Call for Papers

The 3rd Secondary School Philosophy Conference of Zhejiang invites papers from secondary school students who are interested in philosophy and willing to formulate a serious question and argue for an answer. The theme is “Change & Invariance”, and the conference will take place from 2 to 5 October 2026.

Eligibility and Theme

Middle and high school students are welcome to submit. A paper should pose a clear philosophical question worth discussing within the theme, then answer it through the author’s own analysis and reasons. The conference does not prescribe one position, but a compilation of material without independent judgment will not be enough.

Submission Materials and Intake

The provisional deadline is 20 September 2026 at 23:59, subject to formal notice. A submission should include:

1. The full paper and abstract;
2. A completed and signed Submission Originality and Responsibility Confirmation, currently available in Chinese;
3. Any identity, contact and version information required by the submission notice.

The paper, confirmation and other attachments must correspond. If material or a required signature is missing, the conference may set a correction deadline; a submission may be declined if the correction is not made on time. Passing the formal check means only that the material is complete, not that the paper has been accepted.

Anonymous Review and Scoring

Each paper is normally assessed independently and anonymously by two or three reviewers. A result takes effect after confirmation by the Academic Team. The total is 50 points:

Dimension	Points	Main focus
Structure of reasons	12	Whether claims are supported, reasoning is coherent and important objections are answered
Development of the question	12	Whether the question is clear, the analysis advances it, and the conclusion answers and reflects on the opening question
Independent contribution	10	Whether the paper offers the author’s own judgment, perspective, distinction or argument
Command of concepts	6	Whether philosophical terms, theoretical claims and conceptual relationships are understood accurately and used appropriately
Academic verifiability	6	Accurate, proper citation: 4 points; complete formatting and required information: 2 points
Quality of expression	4	Diction, syntax, register and overall readability

Scores help reviewers apply a consistent scale but do not replace an assessment of the paper as a whole. The same problem is not penalised repeatedly across dimensions.

Outcomes and Submission Date

Outcome	Score	Submitted by 15 September	Submitted 16–20 September
Accept	38–50	Considered for a presentation place; otherwise may become an attending paper	Considered for a presentation place
Minor revision	28–37	Revised and re-reviewed; the result determines presentation selection or attending status	No re-review; becomes an attending paper
Major revision	18–27	Substantially revised and re-reviewed; a successful paper becomes an attending paper, otherwise it is rejected	No re-review; rejected
Reject	0–17	The submission process ends	The submission process ends

The closer a submission is to the deadline, the less time is available for correction and revision.

AI Use

AI tools may provide limited assistance, but they may not replace the author’s substantive control of the core question, main claims and reasoning. The author must be able to explain, verify and correct the final text and remains responsible for facts, citations and arguments.

• AI may not be listed as an author or co-author, or treated as the author of a cited work, note or reference.
• Authors who use AI must disclose the tool and version, its actual use or operating method, and the complete prompts required by the conference separately in the cover letter, acknowledgements and methods section. All three disclosures must agree.
• Authors who did not use AI need only make the corresponding declaration in the Submission Originality and Responsibility Confirmation.
• After an overall review, AI-generated main text of no more than 15% proceeds to normal review; more than 15% and no more than 30% is returned for revision and re-review; more than 30% is normally rejected.

Automated detection is only an indicator. Where a result is clearly disputed, the conference will consider textual features, disclosure, version history, human review and the author’s explanation rather than determining a violation from one tool’s percentage alone.

Originality, Responsibility and Appeal

The paper must be original work in which the author genuinely participated. Fabricated citations or material, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate submission or concealment of substantial AI use requires a separate inquiry. Once verified, the conference may issue a warning, reject or withdraw the paper, or cancel an existing status.

An author who disputes an outcome, procedure or factual finding may appeal through the channel and within the period stated in the result notice, identifying the issue and supporting grounds. An appeal is not a resubmission. The Academic Team will check procedure, conflicts of interest, consistency between scores and comments, and any new evidence, and may arrange a further review.

Awards and Contact

Four prizes are offered: Best Writing, Best Presentation, Best Theme and Best Originality. One author may receive more than one prize.

For submissions and partnership, contact the organising committee by email. Complete rules on intake, review, revision, integrity checks and confidentiality appear in Conference Policies. A later formal notice prevails.