will be accompanied by a written component with more detailed argumentation and references.

The judges will primarily be graduate students in philosophy, with possible participation from faculty members. They are selected for their expertise relevant to the event themes.

Presentations will be judged on philosophical rigor, creativity, clarity, and how effectively they engage with the chosen theme. The judges will be looking for well-reasoned arguments that demonstrate both philosophical understanding and original thinking.