On November 26, IKBFU held the opening ceremony of the final stage of the Second International Philosophy Olympiad.
1200 students from 24 countries applied for the contest. In the online stage 620 participants submitted their essays. 50 winners are taking part in the final stage in Kaliningrad. Among them are students from Belarus, Cyprus, France, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Spain, representing the leading universities of their countries — St. Petersburg State University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, IKBFU, Southern Federal University, Higher School of Economics, French Ecole Du Centre Ouest des Avocats, University of Nicosia of Cyprus, Belarusian State University, Iranian University of Tehran and University of Tabriz, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after B. N. Yeltsin, Spanish Universidad de Granada and others.
At the opening ceremony, Acting Rector Maxim Demin noted that the International Philosophy Olympiad for Students, along with the International Kant Congress organised by IKBFU in April 2024, are the key events dedicated to the anniversary of the great philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Student philosophy is no less important, and perhaps even more significant in among the intellectual and scientific projects within the framework of #Kant300. The students competing over the next three days will shape the philosophical-scientific community and the ethical agenda of our society in the near future. We have gathered the best of the best — the competition was truly fierce. And I am pleased to see each student here, at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. Intellectual competitions, tours to the places Immanuel Kant lived and worked at,as well as lectures by the world’s leading scientists and philosophers await you!
Philosophy remains the most important field in the modern structure of scientific knowledge, providing the methodology of scientific inquiry and serving as a platform for interdisciplinary synthesis of sciences. Philosophy gives humanity the freedom of creative thought and guidance in all facets of our lives.
Initiated by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, the Olympiad is taking place for the second time. Mikhail Mishustin proposed the idea in 2021 during the discussion on the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant is not only an outstanding German philosopher, but also an honorary foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Interestingly, in 1794 Kant was elected to the Academy not as a philosopher, but as a scientist in the fields of natural history, physics and geography. And this year’s Philosophy Olympiad coincides with the events in honour of Immanuel Kant’s anniversary. IKBFU is not only organising a large-scale humanitarian competition, but is also creating conditions for networking between young researchers — this is the basis of the scientific community. Scientists will be able to cooperate or healthily compete if they know and understand each other personally. That is the great merit of such events.
At the opening ceremony M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Theatre performed a play about a philosophical dispute about the nature of freedom.
From 26 to 28 November the final round of the Olympiad will take place. Leading researchers of philosophy in Russia and Belarus — Nina A. Dmitrieva, Alexei P. Kozyrev, Tatiana G. Rumyantseva, Andrei A. Teslya, Roman V. Svetlov, Vadim V. Vasilyev — will give lectures for the guests and participants of the Olympiad.
The winners of the Olympiad will be announced on 29 November in the 14th century Kaliningrad Cathedral.
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin proposed to organise a large-scale philosophical competition in 2021 during his visit to Kaliningrad. The first Philosophy Olympiad was organised by IKBFU and Lomonosov Moscow State University with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
