Harvard Undergraduate Ethics Team Hosts Ethics Bowl

BY ANNIE TIAN ’29

On Saturday, March 28, the Harvard Undergraduate Ethics Society is hosting a high school ethics bowl, which will span roughly nine hours. The ethics bowl will consist of three rounds and three optional sessions.

As said in the Harvard Undergraduate Ethics Society handbook, the goal of this ethics bowl is “to provide a platform for open dialogue and thoughtful discussion, bringing together students from around the world to engage with some of the most pressing ethical dilemmas of our time.” If a student wishes to enter, they can choose early registration, ending January 30, which costs 170 dollars. Enrolling after that date incurs a fee increase up to 200 dollars. As established before, there will be three optional sessions: a workshop on how to win rounds, a panel discussion about philosophy at Harvard, and tips on how to apply to Harvard. These optional sessions and the event as a whole, also provides valuable knowledge from college students on how to be successful in the college admissions process.

One common misconception about ethics bowls is that they are similar to debate events, but they do have a few key differences.

First of all, in ethics bowls, only one side actually presents a case, while the other is purely in charge of asking questions. After one round, the teams will then switch cases and switch sides, meaning if team A didn’t get to present a case the first round, they will be granted that opportunity in the second. Ultimately, points are awarded through an average of the points scored in both rounds. 

Secondly, ethics bowls are less about statistics, and more about logic. In fact, very little actual facts are needed, and you don’t have to prewrite a script and cards. Instead, a competitor’s notes should be composed of bullet points that they thoroughly understand and can then expand on during their speech. 

Third, teams may take the same stance. They can choose to agree on the same overall side, but disagree on the framework and logic that led them to that conclusion. Ethics bowls are highly dependent on one’s  ability to form a solid logical chain of reasoning while also poking holes in their opponent’s logic. For the Harvard Ethics Bowl, competitors will be provided with twelve total cases, though only six will actually be used in the competition. A team can be composed of three to six people.

A typical ethics case lasts thirty minutes. The structure goes like this: team A presents their case for ten minutes, which should include contentions and a few counterarguments; team B offers commentary for seven minutes, usually consisting of questions utilized to challenge team A’s logic; team A then responds to those questions for five minutes; and then, finally, the judges will ask questions to team A. 

Lilian Z. ’29, a student who plans on entering the Harvard Ethics Bowl, values this competition because she believes it helps students focus on reflecting on actual problems instead of focusing on how to “sound good.” Lilian said, “I like that the competition focuses on nuanced thinking, collaborative discussion, and philosophical reasoning.” The organizer of the event, Katie T., said, “I wanted to create an event that was not just focused on competition, but also focused on collaboration and team building.”

Overall, the Harvard Ethics Bowl is a great opportunity that allows students to gain experience in actual competition and develop logical reasoning skills. It provides students with a chance to meet participants at a collegiate level and see how that differs from the high school level.