Iowa High School Ethics Bowl

Since students are responsible for their research, coaches primarily just facilitate meetings. In the fall, teams meet once every week or two in preparation for the January competition at ISU.

Ethics Bowl discussions center around a few fundamental philosophical principles, all of which can be easily accessed.

Unlike other debate formats, there’s only one Iowa Ethics Bowl tournament each year, which means there’s only one place you need to travel.

Ethics Bowl cases cover a host of real-world contemporary issues such as artificial intelligence, the prison system, free speech on social media, the ethics of phones in classrooms, end of life care, elephant personhood, and many others. No matter your background, age, or experience, you will consider topics you’ve never thought about before.

Unlike other debate formats, Ethics Bowl prizes collegial, understandable discussion. Teams are judged on the nuance, clarity, and simplicity of their arguments.Some judges have a background in philosophy, but most don’t, which means students must speak so that anyone can understand them.

The open nature of Ethics Bowl team discussions leads to a strong bond between those who participate in them. When you create a team, you create a space for students to be themselves and work with each other to create something more beautiful than the sum of its parts.