Ethics Bowl team takes its prowess for arguing civilly to the national stage

Hours of training. Adrenaline rushes. Physical exhaustion.

It isn’t a marathon. It’s an Ethics Bowl competition. And soon, members of Virginia Tech’s Ethics Bowl team will take their prowess for arguing civilly to the national arena.  

The six-student team, composed of members of Virginia Tech’s Ethics Bowl club, will compete in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Competition Feb. 22-23 in Norfolk, facing off against the country’s best teams. It’s an accomplishment four years in the making for the Hokies, whose club got its start in 2021.

Of the nearly 200 teams that participated in regional competitions across the nation, only 36 will compete in nationals. Hosted by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, the event asks teams to analyze and discuss contemporary ethical dilemmas, such as space weaponization, media usage of photographs of tragedies, artificial intelligence tools that monitor driving systems, and more. 

Virginia Tech team members traveled to Baltimore in December for the Chesapeake Regional Ethics Bowl. Over the course of a nine-hour day, they won all six of their matches.

“By the end of the day, everybody's physically exhausted,” said Justin Horn, collegiate associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and the club’s faculty sponsor. “It's almost like this endurance event where you have to stay focused and keep arguing.”

Ethics Bowl competitions are more of a conversation than a debate and ultimately help students identify collaborative solutions to societal problems. Team members receive potential cases in advance but aren’t told what questions will be asked. Teams are judged on the ability to identify ethical dimensions of each case while presenting answers in a clear and thoughtful manner that is respectful of other viewpoints.

Sam Peden, a sophomore majoring in political science and philosophy and one of the club’s co-presidents, said winning regionals provided the team with a confidence boost.

“Winning was extremely satisfying, and now that I have seen how well we are capable of doing, I have a lot of enthusiasm going into nationals,” he said.

Horn attributes this year’s success to the students’ intense preparation.

“They spent a lot of time in the weeks before the competition just meeting with each other at odd hours and researching the cases and practicing their arguments,” Horn said. “When we got there, they were very, very polished and very articulate and made a lot of great points.”

He also credits past members of the team for the knowledge they accrued and shared with newcomers.

“It’s like they were standing on the shoulders of giants,” he said of this year’s team. “When we started doing this a few years ago, we weren't really sure what it what it took to be successful in these competitions and it took a couple years to really pin down our formula.”

Guarav Jones, a junior majoring in experimental neuroscience, said the club “scratches an intellectual itch” he didn’t know existed before joining. When preparing for a case, he said he first considers his “gut feelings” before forming a logical conclusion. He then presents his argument to his teammates, who point out flaws and offer suggestions.

“All the preparation is done,” he said of the national competition. “We’ve come to the table with what we have and now it’s just a matter of listening, thinking, and speaking.”

While the energy at competitions can be intense, it’s also affable, Horn said.

“Overall, I would say the vibe is very friendly,” he said. “Most people don't really know a lot about what Ethics Bowl is, and so when you are in a space where that's something that everybody is passionate about, it’s a neat thing that people can connect over even if they are competing with each other.”

Along with empowering students to hone their research and public speaking skills, Ethics Bowl also helped members expand their worldviews.

“It is excellent to be really well connected with people who constantly make me reconsider how or what I think,” Peden said. “It has done wonders for my sense of bias, though it will never be nil.”

Peden said while it can be “terrifying” to whittle down months of research into 10 minutes of speech that will be scrutinized by others, he has found ways to remedy his nerves.

“Having a position that everyone is comfortable arguing is crucial,” he said. “Insofar as I can keep my integrity about an issue or otherwise believe in my position enough to confidently advocate for it, the more likely my nervousness is to turn into adrenaline.”

Winners of national competition receive a trophy and will be honored at the closing ceremony of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics annual conference, which is held in conjunction with the competition. Peden said he is hopeful the team will have a strong showing.

“We spend so much of our free time talking about cases and their worldly insights that it has brought us very close,” he said. “So winning would be quite reflective of our cohesion as people and I think that's something we've all found really meaningful.”