The winners of this year's undergraduate Philosophy in the Wild' essay competition are Maya Kokerov (winner), Euan McGinty (runner up) and Neville Birdi (runner up). The judges were impressed by the quality of all the essays submitted, and the choice was a difficult one. However, the essays produced by Maya, Euan and Neville were selected for the way they imaginatively interpreted the brief, and how all three pieces of work demonstrated the importance and value of philosophy in the world today. The winners were awarded vouchers worth £100 (first prize) and £50 (runners up) respectively.

Maya (first prize), applied metaphysical ideas on personhood to the contemporary issue of social media: "I was interested in tackling the common idea that the internet is solely used to express superficial aspects of our lives - but it is possible to use social media smartly if we think about it in philosophical terms".

Euan channelled his interest in the Philosophy of Language to explore the way certain words and terms can influence our perception of the world, relating particularly to environmentalism. He focused on John Baird Callicott's discussion about the historical baggage associated with the term 'wilderness'. Says Euan: "my aim was to apply some of the knowledge I've gained from studying philosophy and put it in the context of issues that concern me".

Neville's inspiration came directly from Professor Kimberley Brownlee's lectures on Ideas of Freedom, and particularly 'freedom of thought' and 'freedom of expression'. Writing the essay allowed Neville to draw links between the philosophical theory and the real world: "everyone now knows we live in a 'post-truth' and 'fake news' age, so when better to discuss the value of thought, expression, and the press?" he says.

Congratulations to all three winners on their achievement from everyone in the Department!