Oxbridge Philosophy interview questions

Philosophy interviews at Oxford and Cambridge

Philosophy interview questions to practise

Say your first thoughts out loud or type them, then compare with how a strong answer goes. These questions are our own, written in the style tutors use.

1. Question 1

   A machine scans your body, destroys it, and builds an exact copy on Mars from new atoms. The copy has all your memories. Did you travel to Mars, or did you die?

   What it shows a tutor: Testing a theory of personal identity against a case, and following an argument where it leads.

   Your first thoughts, as you would say them
   Show a strong answer
   How a strong answer goes

   1. First pin down what would make the person on Mars me. Two candidates: the same body and brain, or the same memories and personality.
   2. On the body view, I died: none of my matter went to Mars.
   3. On the memory view, I survived, because the copy remembers being me and will go on as I would.
   4. Now push the memory view: suppose the machine fails to destroy the original. There are two people with my memories. They cannot both be me, as they will lead different lives. So memory alone seems not enough.
   5. That suggests either identity needs something extra, such as continuity of the brain, or, more radically, that identity is not what matters, and what I care about is that someone like me continues. I would tentatively take the second view and say why.

   A tutor might then ask: If you would not step into the machine, would you agree to have your brain cells replaced one at a time over a year?

   The usual wrong turn: Giving a gut answer and defending it. Show how a test case changes your view.

2. Question 2

   Can you know that you are not dreaming right now?

   What it shows a tutor: Handling a classic sceptical argument without either dismissing it or giving up.

   Your first thoughts, as you would say them
   Show a strong answer
   How a strong answer goes

   1. The argument: dreams can feel exactly like waking life, so any test I use while awake could be dreamt too. So I cannot be certain I am awake.
   2. I might say dreams are less consistent. But in a dream I may not notice that, and I cannot step outside to compare.
   3. So if knowing requires certainty, perhaps I do not know I am awake. The question is whether knowledge needs certainty.
   4. In ordinary life, we say we know things on very good evidence that could in principle be wrong. On that standard, I know I am awake.
   5. So my answer depends on the definition of knowledge. The argument is a good reason to ask what knowledge is.

   A tutor might then ask: Is there anything you could know for certain even if you were dreaming?

   The usual wrong turn: Saying you would pinch yourself. You could dream the pinch.

3. Question 3

   Is it wrong to break a promise to someone who has died?

   What it shows a tutor: Separating what makes promises matter and testing each reason on a case.

   Your first thoughts, as you would say them
   Show a strong answer
   How a strong answer goes

   1. Why do promises matter? Perhaps because breaking them harms the person, or because keeping them builds trust, or because we have bound ourselves.
   2. Harm: on one view, going back to Epicurus, the dead cannot be harmed because there is no one left to harm. Others argue that some interests, such as how we are remembered, survive death. If the first view is right, harm cannot be the reason.
   3. But many people feel there still is. That suggests harm is not the whole story. Breaking a deathbed promise also wrongs the person's wishes and shows something about the promiser's character.
   4. Trust matters too: if people knew deathbed promises were broken, the dying could not rely on anyone.
   5. So I would say it can be wrong, though perhaps less wrong, and that the case shows promising is not only about harm.

   A tutor might then ask: What if keeping the promise would harm someone who is alive?

   The usual wrong turn: Saying it is fine because they will never know, then ignoring why the answer feels wrong to most people.

4. Question 4

   Is a law that is never enforced still a law?

   What it shows a tutor: Clarifying a concept and drawing distinctions, a skill shared by philosophy and law.

   Your first thoughts, as you would say them
   Show a strong answer
   How a strong answer goes

   1. One view: a law is a rule made by the right authority through the right process. On that view, it is a law until it is repealed, enforced or not.
   2. Another view: a law is what officials will actually do. On that view, a rule nobody enforces is a dead letter, not really law.
   3. A test case: an old law still on the books that nobody has used for a century. If a prosecutor suddenly used it, would a court accept it? Usually yes, which supports the first view.
   4. But there is something to the second: a law that people cannot predict being used undermines fairness, which is why some systems let laws lapse through disuse.
   5. So I would say it is still a law, but a defective one, and that shows validity and effectiveness are different properties.

   A tutor might then ask: Is a rule that is enforced, but was never properly made, a law?

   The usual wrong turn: Answering from one definition without noticing there are two.

Oxford interview dates, December 2026

All Oxford interviews are online. Your invitation gives your own times.

What tutors are listening for

• Thinking aloud

  Both universities say they want to hear how you work things out, not a memorised answer.

• Using a hint

  Tutors expect to help. What matters is what you do with a prompt or an objection.

• Checking

  Test your answer on a simple case, an example or a counterexample, and fix slips out loud.

More for your application

• Cambridge Philosophy acceptance rate
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