What is the John Locke Essay Competition?
Hosted by the John Locke Institute, the John Locke Institute Essay Competition is an independent educational organization located in Oxford, UK. Professors at the John Locke Institute are from famous universities like Oxford, Princeton, Brown, and Buckingham University. Last year, the competition attracted over 34,823 contestants from around the world.
What’s New in the 2025 John Locke Essay Competition?
1. Thought-Provoking Topics
Each year, the John Locke Institute releases a new set of essay questions designed to spark critical thinking and intellectual curiosity. The 2025 John Locke Essay Competition topics, focusing on contemporary issues and philosophical depth, are no exception.
Philosophy
Q1. What moral obligations do we owe to living persons that we do not owe to future persons? What are the implications of your answer for policy-making?
Q2. Should we treat non-human animals well because they have rights, interests, neither, or both?
Q3. “When civilians are the main target, there’s no need to consider the cause. That’s terrorism; it’s evil.” Is this correct?
Politics
Q1. Should politicians ever be punished for lying?
Q2. David Hume celebrated the wisdom of “unlettered men”. In a democracy, do the votes of the unlettered tend to protect a country against the bad ideas of the lettered or do the votes of the lettered tend to protect a country against the bad ideas of the unlettered?
Q3. Diversity is fashionable, but is it valuable?
Economics
Q1. What kinds of behaviour are engendered by the hope of profit? Is such behaviour better or worse, on balance, than the behaviour we should expect if all enterprises were owned by charities or governments?
Q2. What will be the effect on socio-economic mobility of the UK government’s plan to impose a value-added tax on school fees?
Q3. Should Oxford lower its admissions standards for the sons and daughters of generous benefactors?
History
Q1. According to Bertrand Russell, “Hitler is an outcome of Rousseau; Roosevelt and Churchill of Locke.” To what extent was he correct?
Q2. Should anyone be ashamed of their nation’s history? Should anyone be proud of it?
Q3. Which figure in history did most to enlarge human freedom?
Law
Q1. What injury should one person be permitted to inflict on another in the defence of private property?
Q2. “Use every man after his desert, and who should ’scape whipping?” Should the law treat offenders better than they deserve?
Q3. Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?
Psychology
Q1. Is objectivity all in the mind?
Q2. Eleanor Roosevelt declared, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Is she right?
Q3. What is self-deceit?
Theology
Q1. Is atheism implausible?
Q2. Why would the creator of a trillion galaxies become angry if you have sex with your boyfriend or eat bacon for breakfast?
Q3. Why pray?
Junior Prize (Ages 14 and Under)
Q1. Your citizenship at birth was chosen for you. Which citizenship would you have chosen?
Q2. Do you benefit more from your own freedom of speech or from other people’s?
Q3. Who is more powerful – Donald Trump or Elon Musk?
Q4. Since 1920, twenty-one presidents and prime ministers from nine countries have been graduates of Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) at Oxford. Would it have been better if they had studied history?
Q5. What is your fair share of what someone else has earned?
Q6. Why do you continue to use your smartphone more than is good for you?
Q7. Why do people become more boring as they grow up and grow older?
2. Extended Late Submission Deadlines
In 2025, participants will have more flexibility with late submissions:
7-day extension: Submit by July 7, 2025 (late fee: 25 GBP)
21-day extension: Submit by July 21, 2025 (late fee: 75 GBP)
This is a significant change from 2024, which offered only one late submission deadline (July 10, 2024). The extended deadlines provide additional time for students to refine their essays.
3. Updated Key Dates
The 2025 John Locke Essay Competition follows a similar timeline to 2024, with a few adjustments:
- Registration opens: April 1, 2025.
- Registration deadline: May 31, 2025.
- Submission deadline: June 30, 2025.
- Shortlist notification: July 31, 2025.
- Academic conference: October 3-5, 2025.
- Awards dinner: October 4, 2025.
Notably, the academic conference and awards dinner have been moved to October in 2025, compared to September in 2024.
4. What’s the Same in 2025?
While there are exciting updates, many aspects of the competition remain unchanged:
1. Essay Requirements
- Essays must not exceed 2,000 words.
- Filenames must follow the format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf.
- No footnotes are allowed, but endnotes and bibliographies are permitted.
- An academic referee is required to verify the originality of the essay.
2. Prizes and Judging Criteria
- Category winners receive a $5,000 scholarship to attend a John Locke Institute program, second place receives $2,000, and third place receives $1,000.
- The overall winner is awarded a $10,000 scholarship and an honorary Junior Fellowship.
- Essays are judged on knowledge, argumentation, originality, and persuasive style.
✨ Aralia John Locke Essay Competition Preparation Courses
John Locke Essay Competition Prep
In this John Locke Essay Competition Prep course, students will learn the ins and outs of essay writing, in preparation for entering the competition. We offer prep classes in all categories: philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, and law. Students will choose one topic, compose an original thesis and argument, and write an essay for submission. Students will engage in a guided analysis of primary and secondary sources, develop critical thinking skills, and discover interesting insights. In addition to the group lecture classes, students will receive guidance on their individual projects from the instructor, in one-on-one sessions.
