In the fall of 2024, with the generous support of donor Anita Angelini, the Department of Philosophy launched two new tri-campus prizes for excellence in undergraduate philosophical writing: the Spinoza Award and the Hypatia Award. The Spinoza Award honours the best philosophy essay by an undergraduate in their first two years of study, in any program. The Hypatia Award is bestowed on the best essay by a senior student enrolled in a Philosophy or Bioethics program (specialist, major or minor). The awards carry a prize of $2,250 each.
We received an extraordinary number of excellent submissions for the awards’ inaugural year, but two stood out above the rest: Dihan Niloy’s “The Impingement Account: A Peircean Response to Radical Skepticism” for the Hypatia Award, and “Kant and Spinoza on the Transcendental Ideality of Space” by Willow Macdonald for the Spinoza Award. We put a few questions to them about their experience with the competition:
Q: Why did you choose this particular essay for the competition? What are you proudest of, and what did you find the most challenging?
Niloy: This is a project I’ve been working on since I was in high school in 2019. Given that it’s basically my life’s work up to this point (funny to say that in undergrad), it was pretty natural to choose this essay. The core idea was to extend Cartesian and Humean skeptical arguments, and to combine them into a skepticism about all beliefs and cognitive faculties (and indeed, the very possibility of rational inquiry and thought). The most challenging part was looking for a solution, since part of the skeptical challenge was that even attempting to solve it is circular. Once I figured it out, it was also the part I was proudest of.
Macdonald: I chose this essay because it was the one that was the most fun to write and that I was the proudest of in my second year. The most challenging part of the essay was the portion on Kant. We did not end up doing as much Kant as I would have liked in the class the essay was for, so I decided to go through the Aesthetic on my own and write about it. Doing so was difficult because I could not rely on the lecture to fill in the gaps in my understanding. I’m happy with how it turned out; it’s the part of the essay I’m the proudest of.
Q: What does it mean to you to have been awarded this prize?
Niloy: It feels very vindicating and reassuring. I’m especially honored because there are plenty of incredible students in the department. Given that I’m always worried that I’m too ambitious with my ideas, it’s just wonderful to have someone tell me that my work turned out alright!
Macdonald: It means a lot! I was really flattered that such a brilliant group of professors thought highly of my essay. Also, it’s a little silly, but as someone who’s really interested in Spinoza, I’m pleased to have won an award named after him.
Q: Do you have any writing/time-management tips for fellow student philosophy writers?
Niloy: For a first draft, make a simple outline, then just write furiously without thinking or criticizing or editing at all until you finish a draft. Get it out on paper so that you can figure out the structure of your argument and the hard parts. Take walks and explain your ideas to a friend. Then go to office hours and work it out (can’t stress this part enough). For time management and productivity, start super early–ideally weeks early. Use blockers on your laptop and phone (I use Cold Turkey and Digital Detox). Also, the half-life of caffeine is about six hours, so don’t drink coffee past noon.
Macdonald: Schedule as much as you can! In the first two years of my degree, I took a bit of a haphazard approach when it came to reading and writing. It worked well enough, but eventually you get tired of doing your readings an hour before class starts. Since then, I’ve been dedicating the same time slots every week to reading and writing for specific classes, which has made my academic life a lot less stressful.
Q: What else do you enjoy beyond philosophy?
Niloy: I used to do pure math as a Math specialist, which was a ton of fun for a while. Otherwise, philosophy’s the only field for me. Outside of school, I’m a fan of Bojack Horseman, D&D, Skyrim, Soundgarden, and Hozier.
Macdonald: I used to take classes in the Literature and Critical Theory program, which were tons of fun, and I am planning on taking Latin over the summer so that I can read some early modern texts in their original language. Outside of class, I like spending my time cooking and watching movies. Claire Denis, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg are some of my favorite directors.
Q: Why did you choose philosophy as part of your degree program?
Niloy: I have a pretty classic reason. I just can’t stop asking deeper and deeper questions, until I’m unsure whether I even exist or think. I just couldn’t be happy without philosophy.
Macdonald: I’ve wanted to study philosophy since the 10th grade. I spent a lot of time during the lockdown reading philosophy, and it quickly became apparent to me that I would have to pursue it in undergrad. I went to U of T because of the strength of its Philosophy Department, and I have been really happy with that decision.
Q: What are you most excited about in philosophy at the moment?
Niloy: Metaethics. I’m especially curious these days about whether morality could be simultaneously human-created and mind-independent. A lot of people have especially been interested in metaethical neopragmatism and expressivism lately (there was a Dartmouth conference about it recently), which is super exciting. I’m actually applying to grad school for metaethics (and epistemology), so wish me luck!
Macdonald: I’ve been increasingly interested in analytic approaches to metaphysics from people like David Lewis and Jonathan Schaffer. In terms of recent developments in the field that I’m excited about, I’m very happy to see Émilie du Châtelet and Mary Shepherd getting more attention in the past few years. They are fantastic thinkers and I’m glad more people are getting exposed to their work.
Congratulations once again to Dihan Niloy and Willow Macdonald; we’re excited to see what you’ll write next!
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