Getting ready for your Cambridge interview? Our list of Cambridge Philosophy interview questions contains real questions from past interviews.

We recommend that you use these to practise ways of approaching questions rather than trying to rehearse and memorise answers. The chances of one of these exact questions occurring in your Cambridge interview is very low, and even if it were to come up, then Cambridge tutors can spot prepared answers and look unfavourably upon them.

How to Approach Your Cambridge Philosophy Interview

Cambridge Philosophy interview questions are less about testing what you know and more about testing how you think. Admissions tutors are specifically looking for good philosophical instincts:the ability to notice that a question is harder than it first appears, to make careful distinctions, and to follow an argument wherever it leads rather than steering it toward a comfortable conclusion.

Take Your Time

Pausing for a moment or two before you answer is usually a good idea: even though you will likely feel nervous and under pressure, you don’t have to rush into a response. If a question is ambiguous, say so explicitly and ask which interpretation they mean, or better yet, flag the ambiguity yourself: “this depends on whether we mean X or Y. If X, then…but if Y, then…”

Be Prepared to Admit When You’re Wrong

Many students panic when they realise mid-answer that they’re wrong. But if you catch yourself, revise your position, and explain why, that can be impressive. Tutors find it far more exciting than a polished, confident answer that never interrogates itself.

Tutors want to see that you are intellectually secure without being arrogant and teachable without being overly pliant. They might adopt a position that they themselves don’t believe in and argue against you. That means you don’t need to fold the second they pose a counterargument. Think carefully about what they’re saying – does it stack up? Can you object to it?

But tutors do also know more than you, and they might genuinely wish to steer you away from an unproductive line of thinking towards something that will help you with the problem. In this case, it’s far better to take on board what they have said and see where it leads, rather than dig your heels in and refuse to listen.

Think For Yourself

Finally, avoid arriving with pre-packaged answers to a hitlist of classic Cambridge Philosophy interview questions. Tutors can immediately detect the recycled A Level essay or the rehearsed Plato point, and it closes down the conversation rather than opening it up.

You’re not expected to have read everything, but you need to think carefully with whatever material you’re given. If you have read something relevant, by all means mention it, but use it as a springboard (“this reminds me of a problem Hume raises, though I think the cases differ because…”) rather than a recital of your read list.

The interview is a conversation, not a viva. The tutors want to see what happens when they push you somewhere unfamiliar, so the best preparation isn’t memorising answers but practising thinking aloud, welcoming hard follow-up questions, and getting comfortable with the feeling of not knowing yet.

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Past Cambridge Philosophy Interview Questions

The following Cambridge Philosophy interview questions have come up in Oxbridge interviews in recent years. We strongly recommend, however, that you use these to help you to think laterally about your chosen subject rather than learn and rehearse answers to them.

  • If the net value of happiness in the world is negative (most people are unhappy) and we can safely assume this is going to be the same in the future, should you press a button that would kill everyone instantly and painlessly?
  • The world follows physical laws, but human beings seem not to. Discuss.
  • If there is a population that grows doubling its number at every generation (2, 4, 8, 16 and so on) and ends at n, is it right to state that a random member from this population has more probability of being in the last generation (as it has more members than the sum of all previous generations)? But then, should every generation fear being in the last generation, as this holds true for every generation, even the second one?
  • Using Russell’s theory of sense-data, explain whether this table can be truly be called brown.
  • Give some criticisms of substance dualism.
  • What colour is the wall? Is this an objective property of the wall or something you are imposing on it? Should you really say ‘it looks yellow’, instead of ‘it is yellow’?
  • What makes a statement a natural law?
  • At t=-1 I print 10 £10 notes, label them 1 – 10, and give the one labelled 1 to a friend. At t= -1/2 I print 10 more £10 notes, label them 11-20, and give the one labelled 2 to the friend. At t= -1/4 same thing, give one labelled 3 to the friend. This continues ad infinitum with time interval halving each time. How much money will my friend and I each have in the end? What would these look like as functions on a graph?
  • If I see a picture of the Titanic, have I seen the Titanic?
  • How do you define feminism?
  • Do scientific findings pose any problems for feminists?
  • Why is it bad if tigers become extinct?
  • Was Hitler’s morality a valid morality?
  • If Hitler was drowning in a lake, what would you do?
  • If someone was going to kill your family, what would you do?
  • Was Voltaire a philosopher?
  • Why do you think philosophers use fiction as a medium for their work rather than, say, physicists?
  • If you had the choice of saving a family member or a stranger from a building, would it be morally right to choose the family member?
  • If you could save five people by using a lever to make the train hit only one person, would it be morally right to do this?
  • If there are five patients in a hospital desperately in need of transplants and a healthy person walks in, could you kill this person and use their organs?
  • If there are five people dying and the only medicine you can make would create fumes that would kill the patient (whom you cannot move) in the room next door, could you make the medicine?
  • Is food addictive?
  • Is toothpaste a medicine?
  • If you were Prime Minister for a day what would you do and how?
  • Is philosophy an art or a science?
  • What argument might be used to convince taxpayers to fund philosophy degrees?
  • What is truth?
  • Is it possible to conceive that one day in the future artificial intelligence and humans will be utterly indistinguishable?

How Dukes Plus Can Help

We hope you found practising with these Cambridge Philosophy interview questions useful. If you’d like specialist coaching for your Cambridge interview, our Cambridge interview tutoring includes highly realistic full mock interviews plus feedback from our expert team of Cambridge-graduate tutors. Some of our packages also include a session with a former admissions tutor at Oxbridge – someone with direct experience of interviewing candidates for an Oxford or Cambridge college. include a session with a former admissions tutor at Oxford – someone with direct experience of interviewing candidates for an Oxford college.

FAQs

Cambridge holds its interviews in December following the application deadline in mid-October. If you are invited to interview, you will be informed of your exact interview date by the university.

Most Cambridge colleges hold their interviews online, via video call. A few (e.g. Pembroke) may still invite you to in-person interviews at the college.

Here are a few key tips for preparing for the questions you might be asked at your Oxford Biochemistry interview:

  • Re-read your personal statement, and re-familiarise yourself with any books, lectures, articles, or topics you referred to
  • Extend beyond what you wrote about in your personal statement by reading more on the topics you wrote about. An easy way is to look at the bibliography/references in the books you’ve read. Or find out who has argued against positions you’ve referred to – how strong are these counterarguments? Are you persuaded by them? Why (not)?
  • Practise answering some of the Cambridge Philosophy interview questions listed above (practising out loud is better than just thinking the answers in your head)
  • Ask a friend or teacher to ask you questions and practise responding to them in real time
  • Remember not to memorise pre-prepared answers: at interview, admissions tutors want to see you thinking on your feet in response to difficult questions, not repeating a script you’ve learned
  • For the highest standards of preparation, work with a Dukes Plus Oxbridge interview tutor for full, realistic mock interviews plus feedback

There are a few types of questions you might be asked at your Cambridge Philosophy interview:

  • General motivation questions, e.g. why Philosophy at Cambridge?
  • Questions about topics you mentioned in your personal statement
  • Abstract academic questions, e.g. Why is it bad if tigers become extinct?

Questions based on unseen text – e.g. an article or a passage given to you during the interview or immediately before

The interview is one of the most important parts of the Oxbridge application process. It is used alongside your academic grades, references, personal statement, and admissions test (if required).

It is only one part of the process, and you could still get an offer with an average performance at interview if the rest of your application is very strong. Similarly, an excellent interview performance can pull up a weaker application in other areas.

That said, a very underprepared applicant who gives a poor interview performance is unlikely to be offered a place. The interview is a very good indication of how you respond to really challenging problems in real time and Oxbridge admissions tutors place great weight on your performance.