After all, one of the hallmarks of a modern democracy is the existence of disagreement on a variety of issues. In order to function well, such a society needs citizens capable of engaging in respectful deliberation and dialogue about a vast array of controversial and complex issues, with emphasis on reasoning, not rhetoric. This requires not just critical thinking, but a healthy respect for others’ values and perspectives, as well as an understanding that the world seldom operates in black and white.
The THSEB is sponsored annually by the Department of Philosophy and the UT Humanities Center. The event is made possible by the continued involvement of students, faculty, and administrators from schools across East Tennessee and volunteers.
At its heart, the THSEB is a discussion, not a debate. Teams are not required to choose opposing sides, nor is the goal to “win” arguments by belittling other teams or their positions. This focus on engagement, reasoning, and critical dialogue has many benefits for student learning, including honing skills which are proven to boost standardized testing performance, and which are explicitly targeted by Tennessee educational standards. Additionally, the event encourages social and intellectual interactions that are crucial to a functioning democracy, namely, the consideration of other, often competing, perspectives when making moral judgments and decisions.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 THSEB!
Champion – University School of Nashville
Runner-Up – Farragut High School
Semi-Finalists – Bearden High School & Maryville High School
2025 Event Information
The in-person event is scheduled for Saturday, February 1, 2025 at the Webb School in Knoxville. We will continue to monitor the feasibility of this plan given local circumstances. If it becomes necessary to move the event online, we will use the same online format used during last year’s event.
The THSEB is a full day event, and all participating teams will be guaranteed at least five matches during the course of the day. No prior experience with philosophy is expected or necessary to participate in the THSEB, and we are always happy to welcome new teams to the competition.
The THSEB provides coaches with detailed informational packets (including information on the basics of ethical reasoning) and, upon request, meet with you or your team virtually to go over the event details and expectations, answering any questions you might have. We also offer a program that provides a volunteer to visit your practices to help provide feedback and offer additional perspectives on the cases – this year all visits will be conducted virtually. We are here to provide whatever we reasonably can to ensure the readiness and competitiveness of your team and look forward to working with participating faculty and students!
Registration for the 2025 THSEB is now open. Click here to register. The first 18 schools to register will be guaranteed places in the event. Once all spaces are filled, we will begin forming a waitlist. Should interest and our ability to get volunteers to staff the event allow, we will add teams as we are able from the waitlist (note: teams will always be added in pairs to maintain scheduling and the competition format). As such, you’ll want to register early to be one of the 18 that are guaranteed a spot. You will not need to provide a roster at the time of registration with us, but please make sure that you have the commitments from students to form a team and participate prior to registering. We will collect official team rosters in late December or early January.
Initially, schools are only allowed to register one team. Starting in late November/early December, if there are any remaining spots available for the event, we will allow schools to register a second team (giving those opportunities to those who noted interest, based on original registration order).
After completing the registration form, you will be contacted by the THSEB to confirm your registration status. All teams that gain entry to the 2024 THSEB will be required to register with the NHSEB and pay a $125 registration fee to them (NOTE: the THSEB does not have our own separate registration fee). Cases for the 2025 THSEB are available at the National High School Ethics Bowl website.
Volunteer Opportunities
There are two ways that you can volunteer on the day of the event to help make the THSEB a success and provide a memorable experience for over 100 students who will join us from schools across middle and east Tennessee:
- As a JUDGE, you will listen to teams present their arguments and score them based on their clarity, engagement with the central ethical dimensions of the case, deliberative thoughtfulness, and respectfulness. Again, no background in ethics or philosophy is required to be a judge. We will provide you with an informational packet and answer any questions you might have.
- As a MODERATOR, you will present the cases, read the questions to be answered, keep time, and control the room during matches. All materials will be provided for you on the day of the event, including a script to follow. No advance preparations are required, but we are more than happy to go through the script with you in advance and answer any questions that you might have.
You can express your interest in volunteering, by completing our volunteer interest form here.
If there are any questions or for more information regarding the Ethics Bowl program, please don’t hesitate to e-mail us at THSEB@utk.edu.
