For high school Ethics Bowl teams not ready for the season to end, our friends with TKEthics are hosting an online event on March 19th. While it’s billed as the Senior European Ethics Olympiad, teams of 14 to 18-year-olds from anywhere in the world are invited. However, one complication is that CET = Central European Time, which is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, meaning it’ll run from 3:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. EST! But it least it’s via Zoom, and at least it’s on the same calendar day – participating in Australian Ethics Olympiads sometimes means confirming not only the correct time, but the correct day. But from my experience, the chance to do Ethics Bowl (Ethics Olympiad is essentially the same as Ethics Bowl) with smart, compassionate folks in other countries is well worth the lost sleep.
** There’s also a TKEthics Spring Invitational on February 28th with better hours. Not exactly the same as Ethics Bowl/Olympiad, but related – check it out here.
The best of luck to all who participate! Good coffee recommended. And thanks to Archie and Davida for sharing!
Discussion on the proposal featuring two former prisoners – clip from Coach Michael’s attached study guide
IEB case 1 and NHSEB case 12, “A Pound of Flesh” (yep, same case) is about the Massachusetts legislature’s proposal to knock time off of prisoners’ sentences in exchanged for organ and bone marrow donations. We could put “donations” in scare quotes because depending on their environment, incarcerated individuals may not be making sufficiently free choices. But that’s just one factor to consider – here are several more based on discussions with my IEB and NHEB teams, followed by an excellent study guide by coach Michael Andersen. If you’re open to sharing your thoughts on this case, please share in a comment.
The proposed law would cap sentence reductions at 1 year, presumably awarding more time off for more invasive/dangerous/long-term detrimental donations and/or more needed organs.
There’s a shortage of organs for certain minority groups, and this program could rectify that unfairness, making it less difficult for minorities in need to receive an organ.
Any reduction in criminals’ sentences could be perceived to dishonor their victims or victims’ loved ones.
Allowing inmates to donate organs could serve their rehabilitation and inspire additional character growth, igniting a habit of giving and expanding their concern for others.
Such donations could be likened to organ selling given prisoners’ less than ideal circumstances, but we typically endorse monetary compensation for blood and gamete donations, as well as for surrogate mothering, so this wouldn’t necessarily render the practice unacceptable (though there are differences – blood regenerates and wombs can gestate multiple times, whereas kidneys do not grow back).
Finally, something my teams didn’t consider, but The Young Turk commentators brought up in one of the clips shared in coach Michael ‘s study guide below, is that were this proposal to become law, there’s a risk that sentences might become longer or prison conditions worse in order to coerce more “donations.” Hopefully the prisons system would not do this. But given the unmet needs of many waiting for various transplants, it’s definitely a risk.
TKEthics is hosting a Pan American Middle School Ethics Olympiad via Zoom on Saturday November 22nd open to teams of 11-to-14-year-olds. Ethics Olympiad is almost identical to Ethics Bowl – similar cases, rules, scoring rubric, and expectations. And this event is an official qualifier for the International Middle School Ethics Olympiad to be hosted in Australia (virtually) next February.
Registration is $180, but scholarships are available. Cases topics include bullfighting and using AI in the classroom. To register or learn more, visit tkethics.org/tournaments.
For collegiate Ethics Bowl teams anywhere in the world, consider the Ethics Olympiad with our friends Down Under this fall. If you’re unfamiliar, “Olympiad” in this case is the same as Bowl. And “tertiary” just means college/university-level.
Hosted via Zoom and sponsored in part by the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics, registration is $50 Australian per member or $250 Australian per team (with current exchange rates, that’s $31 or $157 U.S. dollars).
Organizer Matthew Wills always puts on a fun show, and and nobody coordinates ethics-events across time zones like him. And speaking of time zones, it looks like things will kick off at 8 a.m. Hong Kong time on Thursday, October 9th and wrap up just after noon, but that should be 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 8th until just after midnight EST, or 5 p.m. through 9:30 for U.S. teams on Pacific time.
For details on the case pool and rules or to register, email Matthew at EthicsOlympiad (at) gmail.com or visit the official registration site here.
Here’s a message from Archie Stapleton, co-founder of the Modus Ponens Institute and organizer of the TKEthics Olympiad, congratulating recent winners and announcing several cool spring events. Congrats to all who participated and kudos to MPI for growing in these exciting new directions!
Dear Ethletes and coaches from the TKEthics 2024 Fall Olympiad,
We want to start by congratulating all of you for participating in an incredible day of ethical discussion! We have heard really positive feedback from judges and spectators about the quality of your argumentation and engagement. You all demonstrated real commitment to ethical discourse, and tackled the problems of AI and technology in an incredibly nuanced and mature way. You can all be extremely proud.
Here are the results:
In the Open Division: The Gold Medal is awarded to Pythagoras (Eric Zhang, Michael Xu, Ethni Cajigas, Chase Chong, Stephanie Lee), The Silver Medal is awarded to Diogenes (Middle School team),(Eleanor Kleman, Mia Santos, Dahlia Rodgers, Reya Krishnan, Emilia Henry), The BronzeMedal is awarded to Parfit, (Qinrong (Anny) Qian, Anthony Gong, Eirena Wen, Zhiyuan (Jerry) Jiang). Following closely behind in fourth place was: Hobbes (Chengyin Du, Jingxuan (Jenelle) Zhang, Mutong Zhong, Huahui Chen), and in fifth was Locke (middle school team) (Ruilin Liang, James Loke, Darren Han, Haoxian (Ethan) Wang).
In the Middle School Division, excluding Diogenes who attained Silver in the open category: Gold Medal is awarded to Locke (Ruilin, James, Darren, Ethan), The Silver Medal is awarded to Socrates (Isaac Zhang, Nina He, Jeason Zhou, Steven Wu, Eason Wei), The Bronze Medalis awarded to Leibniz (Moxi Zhu, Laura Zhang, William Tao). Following closely behind in fourthplace was Hume (Jeffery Lian, Zachary J Liu, Kingston Wang, Mia Zhang, Vicky Fei).
Top International Team team: Aristotle (Olivia Yu, Yishan Gao (Noelle), Winston Ge).
Finally, we allow judges to submit an “honorable mention” for any team they were particularly impressed by in any given round! These teams received Honorable Mentions throughout the day: Plato (“Xing (Elsa) Gao, Ziyue (Abby) Zhou, Liqian (Eric) Yan, James Chen), Hegel (Derek Hu, Austin Lu, Liam Kim), Hobbes (listed above), Parfit (listed above) and Russel (Angela Yang, Jordan He, Alpha Dong, Angel Shaji, Mushel Khan).
Congratulations to all teams! Certificates will be sent out to each team within the next week.
We are also excited to announce that we will host an in person conference on the West Coast of the US for any team mentioned in the above announcements in August 2025, stay tuned!
If you missed out this time, don’t fret! Another opportunity is around the corner:
Our next tournament is the spring TKEthics Olympiad on Sunday, March 1st, and is now open for registration! This will also allow you to qualify for our in person conference.
After that is the Pan American Ethics Olympiad! This is the program with an Eastern Round on Saturday, April 26th at 9am EST, a Western Round on Saturday, May 3rd at 9am PST, and the
Pan Am Final on Saturday, May 17th, 2025 also at 9am PST. Register here. The winners of this event will be eligible for the International Ethics Olympiad Final held in July (10am East Coast Australia time), with hundreds of teams from all over the world.Â
Kind regards,
The MPI and TKEthics Olympiad Organizing Committee
We’re behind schedule on a new NHSEB case pool analysis or two. But first, friend Archie Stapleton, co-founder and director of the Modus Ponens Institute, recently shared the below call for qualified judges and student competitors for the upcoming 2024 Global Ethics Olympiad. Open to all students anywhere in the world grades 6-12, check it out and email panamethics@modusponensinstitute.com with questions.
We are excited to invite you to the Fall TKEthics Global Olympiad on November 30, 2024, hosted by the Modus Ponens Institute. This virtual event, running from 6 PM to 11:30 PM EST, brings together students from grades 6-12 to discuss real-world ethical challenges.
This year’s Olympiad features 8 cases, with half focusing on the ethical implications of technology and artificial intelligence. These timely topics will challenge students to explore pressing questions on the role of AI in society—from privacy concerns to the future of AI-human relationships. The Olympiad provides a platform for students to showcase their ethical reasoning and public speaking skills, engaging in respectful, solution-driven discussions.
We Need Qualified Judges We are seeking qualified judgeswith a background in philosophy, ethics, or related fields to help evaluate the students’ performances. If you have experience in ethical discourse and would like to contribute, we encourage you to apply. Judges will play a key role in maintaining the high intellectual standard of the competition, helping to assess the students’ arguments and their ability to engage in thoughtful dialogue.
Coaching for Students Students looking to compete can also receive expert coaching from our renowned trainers, Archie Stapleton and Zach Bloom, who have coached the winners of the 2021, 2022, and 2024 International Ethics Olympiads. Our coaching sessions are designed to enhance critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and presentation skills, ensuring that students are fully prepared for the competition.
Upcoming Tournaments The Fall Ethics Olympiad will be followed by a Spring Tournament in March 2025. Details for the Finals are yet to be announced, but we are planning for a possible in-person event inCalifornia, with prizes for the winning teams!
Join Us! If you’re a qualified judge interested in participating or a student eager to compete, register now through the link below. For more details, you can also check out the attached invitation, or contact us directly at panamethics@modusponensinstitute.com.
Here’s a brief report from Ethics Olympiad Project Manager Matthew Wills on the International Senior Ethics Olympiad held July 24th.
What a wonderful day yesterday. Here is a sample of the feedback received from coaches: “Thank you for yet another superbly run Olympiad. The students have been intellectually stretched and learned to apply ethics in their lives. Personally, my favourite aspect is the focus on morality. In a world that is thirsting for authentic morality, the Ethics Olympiad is an oasis. Keep up the much-needed education!”
Here are the results: Marc Garneau Collegiate Canada was awarded the Gold Medal, Papanui High School New Zealand the Silver Medal and John XXIII College WA the Bronze Medal. Old Scona High School Canada, Merici College ACT, The Friends School Tasmania, The Kellett School Hong Kong, Iona Presentation College WA, St Margaret’s College NZ, St Peter’s School for Girls SA, Carmel School WA, Sydney Boys High School NSW, Newington College NSW, NPS International School Singapore (Black), Experimental High School China, Launceston College Tasmania, Tawa College NZ, Hornsby Girls High School NSW, Diocesan School for Girls NZ, Knox Grammar School NSW, Bishop Druitt College NSW, Prince Alfred College SA & Emanuel School NSW were close behind in that order. The most improved team on the day was Shiv Nadar School Gurugram India.
The judges awarded honourable mentions to the following teams: Ryan Catholic College Qld, Shiv Nadar School Gurugram India, The Essington School NT, Mentone Girls Grammar Vic, North Sydney Boys HS NSW, Old Scona High School Canada, The Kellett School Hong Kong, St Peter’s School for Girls SA, Carmel School WA, The Southport School Qld, Mt St Benedict College NSW, (Blue) Sydney Boys High School NSW, Newington College NSW, Uni of Canberra Senior College ACT, NPS International School Singapore (Black), Experimental High School China, Launceston College Tasmania, Shiv Nadar School Faridabad India, Loreto Normanhurst NSW, Tawa College NZ, Knox Grammar School NSW, Bishop Druitt College NSW, Selwyn College NZ, Cannon Hill Anglican College Qld, St Ignatius College SA, Heep Yunn School Hong Kong, Prince Alfred College SA, Emanuel School NSW St Michael’s Grammar Vic.
Congratulations to all 350 teams that participated in this year’s Senior High School Ethics Olympiad.
Congrats indeed! Thank you for organizing and for the update, Matthew. For more on Ethics Olympiad visit http://www.ethicsolympiad.org/
A new Ethics competition, hosted by the Modus Ponens Institute, will be held in March 2024. The Western competition will be on the 10th of March, and the Eastern competition will be on March 30th. The Pan American Final will be held on April 14th.
This event is unique for a few reasons: first, it has an exciting International competition students can attend if they place in the top positions at the National tournament. Also, all judges have extensive background in either Philosophy or a related field of study, or a history of Ethics Olympiad judging. They will provide extensive feedback each round, which will be invaluable for your improvement throughout the rounds!
Furthermore, the competition emphasizes the use of ethical theories to ground arguments. Understanding the key theories, utilitarianism, some sort of deontology (the founding father being Emmanuel Kant), care ethics, virtue ethics, and perhaps Rawlsian justice could all be utilized to build your positions.
You can find additional info at the Modus Ponens Institute webpage, or you can get in touch with the organizers at panamethics@modusponensinstitute.com. They will release the cases to you, and offer training if you desire it, once you’ve registered for the competition.
Finally, if you have any financial difficulty paying for the team fee ($180 Canadian dollars), or for pre-tournament coaching, you can simply ask via email for a scholarship, and access will be granted.
Happy fall! With the 2023-2024 season fully underway, here are three important updates.
The NHSEB case pool is live here. Favorites include #1 on generative AI (my second favorite issue), #4 on Canada’s recent move to freeze the finances of certain protestors (PM Trudeau sparking considerable debate), and #5 on the morality of cruelty in video games (which is very likely to lead to callousness in the real world).
Per a recent email from our friends at UNC’s Parr Center and the National High School Ethics Bowl, “NHSEBAcademy’s popular Studio Hours program has been revamped and now offers on-demand appointments every day of the week and across multiple time zones.” Session foci range from case brainstorming to presentation consultation to commentary workshops to judge Q&A practice. Live, on-demand, free coaching on the core components of Ethics Bowling? That’s hard to beat. If you’re coaching a team or on a team, book some free studio time here. A big thank you to our friends at Parr for offering such a helpful and generous resource.
The first-ever Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (AAPAE) Tertiary Ethics Olympiad (comparable to the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl sponsored by America’s Association for Practical and Professional Ethics) was held earlier this week. Australian National University took the Gold and Bronze medals, and Macquarie University the silver. Congrats to them as well as honorable mention winners at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. And thanks to multiple time zone international organizer extraordinaire, Matthew Wills, for the invitation to judge. It’s always a pleasure. Even when my mid-40s brain gets a little tired after midnight 😉 Group photo below.
Our friends at Ethics Olympiad recently shared footage from an International Intercollegiate round between the University of Chicago and Monash University.
Many readers will be familiar with the cases: “Billionaires in Space” and “A New Genesis.” But for folks in the States, the mythical drop bear is a koala variant said to silently prey on unsuspecting tourists, feasting on the flesh of any unaware enough to allow them to drop onto them from Australian treetops.
Kudos to judge Kelly Hamilton for the disarming ice-breaker, “If you could replace the leader of your country with an animal, what animal would you choose and why?” The Americans predictably chose the bald eagle. But the Aussies, in a slightly cheeky mood, went with the down under equivalent of the American snipe.
Anyway, that’s only the beginning. Coaches and teams would do well to fast-forward to their responses. Great job to Kelly and Michael Funke for helping the teams productively navigate the issues. And thanks to Matthew for making this available.
