Tufts Ethics Bowl team wins Northeast Regional ethics competition

The Tufts Ethics Bowl team beat out 26 teams to claim the winning title at the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl competition in Patchogue, New York on Nov. 14.

The competition, hosted by St. Joseph’s College, included teams from schools such as the U.S. Naval Academy, Salisbury University, Dartmouth College, Union College and Villanova University, according to Ethics Bowl team member Zachary Flicker.

Teams competing at the Ethics Bowl were expected to present and defend arguments based on 15 case studies of ethical dilemmas, Flicker, a junior, said. Facing off in pairs, teams took turns putting forward a standpoint relating to a question revealed at the start of the round and responding to criticisms from the other team. Participating teams were evaluated by 50 judges, who were mostly professors from the participating schools, as well as Ph.D. candidates, faculty and alumni from St. Joseph’s College. 

“It was a long day,” Jane Acker, a junior, said. “We woke up at 6 a.m., were driven by our two teaching assistants to the venue and got home just before 8 p.m.”

Preceding the regional tournament in New York, Tufts held its own Ethics Bowl for undergraduates on Oct. 24. About 45 students, divided into teams of five and six students, attended practice sessions during open block with philosophy graduate students Steven Norris and Runeko Lovell to go over the case studies in the weeks leading up to the competition. Students participating in the Tufts competition had the option of earning 0.5 credit through the philosophy department for their work. 

The winning team of the regional competition, which competed and won at Tufts under the name "Goon Squad," consists of six students:  Flicker, Acker, senior Margaret Ringler, senior Dylan Phelan, junior Phoebe Dinh and junior Adam Plumer.

According to Flicker, this team, which also competed in the regional competition last year, first formed three years ago after Tufts' philosophy faculty and staff members introduced Ethics Bowl to campus. Flicker explained that he became involved with the team after Monica Link, an assistant lecturer in the philosophy department and his professor at the time, convinced him to join.

Dinh said that she began competing with the team by "accident," when philosophy professor Susan Russinoff formed a last-minute team at a Philosophy Club meeting during her first year at Tufts.

Flicker explained that Ethics Bowl participants include students from diverse educational backgrounds and are not limited to philosophy majors. Acker, for example, is a quantitive economics and dance double major, and Dinh added that she has not taken an ethics class at Tufts so far.

“It is certainly helpful to be in the ethics class at Tufts, but you don’t necessarily have to be part of it to be on the team,” Flicker said.

Flicker described a highlight from the regional Ethics Bowl competition -- a round based on "Case #3: Anti-Vax Tax," which outlines debate surrounding a proposal to implement a tax on those who fail to vaccinate their children. During the round, the Tufts team was able to identify an instance when members of the opposing team directly contradicted themselves, which won Tufts favor with the judges, he said.

Dinh said that the Ethics Bowl is “not a strict debate competition” and that the format allows the competition to resemble a discussion.

“The Ethics Bowl is about having a nuanced approach, which is not necessarily right or wrong,” Flicker said. “Sometimes it's just that the logic doesn't play out properly, and there are additional points worth considering.”

Flicker's favorite part of Ethics Bowl is interacting with other students, he said.

“It is so rewarding to engage in philosophical ideas at a high level and have meaningful ethical discussions at a national level,” he said. 

The team is currently preparing for the national Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competition, which will be held in Reston, Va. on Feb. 21, according to Flicker.