Students Get HYPEd About Philosophy

A group of students at Souhegan High School are taking their thinking far outside of the classroom in order to better understand life’s big questions.

The Souhegan High School Ethics Forum, an extra-curricular program connected with the Senior Seminar Ethics course taught at Souhegan High School, will be holding a meeting with other philosophically-minded students from across the state this weekend.

Hosting Young Philosophy Enthusiasts (or HYPE) is a day of philosophical discussion between high school students from all over New Hampshire. It will be held at the NH Institute Of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester this year.

Ethics Forum co-director Emily Ballantyne said the forum will focus on the topic of progress, and will aim to answer what progress actually is.

This topic has been divided into two questions: “How has technological progress changed the standards of human interaction,” and “How has social progress changed the definition of a successful life from generation to generation?”

“We wanted to relate it to what kids are dealing with today,” said Ballantyne. “We wanted to make sure that everybody had some sort of opinion.”

The forum is student-led and divided into 50 minute discussions with groups of 12-13 students. Ballantyne said that they are expecting over 200 students, including 45 from SHS. The high schools participating this year include Spaulding, Milford, Oyster River, Holy Family, Concord, Merrimack, Bishop Brady and Bedford.

Nick Smith, a philosophy professor at the University of New Hampshire, will kick off the forum with a speech to get the kids motivated.

Co-director AnLi Kelly-Durham said that the conversation has little structure and the goal is to provide a relaxed atmosphere for students to discuss these issues.

“The conversation just kind of flows, it is pretty organic” said Kelly-Durham.

The forum has been taking place for about five years and was first held at Saint Anselm last year, according to Kelly-Durham. They have been working to grow the event each year and welcome more schools to participate.

She said that other high schools are working on getting their own ethics forums organized in their schools.

“It is such a good way to open your eyes to thinking,” said Kelly-Durham. “It pushes you to look at all perspectives.

Ballantyne said that her senior project at SHS is organizational leadership and HYPE is the best way to get many different people together for a common goal.

“There are so many conflicting personalities,” she said, “but when we get together, we make cool things happen.”