Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

National Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

The National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics is an annual competition held in the Spring. It is open to all Undergraduate and Post Graduate Students enrolled in UK universities.
Students are invited to enter by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics.

Practical ethics is concerned with what we should do in any given situation. It reflects on personal, professional, policy, and social choices and structures and holds them up to scrutiny. It may balance or prioritise different values and interests.

Two undergraduate papers and two graduate papers will be shortlisted from those submitted to go forward to a public presentation and discussion, where the winner of each category will be selected.  

The winner from each category will receive a prize of £500, and the runner up £200. Revised versions of the two winning essays will be considered for publication in the Journal of Practical Ethics.

10th Uehiro Prize
Judges and finalists of the 2024 Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

Judges and Finalists (L-R): Ayesha Chakravarti, Dr Cristina Voinea, Jakob Lohmar, Prof Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Theo Naylor, Prof Roger Crisp, Wyatt Radzin

Announcing the Winners and Runners Up in the 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

HT24 Week 9, Tuesday 12th March, 5:30pm – 7:00 pm. 

Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2023, and in particular our winners, Wyatt Radzin and Jakob Lohmar. We would also like to thank our judges, Prof Roger Crisp, Prof Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Dr Cristina Voinea.

This, the final of the 10th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, was held on the 12th March in the Seminar Room of the Faculty of Philosophy, as well as online. During the final the four finalists presented their papers and ideas to an audience and responded to a short Q&A as the deciding round in the competition. A selection of the winning essays and honourable mentions will be published on the Practical Ethics Blog.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Wyatt Radzin: How to Say Things With Acts: Consumption as Language.

Runner Up: Ayesha Chakravarti: Feminist in the streets, sadomasochist in the sheets: Are you morally aligning yourself with women’s subordination if you engage in consensually inegalitarian sexual relationships?

Honourable Mentions: David Logan: When Eating Meat is OK: A Defence of Benign Carnivorism

Gabriel McWilliams: To What Extent Has Aristotle’s Conception of a Virtuous Character Remained Relevant in the Face of Situationist Criticism?

Graduate Category

Winner: Jakob Lohmar: The Moral Importance of Low Welfare Species

Runner Up: Theodore Naylor: Do Living-Wills Have Autonomous Authority When Applied to Patients in Advanced Stages of Dementia?

Honourable Mentions: Alexander (Sasha) Arridge: In Defence of Defensive Prejudice: Why We Should Believe That Men Are Trash

Esther Braun: Should We Prohibit Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques for Treating Infertility?

Beatrice Marchegiani: Undisclosed Conversational AIs: A Threat to Users’ Autonomy



 


 

How to take part

Stage 1: The Essay

Your essay of up to 2000 words may cover any topic relevant to practical ethics. The question to be addressed should be stated clearly in bold at the outset. References are permitted but not required.  The essay can draw upon existing published work but must be sufficiently original for it to be eligible for consideration for publication in the Journal of Practical Ethics. The focus of the marking will be on the quality and originality of your argument.

How to submit your entry:

  • Pre-prepare your submission for blind review by removing any identifying information from your manuscript.
  • Provide a separate title sheet with the title of your essay, your name and contact details, email address and a word count.
  • Please note that essays exceeding 2000 words may not be considered.
  • Footnotes and references are not included in the word count, however footnotes should be kept to a minimum.
  • Email both a pdf and Word version of your anonymised manuscript, plus the title sheet, to rocci.wilkinson@philosophy.ox.ac.uk by the closing date. 

Essays will be assessed based on quality and originality of argument, including:

  • Persuasiveness of argument
  • Critical acumen
  • Clarity of structure and content
  • Intelligent use of literature
  • Understanding of the topic
  • Originality
  • Potential for impact beyond the academy

Scores and feedback will not be generally provided. Feedback will be provided to the winners if their papers are invited to be submitted to the Journal of Practical Ethics. Anti-plagiarism software will be employed by the assessors.

Stage 2: Presentation Event
Shortlisted authors will be invited to the public presentation event. Before a panel of judges and the audience, they will each be asked to give a presentation of 15 minutes (maximum), explaining the key ideas of their paper. This will be followed by a 5 minute Q&A with the audience. Each finalist will be allowed a strict maximum of 20 minutes overall.

The panel will make a final judgement on each presentation, based on the same criteria as those used to assess the original essays, taking also into account the presenter’s capacity for communication with the audience.

After the presentation we invite the audience to join the finalists and judges at a drinks reception, during which the panel will announce the winners. Following which the finalists are invited to join the judging panel at a celebration dinner to be held in one of the Oxford colleges.

Finalists from outside of Oxford may have their travel and accommodation provided to allow them to attend this event in person, to be confirmed upon application.

 

Terms & Conditions

Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics: Terms & Conditions

By entering the Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, you agree to accept the following T&Cs:

 
Terms of Entry

  1. Entry to the Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics is free of charge. The Competition is funded by the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.
  2. The Competition is open to undergraduates and graduates enrolled in any University in the UK.
  3. All entries must be original and written by the entrant. Any essays that feature plagiarised material or that have been written with the use of AI will be disqualified. 
  4. Essays must be written by a single entrant, essays with multiple authors will not be considered.
  5. Essays may address any question pertinent to practical ethics.
  6.  Essays may not be longer than 2000 words. Any essay that exceeds this limit may be disqualified. Footnotes are not included in the final wordcount.
  7. All entries must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday 31st January 2024 . Late entries will not be considered. 

Essay Selection

  1. Shortlisted essays will be selected by the judging panel with assessment based on quality and originality of argument, including:
  • Persuasiveness of argument
  • Critical acumen
  • Clarity of structure and content
  • Intelligent use of literature
  • Understanding of the topic
  • Originality
  • Potential for impact beyond the academy
  1. Scores and feedback will not be provided. The exception to this is the two winners if their papers are invited to be submitted to the Journal of Practical Ethics.
  2. Anti-plagiarism software will be employed by the assessors. 
  3. The judging panel will be comprised of researchers from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and invited guest judges.
  4. The judges’ decision is final. 
  5. Shortlisted entrants will be contacted by a Wednesday 21st February 2024.

The Presentation Event

  1. The event will take place in Oxford, UK, on Tuesday 12th March, from 5:30pm. Finalists are invited to attend in person but may participate online if necessary. 
  2. There is no alternative prize available if participants are unable to attend the presentation. 
  3. Reasonable travel costs may be reimbursed for participants if necessary upon prior application.
  4. Accommodation costs may be reimbursed if accommodation is required due to length of journey, at the discretion of the Oxford Uehiro Centre. Please discuss with the Centre in advance of any booking. 
  5. The winner from each category will receive a prize of £500, and the runner up £200.
  6. The judging panel will be comprised of researchers from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and special guests.
  7. The judges’ decision is final. 
  8. Revised versions of the two winning essays will be considered for publication in the Journal of Practical Ethics.
  9. Videos and photographs may be taken during the event, for marketing and communications purposes. Images may be used in the Centre’s annual report and other marketing activities.
     

Expand All

Photograph of the finalists and judges of the 9th annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in practical ethics.

Judges and finalists (L-R): Prof E Harcourt, C Mizzell, Dr S Raskoff, L Sung, Prof R Crisp & L Joosten

Announcing the Winners and Runners Up in the 9th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

HT23 Week 9, Tuesday 14th March, 5:30pm – 7:00 pm. 

Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2023, and in particular our winners, Lukas Joosten and Avital Fried. We would also like to thank our judges, Prof Roger Crisp, Prof Edward Harcourt and Dr Sarah Raskoff.

This, the final of the 9th Annual National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, was held on the 14th March in the lecture theatre of the Faculty of Philosophy, as well as online. During the final the four finalists presented their papers and ideas to an audience and responded to a short Q&A as the deciding round in the competition. A selection of the winning essays and honourable mentions will be published on the Practical Ethics in the News blog.

Undergraduate Category:

Winner: Lukas Joosten, “Turning up the Hedonic Treadmill: Is it Morally Impermissible for Parents to Give Their Children a Luxurious Standard of Living?”

Runner Up: Chase Mizzell, “Against Using AI to Influence Our Future Selves in Ways That Bypass or Subvert Rationality”

Honourable Mentions: James French: How can we address the gender gap in anaesthesia and the wider medical workplace?

Leah O’Grady, “What is wrong with stating slurs?”

Tanae Rao, “Why the Responsibility Gap is Not a Compelling Objection to Lethal Autonomous Weapons”

Maria Rotaru, “Causal links and duties to past, present, and future generations: why and to whom do the affluent have moral obligations?”

Graduate Category:

Winner: Avital Fried, “Criminal Confessions and Content-Sensitive Testimonial Injustice”

Runner Up: Leora Urim Sung, “Should I Give or Save?”

Honourable Mentions:

Samuel Iglesias, “Ethical Biological Naturalism and the Case Against Moral Status for AIs”

Thomas Long, “The Ambiguous Ethicality of Applause: Ethnography’s Uncomfortable Challenge to the Ethical Subject”

Pablo Neira, “Why Preventing Predation Can Be a Morally Right Cause for Effective Altruism?”

Kyle van Oosterum, “How Confucian Harmony Can Help Us Deal With Echo Chambers”

Trenton Andrew Sewell, “Should Social Media Companies Use Artificial Intelligence to Automate Content Moderation on their Platforms and, if so, Under What Conditions?”

James Shearer, “Do we have an Obligation to Diversify our Media Consumption?”

Lucy Simpson, “Why Our Actions Matter: The Case for Fluid Moral Status.”

Announcement of the Winners of the 8th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 

HT22 Week 9, Tuesday 15th March, 5:30pm – 7:00 pm. 

Please join us in congratulating all four of the finalists in the National Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2022, and in particular our winners, Matthew Price and Lily Moore-Eissenberg.

This, the 8th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was, for the first time, held as a National competition. From 5:30pm on the 15th March, in the lecture theatre of the Faculty of Philosophy, as well as online, the four finalists presented their papers and ideas to an audience and responded to a short Q&A as the final round in the competition. 

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Matthew Price - Why We Should Negatively Discount the Well-Being of Future Generations

Runner Up: Leo Rogers - Terra nullius, populus sine terra: who may settle Antarctica?

Honourable Mentions: Lukas Joosten - When Money Can’t Buy Happiness: Does Our Duty to Assist the Needy Require Us to Befriend the Lonely?

Alexander Scoby - Why don’t we just let the wise rule?!

 

Graduate Category

Winner: Lily Moore-Eissenberg - Legal Proof and Structural Injustice: Should jurors be given information about structural racism?

Runner Up: Avital Fried - Statistical Evidence and the Criminal Verdict Asymmetry

Honourable Mentions: Lise du Buisson - How should career choice ethics address ignorance-related harms?

Kabir Singh Bakshi - Against Broome’s ‘Against Denialism’

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2021

Please join us in congratulating all of the finalists in this final for the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, and in particular our winners, Imogen Rivers and Lily Moore-Eissenberg.

As the UK continues to be in lockdown due to the pandemic, the 7th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was again held as a Zoom webinar event. The Finalists in each category presented their ideas to an online audience and responded to a short Q&A as the final round in the competition.

When: Wednesday 10th March, 5pm – 6:30 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Imogen Rivers: Against Making a Difference

Runner Up:Tanae Rao: Why, if at all, is it unethical for universities to prioritise applicants related to their alumni

Honourable Mention: Edward Lamb: ‘Rational Departure’: What Does Stoicism Reveal About Contemporary Attitudes Towards Suicide?

Graduate Category

Winner: Lily Moore-Eissenberg: Causing People to Exist and Compensating Existing People. Does the nonidentity problem undermine the case for reparations?

Joint Runners Up: Rebecca L Clark: Should Feminists endorse a Universal Basic Income  &

Oshmita Ray: May the use of violent civil disobedience be justified as a response to institutional racism?

Honourable Mention: Jules Desai: Is there a moral difference between Corpses biological and artificial?

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2020

Please join us in congratulating all of the finalists in this unique final for the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics, and in particular our winners, Eric Sheng and Maya Krishnan.

In an Oxford Uehiro Centre first the 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics was held as a Zoom webinar event. The Finalists in each category presented their ideas to an online audience and responded to a short Q&A as the final round in the competition.

When: Mar 19, 2020 05:30 PM London

Topic: 6th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Eric Sheng: Why is virtual wrongdoing morally disquieting, insofar as it is?

Runner Up: Toby S. Lowther: Can science ethically make use of data which was gathered by unethical means?

Honourable Mention: Angelo Ryu: What, if anything, is wrong about algorithmic administration?

Graduate Category

Winner: Maya Krishnan: Can it be wrong for victims to report crimes?

Runner Up: Matthew John Minehan: Post-Sally and the minimally conscious mollusc

Honourable Mention: Brian Wong: An account of attitudinal duties towards injustice (Graduate)

Honourable Mention: Tess Johnson: Enhancing the Critique: What’s wrong with the collectivist critique and what can the relational approach contribute? (Graduate)

Honourable Mention: Tena Thau: Effective Altruism and Intersectional Feminism (Graduate)

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2019

The 5th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception

HT19 Week 8, Wednesday 6th March, 4:30 – 5:45 pm.

The Presentation was held in St Luke’s Chapel, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford OX2 6HT, followed by a drinks reception until 7:00 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Harry Lloyd with his essay “What, if anything, is objectionable about gentrification?”

Runner Up: Angelo Ryu with his essay “Do Jurors Have a Moral Obligation to Avoid Deadlock?”

Graduate Category

Winner: Tena Thau with her essay “Love Drugs and Expanding the Romantic Circle”

Joint Runners Up: Miles Kellerman with his essay “The Ethical Dilemma of Disclosing Offshore Accounts” and Brian Wong with his essay “Should We Contact Uncontacted Peoples?: A Case for a Samaritan Rescue Principle”

Honourable Mention: Maximilian Kiener: “Consent and Causation”

Honourable Mention: Michelle Lee:  “Practical Ethics of Machine Learning and Discriminatory Lending”

Honourable Mention: Robert Underwood:  “Killing to Communicate”

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2018

The 4th Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception

HT18 Week 6, Thursday 22nd February, 4.00 – 5.50 pm.

The Presentation was held in Seminar Room 1, Oxford Martin School (corner of Catte St and Broad St), followed by a drinks reception in Seminar room 2 until 7:00 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Jonathan Latimer with his essay ‘Why we Should Genetically ‘Disenhance’ Animals Used in Factory Farms’

Runner Up: Brian Wong with his essay ‘On Relational Injustice: Could Colonialism Have Been Wrong Even if it Had Introduced More Benefits Than Harms?’

Graduate Category

Winner: Miles Unterreiner with his essay ‘The Paradox of the Benefiting Samaritan’

Runner Up: James Kirkpatrick with his essay ‘When is Sex With Conjoined Twins Permissible?’

Honorable Mention: Tena Thau with her essay ‘Should Cryonics be Compulsory?’

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2017

The 3rd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception

HT17 Week 7, Wednesday 1st March, 4.00 – 5.50 pm.

The Presentation was held in Seminar Room 1, Oxford Martin School (corner of Catte St and Broad St), followed by a drinks reception in Seminar room 2 until 7:00 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Paul de Font-Reaulx, with his essay ‘What Makes Discrimination Wrong?’

Runner up: Andreas Masvie with his essay ‘The Ethical Dilemma of Youth Politics’.

Honourable Mention: Isabel Canfield: ‘Secondary Intention in Euthanasia’.

Graduate Category

Winner: Romy Eskens with her essay ‘Is Sex With Robots rape? On the Permissibility of Cosentless Sex With Robots’.

Runner up: Jonas Haeg with his essay ‘Should We Completely Ban “Political Bots”?’

Honourable Mention: Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette: ‘Prostitution: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Sell It.’

Honourable Mention: Fergus Peace: ‘Global Warming and Vegetarianism: What should I do, when what I do makes no difference?’

Honourable Mention: Rebecca Buxton: ‘In It To Win It: Is Prize Giving Bad for Philosophy?’

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2016

The 2nd Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception

HT16 Week 7, Wednesday 2nd March, 4.00 – 5.50 pm.

The Presentation was held in Seminar Room 1, Oxford Martin School (corner of Catte St and Broad St), followed by a drinks reception in Seminar room 2 until 6.45 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Joint Winners:  Carolina Flores Henrique, with her essay ‘Should feminists in rich countries shift their focus to international development?’ & Thomas Sittler with his essay ‘How should vegetarians actually live? A reply to Xavier Cohen’.

Honourable Mention: Mahmoud Ghanem “Should we take moral advice from our computers?” 

Honourable Mention: Raphael Hogarth “Are offensive jokes permissible if they’re funny?” 

Graduate Category

Winner: Joseph Bowen with his essay ‘Necessity and liability’.

Runner up: Benjamin Lange with his essay ‘Should you switch to an altruistic career?’

Honourable Mention: Sofiane Croisier “Brexit and morality” 

Honourable Mention: Benjamin Koons “Justice of punitive war” 

Honourable Mention: Areti Theofilopuolou “Is graffiti morally permissible?” 

Honourable Mention: Carissa Veliz“On holding ethicists to higher moral standards” 

Congratulations to our Winners and Runners up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics 2015

The 1st Annual Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Final Presentation and Reception

HT15 Week 8, Thursday 12th March 2015 4:30 – 5:50pm.

The Presentation was held in Seminar Room 1, Oxford Martin School (corner of Catte St and Broad St), followed by a drinks reception in Seminar room 2 until 6.45 pm.

Undergraduate Category

Winner: Xavier Cohen with his essay: How Should Vegans Live?

Runner Up: Dillon Bowen with his essay “The Economics of Morality”

Honourable Mention: Benedict Hardwick: Can a Contractarian Rationally Donate to Charity?

Honourable Mention: Fionn O’Donovan: In light of the value of personal relationships, is immortality desirable?

Graduate Category:

Winner: Jessica Laimann with her essay:  Is prohibition of breast implants a good way to undermine harmful and unequal social norms?

Runner Up: Miles Unterreiner with his essay “Going Viral: Contagion and the Limits of Free Speech”

Honourable Mention: C’zar Bernstein: Arguing About Guns

Honourable Mention: Catrin Gibson:   If one is genuinely concerned with the welfare of non-human animals, should one seriously consider the disenhancement of intensively-farmed livestock as a possible method of reducing animal suffering?

Honourable Mention: Callum Hackett: Giving Ourselves Away.

Podcast of the final presentations is available here: http://media.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/uehiro/HT15_essay_prize.mp3