The upper school’s philosophy club hosted its first annual conference in Nichols Hall today from 9 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. to promote philosophical discourse among the student body.

The conference opened with a keynote address from Stanford Professor of Political Science and Philosophy (by courtesy) Dr. Rob Reich, whose talk examined social justice and equality through the lens of abstract philosophical thought. In his hour long talk, Reich emphasized philosophy’s relevance in everyday life.

“It’s unbelievably relevant,” Reich said. “It’s urgent, it awakens in you questions, passions, emotion, reason that infects every aspect of your life. You have to see philosophy as an activity, not as just subject matter to be committed to memory.”

Towards the end of his lecture, Reich descended from the stage and used the Socratic method to engage the audience of students, parents, and faculty in a thought experiment concerning Peter Singer’s “The Drowning Child” hypothetical.

After a 15-minute refreshment break, attendees divided to attend two of the three discussion sessions offered: “Security vs. Privacy,” “Absolute Equality: the Political Philosophy of John Rawls” and “Supreme Court.” Philosophy club officers Michael “Misha” Tseitlin (11), Srivatsav Pyda (11) and Tiffany Zhu (11) moderated the sessions.

In Misha’s session on privacy, students, using the trolley problem as guide, applied the ideas of utilitarianism and deontology to analyze and debate Apple and the U.S. government’s legal battle over phone encryption. During Srivatsav’s session on distributive justice, students considered the questions of inequality and privilege through Rawls’ “veil of ignorance” simulation.

Tiffany moderated the third session, which focused on constitutional ethics.

“My session concerned some recent controversies regarding people denying services to same-sex couples,” Tiffany said. “Specifically it looked at whether anti-discrimination laws or the religious liberty of the people denying them services should be heard.”

Speaking to the productive nature of the discussion, Tiffany explained that many students were already acquainted with the topics, which allowed for thorough, constructive dialogue.

“I think many of the students were pretty well informed,” Tiffany said. “I think that people have probably been following this on Facebook and other social media, so they had an idea of the extent of the debate, and how this debate would affect different people.”

Jack Bowen, a teacher at Menlo School whose novels have been featured on Amazon’s Top 500 books, presented the closing address. Influenced by advice his father had imparted to him, Bowen’s speech focused on fulfillment and happiness.

“Going forward, especially when you don’t feel like it, is where the prevalent, profound virtue happens,” Bowen said. “That’s where you get the real happiness, not the bliss that people claim to be striving for.”