Truth Seekers: Debating the Big Questions
SAT Score Range
•
5 sessions
•
MR
•
🔥 9 spots left!
Home
About
This series is part of Schoolhouse Summer Camp! Explore Summer Camp
About
Welcome to Truth Seekers, a thought-provoking summer series for curious minds ready to tackle the biggest questions of existence. We’ll blend philosophy, logic, and tech-fueled hypotheticals to debate ideas like “What is truth?”, “Do we have free will?”, and “Can machines be moral?” Through Socratic dialogue, interactive polls, and AI-fueled discussion starters, we’ll explore classical thought and modern dilemmas in a way that’s fun, challenging, and teen-relevant. If you’ve ever stayed up at 2AM questioning reality, this is your home.
Tutored by
Hey, I am Ashi I am from India, a high school senior and had prep for JEE for 3 years. I plan on going to UofT While my passion is AI, knowing its vast capabilities but I still love maths and physics I am also a poet btw, so if ever plan on doing any thing metaphorical or just having a chat about AI, feel free to DM me!
✋ ATTENDANCE POLICY
Feel free to come and start discussing
SESSION 1
7
Jul
SESSION 1
Other Topics
Other Topics
Mon 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTCJul 7, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTC
🧠 Session 1: What Is Truth, Anyway?
Welcome to the first step down the philosophical rabbit hole. In this session, we’ll crack open one of the oldest — and most frustrating — questions humans have ever asked: What is truth? Is it objective, or do we each have our own version? Can we trust our senses, or are we all just living in Plato’s cave staring at shadows?
We’ll look at how truth is shaped (or distorted) in the age of AI, deepfakes, and algorithm-fed realities. Expect a live thought experiment, some hot debate, and questions that might just mess with your head — in the best way.
Big Question: If we can’t agree on what’s real… can we ever know what’s true?
SESSION 2
14
Jul
SESSION 2
Other Topics
Other Topics
Mon 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTCJul 14, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTC
🕹 Session 2: Are We Living in a Simulation?
Glitches in the Matrix, déjà vu, pixelated realities — let’s talk simulation theory. We’ll dive into philosopher Nick Bostrom’s famous argument that we might just be characters in a hyper-real video game run by future beings (or worse… middle schoolers).
We’ll explore what makes a world real, how AI-generated environments blur the line, and yes — you’ll ask ChatGPT if it believes it’s real (and deal with whatever creepy answer it gives you).
Big Question: If this is a simulation… does that change how you live?
SESSION 3
21
Jul
SESSION 3
Other Topics
Other Topics
Mon 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTCJul 21, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTC
🧬 Session 3: Do Humans Really Have Free Will?
Are you choosing to read this — or did your brain make that decision before you even knew it? Enter the rabbit hole of neuroscience, determinism, and the uncomfortable possibility that free will is just a very convincing illusion.
We’ll talk about brain experiments, behavioral prediction (like how Netflix knows what you’ll binge next), and whether an AI could make better decisions than you. Prepare to have your sense of control gently (or not-so-gently) dismantled.
Big Question: If your choices are predictable… are they really yours?
SESSION 4
28
Jul
SESSION 4
Other Topics
Other Topics
Mon 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTCJul 28, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTC
☠️ Session 4: Why Do We Fear Death?
Let’s talk about the question we all avoid: death. Why does it scare us? Is it the end, a transition, or just a cosmic respawn button? We’ll explore legacy, digital immortality (upload your mind, anyone?), and how AI might change what it means to “live on.”
You’ll journal your own “immortality prompt” and reflect on who you’d become if life had no finish line.
Big Question: Would living forever give life meaning — or take it away?
SESSION 5
4
Aug
SESSION 5
Other Topics
Other Topics
Mon 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTCAug 4, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM UTC
🤖 Session 5: Can Machines Be Moral?
Can a machine understand right and wrong — or just fake it well enough to fool us? In this finale, we’ll face the hard questions around AI ethics: war drones, biased algorithms, self-driving cars making literal life-or-death calls.
We’ll debate whether morality needs consciousness, or if logic and data are enough. This one’s all about wrestling with the tech we’re already unleashing into the world — and asking if it’s ready (or if we are).
Big Question: Is morality something you feel, or something you compute?