The Ohio State University Philosophy and Critical Thinking (PACT) Summer Camp is a perfect introduction to philosophy and critical thinking. The weeklong summer learning program for high school students is designed by the Department of Philosophy. Professors and graduate students of the department lead various sessions and activities. The learning experiences is rigorous, engaging, and fun! Campers reflect on philosophical issues with their group and polish their critical thinking skills!
For the 2024 PACT Summer Camp, we are offering 2 week-long in-person sessions on different themes:
2024 Session 1 Theme: Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence
Dates and Times: June 10-14, 2024 from 9:00am to 4:00pm, plus additional after-camp programming until 6:30pm.
Questions we will explore through guest lectures from our world-class faculty, interactive discussions, media, and debates:
- Can a computer system be “intelligent” or “conscious”?
- How and why can “artificial intelligence” improve on human decision-making?
- How and why can the use of algorithms or machine learning improve the fairness of decision-making?
- How and why can it enshrine bias or other forms of injustice? Who is responsible when a self-driving car or a social media algorithm produces bad outcomes?
- Does the potential for super-intelligent autonomous AI systems pose an existential threat to humanity?
These are just some of the questions we'll discuss in our time together at PACT Session 1! See you there.
2024 Session 2 Theme: Science, Faith and Reality
Dates and Times: June 24-28, 2024 from 9:00am to 4:00pm, plus additional after-camp programming until 6:30pm.
Questions we will explore through guest lectures from our world-class faculty, interactive discussions, media, and debates:
- What is the nature of science?
- Are there important questions science can't answer?
- Is science aimed at truth or just at helping us to make useful predictions?
- Does God exist? Is belief in God a matter of reason or of faith?
- Can faith ever be rational?
- What is skepticism? Can it ever be rational?
- Do we have evidence that we live in a simulation or a multiverse?
- How do these ideas relate to questions about God?
These are just some of the questions we'll discuss in our time together at PACT Session 2! See you there.
