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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 Self in Marx’s Philosophy of History
  • Graeme O’Farrell from Carleton University – On The Problem of Consent for Established States in Locke’s Second Treatise
  • Ziwei Lin from University of Toronto – Assessing Hegel’s Critique of A Priori Morality in the Phenomenology of the Spirit
  • Seshu Iyengar from University of New Brunswick – Impartiality and Justice: Friedman’s New, Classical Approach


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