Utah High School Ethics Bowl
The Independent Education Program is hosting the Wasatch Regional High School Ethics Bowl for the 2024-2025 School Year
The Wasatch Regional Competition will be held online on January 25, 2025, and will be hosted by The Independent Education Program in partnership with UVU's department of Philosophy and Humanities.
The 2024-2025 Wasatch Regional High School Ethics Bowl is in coordination with the National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB). Winning teams from the Wasatch Region will be selected to compete in the 2025 National Competition.
What is an Ethics Bowl?
An Ethics Bowl competition differs from debate events in that teams focus on developing ethically sound positions on real-world issues (called "cases").
The goal is to create a thoroughly considered stance on the provided cases, not to be "right" in an argument.
In each Ethics Bowl round, opposing teams take turns analyzing different ethical dilemmas, allowing teams to take whatever stance they think is the most reasonable.
"Ethics Bowls are competitive yet collaborative events in which students discuss real-life ethical issues. In each round of competition, teams take turns analyzing cases about complex ethical dilemmas and responding to questions and comments from the other team and from a panel of judges." (NHSEB)
How Does an Ethics Bowl Work?
Preparing for the Competition
Prior to the date of the competition, a set of cases are released. Each of these cases deals with real-world ethical issues. Teams will prepare positions on each of the cases. The positions that teams prepare should be considerate of multiple viewpoints, logically sound, and ethically robust.
Competing
Each round of competition is separated into two halves, one for each team competing. In each half, there is a presenting team and a commenting team:
- First Half: Team A presents, Team B comments
- Second Half: Team B presents, Team A comments
During each half, there are five sections, referred to as "periods."
- Moderator Period (~3 Minutes): The moderator introduce one of the cases that students have studied and prepared positions on. The moderator will ask a question, which the presenting team will speak on.
- Presentation Period (2 Minute Conferral, 5-6 Minute Presentation): The presenting team will have two minutes to determine how they will answer the question, as well as who on the team will present the different parts of their argument. Then, they will have 5-6 minutes to present their answer.
- Commentary Period (2 Minute Conferral, 3 Minute Commentary): The commenting team will have two minutes to discuss areas of weakness in the presenting team's position. Then they will have three minutes to comment on and ask questions of the presenting team's arguments.
- Response Period (2 Minute Conferral, 3 Minute Response): The presenting team will have up to two minutes to discuss the challenges and questions from the commenting team. They then have three minutes for a response.
- Judges Period (10 Minutes for Q&A): The judges can then take 10 minutes to ask questions of the presenting team. How long the team has to respond to those questions is up to the judges.
Once all five periods are complete, the teams switch roles, and the Team B is given a different case with a different question to present on. By the end of the round, each team has presented and commented.
This format allows teams to compete without debating. The goal of the presenting team is to create a solid argument around their answer to a question, with as few weaknesses as possible. The goal of the commenting team is to identify weaknesses in the presenting team's argument, but not to present an argument of their own.
Wasatch Regional Ethics Bowl Details
The Wasatch Regional Ethics Bowl Competition will be held on January 25, 2025. Details regarding registering your high school team, specific rules, judging criteria, cost and more are coming soon.