参赛要求和关键时间节点

参赛资格

所有国家18岁以下的学生都可以参与。

高年级组：截止2024年6月30日，年龄在18岁及以下的学生；

低年级组：截止2024年6月30日，年龄不超过15岁的学生。

报名费用

免费（逾期报名需支付20美元）。

论文要求

每个学生只能报名每个类别中的一个题目，但可以报多个类别。需要提交不超过2000的论文（不包括图表，数据表，脚注，参考书目或作者声明）。

*参赛选手的pdf 文件名必须采用以下格式：FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf，例如，Alexander Popham 将使用以下文件名提交他对心理学类别中问题 2 的回答：Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf，文件名不符合此格式的论文将被拒绝。

关键时间

开始报名时间：2024年4月1日

报名截止时间：2024年5月31日23点59分（英国时间）

提交截止日期：2024年6月30日

逾期报名截止日期：2024年7月10日（逾期参赛将收取20.00美元的费用，于7月1日前支付。）

入围通知时间：2024年7月31日

学术会议：2024年9月20-22日

颁奖晚宴：2024年9月21日

今年的John Locke竞赛变化

话题和现实结合更紧密

可以清楚的感到，今年的出题内容中，从Gaza到population growth，当下的热点话题都没有缺席，反而以往的抽象问题变少。同学们可以多多关注世界热点的发展脉络，可以拓展的方向也很多。

跨学科趋势明显

可以看到，虽然John Locke竞赛的题目是分学科出题的，但是有些题目有很明显的跨学科偏向。比如历史类目的第一题：工业革命前世界GDP增长率基本为0.01%，其原因是历史学家和经济学家都很关注的话题。同学们一定要注意深度和广度并行。

2024年比赛题目

Philosophy

1.Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition？

2.Do girls have a right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys？

3.Should I be held responsible for what I believe？

Politics

1.Is there such a thing as too much democracy？

2.Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible？

3.When is compliance complicity？

Economics

1.What is the optimal global population？

2.Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation？

3.Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither？

History

1.Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change？

2.Has music ever significantly changed the course of history？

3.Why do civilisations collapse？Is our civilisation in danger？

Law

1.When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements？

2.In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state？

3.Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime？

Psychology

1.According to a study by four British universities, for each 16-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by 35% for a man but decreases by 40% for a woman. Why？

2.There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this？How？

3.What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw？

Theology

1.“I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”？

2.Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm？

3.Does God reward those who believe in him？If so, why？

Junior Prize

1.Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing？

2.Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism？

3.Is there life after death？

4.How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise？

5.When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable？What should we do about this？

6.Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies？