Clemson University Ethics Bowl Team

The Clemson University Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team has just completed another winning season. The team was a first-place finisher in regional competition this past fall and advanced to national competition in the spring.

As the roster of students was entirely new this year, their victory in their inaugural competition at the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl in the fall was unique in the history of the program. The competition took place in November at the University of Richmond. On the way to the top Clemson defeated University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, the winner of the past two regional bowls. They shared the first place spot with past national champion University of Miami as the result of an unprecedented tie in the final round. “I was particularly impressed with the team because the roster is entirely new in the fall and it was their first experience of a competition” said Charles Starkey, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and fellow of the Rutland Institute for Ethics. “Their presentations and teamwork were first-rate, which reflects the significant time and effort that the team put in to preparing for the competition.”

The team continued their intensive work in the spring semester. For each semester of competition the team receives 15 case studies several weeks prior to the competition date. Each case study involves an ethical dilemma on which the team must develop a position. In preparing the case, they apply relevant ethical theories and do research that allows them to incorporate a host of relevant information such as legal principles, scientific facts, and sociological observations that pertain to the case. In the first weeks of the semester, the team members put in as much time as they would on a semester-long course. But the payoff in terms of presenting a polished, articulate case is great. Clemson’s team has built a strong reputation in recent years by routinely defeating teams from more established programs, and competitors have referred to the team as a debating “powerhouse.” Clemson won the national title in 2008 and placed second in 2009.

In each round of the competition itself two teams face off, responding, in turn, to a case-specific question; they have 10 minutes. The other team offers a five-minute critique to which the presenting team responds. This response is followed by 10 minutes of questioning by a three-judge panel. The roles of the teams are reversed for the second half of the round, which deals with a different case. The judges evaluate each team’s performance for clarity, its focus on ethically relevant factors, the strength and cogency of the arguments and deliberative thoughtfulness

One of the most daunting and rewarding aspects of the regimen is the preparation: working closely with each of the students to help them do their best. The team and coach spend hours debating the various cases, and as the debate goes on, the ideas flow, thoughts are refined, and the arguments improve. “Students come to appreciate and understand the subtleties of cases and, at the same time, they learn the strengths and weaknesses of the various ethical theories they bring to bear in grappling with the issues. In this way it is like an intensive seminar in applied ethics” observes Starkey.

The team members are:

Calla Jean (Junior, Political Science) Yorktown, VA
Anna Little (Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering) Anderson SC
Margaret Nicholson (Senior, English) Myrtle Beach, SC
Kevin Payne (Senior, Economics) Florence, SC
Taylor Reeves (Sophomore, English) Liberty, SC


They were assisted by students: Yancey Appling, Nikesh Patel, Domonica Powell, Brad Saad, Kyle Turner, Ian Wood, and James Wood.

And faculty: Kelly Smith, Steve Satris, and Dan Wueste

The Ethics Bowl program is supported by the Rutland Institute for Ethics, Department of Philosophy and Religion, and a grant from the Humanities Advancement Board of Clemson University.

Charles Starkey

Associate Professor, Philosophy