August 2026 Newsletter: A Look Back at Shanghai, Summer Camps & Fall Events
A look back at Shanghai
We spent July in Shanghai teaching ethics, AI and competitive debate. With support from Zhonggu Charity and the Marc Sanders Foundation, we ran an AI and Ethics camp where students learned core ideas in ethical theory and then put them to work designing and coding their own AI-powered apps.
For the final two weeks, Zach Bloom and Archie Stapleton coached Public Forum debate and guided students through the National High School Debate League Championships. Our students earned a number of breaks across the middle school and novice divisions, improved enormously over the two weeks, and we had a blast doing it.
Summer camps: doors still open
Intro to Philosophy starts tomorrow, Sunday, August 9, and runs through August 12 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM ET. We are still accepting students. If you want to see what we will be discussing before joining, these are the readings for the first camp.
Summer offer: book two camps and get a third free. Want to participate as a group? Get in touch and we will work something out with you directly.
Intro to Philosophy: Aug 9-12, 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET. Learn more and book
Epistemology: Aug 16-19, 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET. Learn more and book
Intro to Ethics Competitions: Aug 19-22, 12:00-3:00 PM ET. Learn more and book
Deductive Logic: Aug 23-26, 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET. Learn more and book
All camps are live on Zoom, include 12 hours of instruction, cost $480 CAD per person, and include a verifiable certificate.
New: Intro to Ethics Competitions
A four-day intensive for students who want to compete with confidence. We will cover the major ethical theories, build sharper arguments, learn the competition format, and work through all six cases from the TKEthics Novice Invitational before finishing with full practice rounds and feedback.
You can use the skills for Ethics Bowls, Ethics Olympiads, TKEthics Invitationals or the Ethics Cup. Come as an individual and we will place you on a team.
Prepping for an Olympiad?
If you or your team are preparing for an Ethics Olympiad, Ethics Bowl or TKEthics Invitational this fall, we are available to help with coaching sessions, case walkthroughs and full practice rounds. Just get in touch and we will set something up.
Upcoming events
Marc Sanders Foundation Case Writing Prize, submissions due September 30. Details
Global AI Debates Fall 2026, registration closes October 1. Learn more
TKEthics Arizona Regional, October 10, Chandler, AZ, in person. Register to compete
TKEthics Fall Invitational, November 7, online. Register
Middle School Pan Atlantic Ethics Olympiad, November 14, online. Register
We are moving TKEthics tournaments to a new registration platform. It is already live, with the full transition coming next week.
See you in class,
Archie Stapleton Co-founder, Director: Modus Ponens Institute Outreach Director: TKEthics.org
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