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2021 Winner: Nicholas Duguay

Nicholas Duguay is completing an Honours degree in Philosophy at Concordia University, where he also studied Mandarin. His primary interests in philosophy are in liberal theory and its critiques (from both Western and other philosophical traditions). In particular, Nicholas is interested in the state and its legitimacy, as well as in the debate between neutralists and perfectionists over whether the state can (and/or should) promote certain conceptions of the good. Beyond the classroom, Nicholas enjoys writing poetry and songs, cycling, and spending time with his family. Download the 2021 paper, The Problem of Stability: A Case for Civic Friendship in the Rawlsian Society. 2021 Short List Congratulations to the the following applicants whose papers were short listed for the Keenan Prize this year: Eleanor Hamilton from Concordia University – Putting the Judge in Prejudice Tyler Paetkau from University of Alberta – Environmental Racism and the Capabilities Approach to Justice: Private ...
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2020 Winner: Sophia Whicher

Sophia Whicher recently graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Philosophy and Ethics, Society and Law. She is especially interested in Ethics and the Philosophy of Emotions, and their intersection with the public sphere, including our political and legal systems. One of her favourite parts of her degree was being able to teach, and she hopes to incorporate teaching philosophy and the spirit of inquisitive learning it encourages into her future. Outside of her academic life, she enjoys travelling, drinking tea, and annoying her partner by tirelessly asking questions about everything. Legal Positivism and a Dynamic Picture of the Law Abstract: The question of whether there is a necessary connection between law and morality is one which manifests concretely in the aftermath of immoral legal systems. In this paper, I use the post-war German Grudge Informer cases as a lens through which to examine HLA Hart’s defence of the Separation Thesis. In thinking about what ...
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2019 Winner: Nelson Guedes

Nelson Guedes is a student at the University of Victoria majoring in Philosophy. He is working on a transdisciplinary theory that provides a strong foundation for knowledge. He plans to use his theory to address a wide variety of social-economic problems. His interests include, inter alia, general systems theory, complexity science, game theory, metaphysics, philosophy of law & political philosophy, Zen Buddhism and Taoism. Law as an Emergent Natural Phenomenon Abstract: Increasing instability in foreign relations threatens to breakdown the decentralized international legal order. In this paper, I examine the natural decentralized emergence of law, the difficulties the international legal order is facing and the sources of instability. I will then tap into insights from decentralized indigenous legal orders and use those insights to address the difficulties the international legal order is facing. Finally, I will briefly present a solution that creates a stable decentralized inter...
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2018 Winner: Hallam Willis

Hallam Willis is currently a student at the University of Toronto majoring in Philosophy, with an active interest in ethics, political theory, cognitive science, and mathematics. He has a Bachelors degree in Theology and a Masters degree in Theology, writing his thesis on the hermeneutical philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. Hal is especially interested in the ways that philosophy undergirds many disciplines, and he hopes to go on to graduate work. Good and Irony in the Dialectic of Liberalism Abstract: I contrast two “characters” in this essay, using them to argue for the ideal model of political agency: the Engaged Practical Reasoner. From this interpretation, I argue that the most fundamental social tie is accountability––the process of asking and answering the question “why?” 2018 Short List Congratulations to the the following applicants whose papers were short listed for the Keenan Prize for 2018! Carl Christian Abrahamsen from The University of Toronto – Empiricism, Metaphysics, and the...
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2017 Winner: Kelsey Vicars

Kelsey Vicars is both a recent graduate and current student at Simon Fraser University. She completed two bachelor’s degrees at SFU, including an honours degree in philosophy. She has just begun a Master’s degree at SFU. Kelsey has broad interests in philosophy: she is mainly interested in philosophy of science (specifically philosophy of physics, scientific and mathematical explanations, and neurophilosophy), ethics (specifically moral responsibility and the ethical implications of implicit bias), and political philosophy (specifically Indigenous philosophy). Implicit Bias and Emergent Moral Wrongs Abstract: My research will explore the normative structure of implicit bias. This project will focus on the philosophical implications of bias in social cognition, and will address the question of moral responsibility for implicit bias. I will argue that individual implicitly biased behaviours constitute moral harms, but are not themselves moral wrongs. This means that the average person is...
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2016 Winner: Joseph Baker

Joseph Baker, is a recent graduate (June 2016) from Carleton University’s Bachelor of Humanities Program. His research interest lies in a holistic engagement with the question of what philosophy is – namely one which can account simultaneously for its theoretical, ethical, political and pedagogical dimensions.  He is currently seeking admission to graduate programs in philosophy. The Thought of George Grant: The Meaning of Philosophy in Modern Times Abstract: George Grant thinks that philosophy (contemplation of the human good) is currently impossible and yet most necessary for moderns, who are self-ignorantly absorbed in their own freedom. For those who are most absorbed and ignorant it might paradoxically become possible through their longing. 2016 Short List Congratulations to the the following applicants whose papers were short listed for the Keenan Prize for 2016! Ariel Melamedoff from the University of Winnipeg – Posterity Measures: Progress and Peace in Immanuel Kant’s Polit...
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2015 Winner: Louis Ramirez

Louis Ramirez , from McGill University, is a busboy with dreams of one day becoming a philosophy teacher. In the little spare time that surviving the prior and striving for the latter leave him, he enjoys music, the company of his friends, tireless support of his family, and dancing to loud electronic music in dark rooms. Outside teaching, Louis’ research interests in philosophy ultimately stem from a desire for wisdom and happiness, something he feels contemporary philosophy has discarded as a valid topic of inquiry. He is presently interested in questions of personhood and mental health, as well as autonomy. The Autonomy Case for Regulating Hate Speech Abstract: Traditionally, considerations for personal autonomy have weighed into arguments in favor of tolerating hate speech. In this paper, I argue such considerations support regulating hate speech, and not tolerating it. 2015 Short List Congratulations to the the following applicants whose papers were short listed for the Keenan Pri...
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