Philosophy Club

I began to attend philosophy club workshops in the fall of 2007. We discussed various issues such as ethics and existence in several meetings after school for two months. Then, we began to meet once every week to arrange the first Enka Philosophy day. I was present in the workshops we had after school, and in the end I was given parts from Goethe’s Faust to read in between the speeches of the other participants.
We had Professor Saffet Murat Tura, a famous psychologist who also has works in the philosophy field, come to our school for a panel. We asked him questions about existence and ethical values. He had some interesting insight on how the value given to people evolved over time, especially between the Industrial Age and the beginning of the 21st century.
About two weeks before the presentation, we had some strong arguments about the language of the presentation. Some participants believed that the higher mode of address of philosophy should be kept, while others argued that the presentation was being made to high school students and should therefore be understandable. I thought that the argument itself was a topic for the philosophy day, since it was debatable and both sides had valid points. In the end though, the students who wanted to keep the complex language of their speeches did so, while others made their speeches a bit simpler.
In January, we had the first Enka Philosophy day and it was great! We received some positive feedback regarding how we had combined acting and philosophy by adding incorporating Faust into the presentation.
In April, we attended the 2nd Annual Ethics Forum at Yüzyılışıl High School. In my committee, we discussed the ethics of interfering with the genetics of a fetus to create a baby that fits the view of society, with special focus on gender identity and sexual orientation. In the end, I was chosen to be the Most Adept Speaker, and was also selected to explain our committee’s conclusion in the closing ceremony.

Even though I could not contribute to the Philosophy Club’s activities in my senior year, I learned many things through discussions with my peers and speeches that we’ve heard during various workshops. I believe that the Philosophy Club broadened my understanding of people, norms and culture. I hope to take some philosophy lessons when I go to college.