The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl is a debate competition sponsored by the Association for Practical and Applied Ethics. Ethics Bowl events center around discussing complex and pressing moral questions based on contemporary case examples. Unlike traditional debate, teams are not judged on the basis of oration. Instead, students are evaluated only on their ability to present arguments that thoughtfully and thoroughly engage with the cases and the other teams’ arguments. Teams do not bring pre-written materials and generally remain seated with their team for the discussion. This tends to produce a casual and friendly environment during competition. There are two fall competitions: state and regionals. Teams that place highly at the regional event win an invitation to compete at the national competition.
The OU ethics bowl team meets once each week to talk through cases and prepare for competition. Discussing contemporary moral issues with your peers is the central activity of every practice. No prior experience with debate, ethics, or philosophy is required. Team membership is open to all majors. Students who join ethics bowl will learn how to think through complex moral questions and how to use ethical frameworks to clarify these questions.
Layla Williams
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