Oxford PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics) Personal Statement - a successful Oxford applicant example!
It is profoundly disturbing that the reality of inequality and suffering so radically contradicts our conception of how the world ought to be. Through my studies, I wish to understand how the world should be changed, and how I can change it.
This feeling motivated me to undertake voluntary work in Kenya, where unfortunately I acquired a rare spine infection. Although this left me hospitalised for months during my A levels last year, the experience of working with communities in absolute poverty provided added significance to my reading of economic development theory. On this matter, I was deeply impressed by Thomas Pogge's 'World Poverty and Human rights', both regarding its moral and economic rigour. Upon consideration, however, I found his policy of the global resource dividend unconvincing, regarding both its difficulty in measurement and unpredictability in its effects compared to similar strategies such as Piketty's global tax on wealth. Nevertheless, his arguments led me to think about development in terms of the world economy rather than individual nations, looking at how we can tackle extreme poverty and achieve growth in LEDCs with intervention similar to how we address poverty and inequality at a national level.
I received the 'student of the year' award for Mathematics during college, and I have long enjoyed applying my mathematical knowledge outside the classroom. For example, at twelve I taught myself to program, finding coding stimulating because of the multiple levels of logical developments, and by thirteen I had published my first application to the Apple app store. More recently, after attending Cambridge's HE+ economics programme, this has manifested as an interest in game theory. Ken Binmore on the relationship between game theory and the social contract is an interesting application of economics to political philosophy. While Pogge's moral arguments for aid are built around Rawlsian ideas of political justice, he does not address the many criticisms of Rawls, importantly that multiple conclusions might follow from the veil of ignorance. Binmore, on the other hand, uses game theory as a naturalistic justification of Rawls, arguing that the 'deep structure' of fairness norms is a universal evolutionary solution to the equilibrium selection problem. Most of Binmore's evidence for this comes from anthropological examples of primitive communities, which is unpersuasive given that in what one might consider the state of nature we can largely ignore the social or power structures of organised society. Interestingly though, recent experiments such as the dictator game give credibility to this intuitionist line of thought in moral and social theory.
Outside of college I attend many public lecture series and debates in my community. I find the low attendance allows a great capacity for discussion compared with programmes such as Cambridge's philosophy master class that I have attended, allowing me to engage with professors on topics from Schopenhauer's aesthetics to free will. Experiences like this have inspired me to create two philosophy societies, found a debating society at my secondary school, and become president of the debating society at college, where I notably organised a debate including Sir Vince Cable on the recent EU referendum. Beyond academia, music has been a large part of my life. Throughout most of my education I have sustained graded examinations in four instruments, playing in countless groups and orchestras and touring Europe twice in the process. This demonstrates, especially in attaining my grade 8 oboe alongside my A levels, how I will have no trouble in managing the increased workload of university life.
Ultimately, I am fascinated by the human condition, our existential struggle for meaning against our economic circumstances. I hope to gain from my degree a deeper understanding of how to approach these most critical of issues, and the ability to change people's lives for the better.
BA Philosophy, Politics & Economics
Focusing on the philosophy and politics elements of the degree, I obtained high First Class honours, winning the R. Knox Prize for finals performance in philosophy. I will begin graduate studies in Philosophy at the University of Oxford in October, and in the coming years I intend to pursue a career in academic philosophy.