The Daily Bulletin Archive

Ethics Bowl competitions are not so much about answering questions the right way as they are about asking the right questions. That’s what a dozen students are learning this semester in PHI 351: Ethics Bowl, a new class that, for some, doubles as an extracurricular activity.

The class is open to all upperclassmen and any student who has taken at least one philosophy course. It also satisfies the oral communication requirement of Intellectual Foundations. Students learn to develop well-informed opinions and ethical reasoning, and then orally present their arguments to other students and judges. Students must also react to others’ opinions.

Julian Cole, assistant professor of philosophy, instructs the class and serves as head coach of the Buffalo State Ethics Bowl Team. He said students tackle “fundamental issues” like freedom of speech and privacy and, thus, have to think critically about their role in society.

“We discuss the legal, moral, and political issues of today in a practical setting,” Cole said. “The experience makes the conflicts feel more ‘real’ and helps develop students as responsible citizens.”

Beyond the classroom, six of the students are preparing for the Northeast Regional Tournament on November 14, one of 10 tournaments that will culminate in the national Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB). Cole will travel with the students this weekend to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, to compete against 17 teams from 11 colleges. The top 32 teams will qualify for the IEB, to be held March 4 in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the 19th annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. The IEB has received special commendation for excellence and innovation from the American Philosophical Association.

Students have been preparing and refining arguments for 15 real-life ethical scenarios covering topics such as torture; MySpace; mining in West Papua, New Guinea; and taking ADHD medications to improve academic performance.

During the competition, a moderator announces a topic, and a team of three to five students has one minute to prepare and up to 10 minutes to present. The opposing team responds, and the first team rebuts. The judges ask questions for another 10 to 15 minutes. The moderator then presents a second topic in the round, and the two teams switch roles. Each round lasts about 75 minutes, and teams continue to advance throughout the day.

Cole said each member of the team is responsible for knowing three to five cases, which makes the competition a “true team event.”

“The structure is modeled on what a good philosophical conversation should be,” he said. “It’s about asking thought-provoking questions more so than debating. A student could ask, ‘Have you considered reason X as to why your argument might be correct?’”

Cole said students participating in the Ethics Bowl tournament have spent many hours preparing outside of class. He credits James Grunebaum, professor emeritus of philosophy, and Dr. Barbara Olsafsky, an independent scholar, for serving as coaches and thanks Jason Grinnell and John Draeger, assistant professors of philosophy, who have made themselves available outside of class to discuss the theoretical aspects of ethics with students.

The new class seems to be a hit with students and provides numerous benefits for learning and character development, Cole said.

“I think Ethics Bowl really grabs students’ interest because particular cases help bring issues to life,” he said. “Ethics Bowl also helps with communication and gets students to shake away their nerves. They learn how to speak, present, and think and reason critically. They also receive immediate feedback, which is very valuable for learning. There’s a lot of work involved, but many rewards, too. I’ve seen tremendous development in the students, and they’re very engaged in class.”

Funding for Ethics Bowl was made possible by grants from the Dean of Arts and Humanities Office and the Undergraduate Research Office, which is sponsoring a research study on philosophical discourse that students from the team will conduct during this weekend’s tournament.