KNOXVILLE—A team of students from Austin East High School in Knoxville claimed first place in the third annual Ethics Bowl, held in mid-March at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The tournament-style event pitted teams of high school students against one another as they employ critical thinking to debate complex issues. The event also gave high school students a chance to participate in collegiate-level competition.
The Austin-East team received the Ethics Bowl trophy and $1,500 in prize money. Farragut High School finished second, winning $1,000. Notre Dame High School of Chattanooga came in third and won $500.
The six competing teams—five from Knox County and one from Chattanooga—were asked to consider a case, analyze the morally relevant details, and apply ethical theory toward solving the issue. Teams also could react and comment on other teams’ work.
“It was a great sight, seeing students genuinely and passionately engaged in moral reasoning about highly controversial but important contemporary moral issues,” said Jeff Cervantez, doctoral candidate in philosophy and Ethics Bowl coordinator.
The Ethics Bowl was started in 2010 by UT philosophy lecturer Matt Deaton. For more information on the UT Department of Philosophy, visit web.utk.edu/~philosop. For more information on the Ethics Bowl, visit philosophy.utk.edu/ethics.
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C O N T A C T :
Jeff Cervantez (562-325-1757, jcervan1@utk.edu)