Damian Stellings
Damian Stellings is the founder of Teen Philosophy, a website intended to educate teenagers about various philosophical stances.
Damian, 17, was born and raised in New York City and has a keen interest in philosophy and psychology. Since he was young, Damian has been interested in the big questions, and through reflecting on the decisions he made in his teenage years, he looked for a resource that gave philosophical solutions to common teenage dilemmas. Damian first fell in love with philosophy after attending Hebrew School. In this Hebrew School, Damian learned about the bible and had some doubts about whether it was really possible for a fish to eat a man and for that man to survive and emerge a few days later (Jonah and the fish). This logical denial sparked Damian’s curiosity about why religions exist and the role they truly play throughout different communities. Most recently, Damian completed Paul Bloom’s Coursera class labeled, The Morality of Everyday Life.
Damian is a member of the Parliamentary Debate Club and loves arguing on the fly. Damian is also a multi-season varsity athlete at the Horace Mann School with his main athletic priority being tennis. Damian is also an active member of the arts community. Damian started playing violin in 1st grade and continued until 6th grade. Since then, Damian has been playing the Steel Drums. In his free time, Damian enjoys spending time with his friends. Due to his plethora of interests, Damian interacts with many people who employ different ways of thinking, leading to a well-versed philosophy of life.
Ryan Lamendola
Ryan Lamendola is a member of Teen Philosophy, a website intended to educate teenagers about various philosophical stances.
Ryan, 15, was born and raised in New York City and has long sought to understand what it is that makes our society function. They love to engage others in philosophical discussions outside of class. They count George Orwell, Octavia Butler, and Alan Moore among their favorite writers, although they prefer to look at ideas rather than their creators. Ryan is currently enrolled in Bruce Matthews’ Global History class and Ashna Ali’s World Literature class at Bard High School Early College Manhattan, where they intend on “balancing the mind-boggling amount of work there is to do and the desire to discuss and live the ideas they have learned from their teachers and fellow students.”
Lillian Zhi
Lillian Zhi is a member of Teen Philosophy, a website intended to educate teenagers about various philosophical stances.
Lillian is currently a senior at Ward Melville High School, New York. She is an avid musician, having played the violin for nine years, and was selected for New York’s All-State Symphony Orchestra. She became interested in philosophy after taking a course on Philosophy of Mind and hopes to study the connections between philosophy, science, and music. As a young leader hoping to amplify her reach through music, in Spring of 2020, Lillian launched her non-profit Orchestra for All not only to provide the resources needed for more low-income youth to have instruments and quality instruction, but also to explore everything from ethnomusicology to highlighting the broader use of string instruments in non-traditional settings such as bluegrass, jazz, and blues. In her free time, Lillian enjoys baking, watching anime, and reading.