Annual Peter Sowerby
Essay Contest

2022 Peter Sowerby Essay Contest

The Philosophy & Medicine Project at King’s College London invites submissions for this year’s Peter Sowerby Essay Contest. The prize is awarded each year on the occasion of the Annual Sowerby Lecture, in recognition of an outstanding essay written by a student on an issue relevant to the intersection of philosophy and medicine. Entry is open to all current students and alumni of any school or university, nationally and internationally.  

Topic: “Puzzle of Addiction and other aspects of Hanna Pickard’s work”

We welcome essays on a wide range of relevant topics such as:

• The role of agency, memory, emotion, irrationality, and self-identity in addiction

• Responsibility, blame, and mental health

• Morality in psychiatry and psychotherapy

• Mental disorders and brain disorders

• Ethical, legal, or policy issues relating to mental health or addiction

Prize: £500  

Eligibility: Students and alumni in philosophy, medicine, or related disciplines who have not been awarded a PhD in philosophy. Current philosophy PhD students are eligible. Entry is not restricted to those based in the UK and we encourage international submissions.  

Length: No more than 4,000 words. 

Deadline: Monday 17th October, 23:59 GMT.  

Submission: Submit your paper as a Word document, or pdf, by sending it to philandmed@kcl.ac.uk. Prepare your paper for blind review, ensuring that your name does not appear anywhere in the document.  

Assessment and award: Submissions will be assessed by a panel of distinguished academics affiliated with the Philosophy & Medicine Project at KCL. The Prize will be awarded at the 2022 Annual Sowerby Lecture on Thursday 3rd November 2022.  

FAQs: 

• Does the 4,000 word limit include references?

No. It does not include references, but it does include footnotes.  

• Can two people submit an essay they write together?

Yes, papers may be co-authored as long as all authors fulfil the eligibility criteria. 

• Should the essay take a philosophical or scientific or clinical approach?

Philosophical, scientific, clinical, historical, psychological, and other factors may all be relevant to your answer to the question. The important thing is that the essay gives an answer to the question and a thoughtful defence of that answer, using a clear writing style without jargon. An approach to avoid is that of a book report or literature review. 

• What should the title be?

That is up to the author. You may want to tailor the title to your own perspective on the topic, or you may want simply to title it “The Puzzle of Addiction”.  

• What does a winning essay look like?

You can see past winning essays below.   

Past recipients

2021 - Piyush Pushkar, NHS doctor in Manchester

“What are we talking about when we talk about protecting the NHS? And why does it matter?”

2020 - Kate Fisk, MPhil student at University College London

“Bias in clinical medicine: Can it be overcome?”

2018 - Ben Jones, Alumni MA in Philosophy, King's College London

"The Science and Art of Medicine"

2017 - James Rupert Fletcher, PhD student at the Institute of Gerontology in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s College London

"Why we should assess decision making capacity (even though we cannot"

2016 - Jointly awarded to

Jonas Haeg, DPhil in Philosophy, University of Oxford

"To be or not to be immortal"

Saloni de Souza, BPhil in Philosophy, University of Oxford

"Immortality: Would it be worth it?"

2015 - Marc Jacunkski, MBBS, King's College London

"We could all use some placebo"