Ethics Bowl Team Wins 1st Place in Midwest Invitational Competition

Taylor University’s Ethics Bowl team claimed first place at the inaugural Midwest Invitational, hosted Spring semester at the University of Chicago. The event brought together teams from top institutions nationwide—including Harvard, Northwestern, the University of Georgia, Texas State, and Iowa State.

This victory adds to the team’s growing list of accolades, following a third-place finish at Nationals in Spring 2024 and second at Regionals in Fall 2024. The Ethics Bowl is a collaborative and competitive intercollegiate event in which students discuss and argue contemporary moral dilemmas.

Building Arguments  

Before competitions, a case packet of potential issues to be debated is released. Topics vary from technology to medicine to religion to culture to government to animal rights and more. Usually, the Ethics Bowl students each take three to four cases and spend several months building debating positions together. This process involves researching the issue, analyzing the morals at play, and considering differing perspectives.

Several times a week, the Ethics Bowl team gathers to share research, refine arguments, and practice presentations. Taylor’s team presents cases grounded in faith-based convictions, yet articulates them in a broadly accessible way, avoiding direct appeals to Scripture or Christian tradition. In the process, students learn to advocate for their positions with intellectual rigor while engaging thoughtfully with perspectives different from their own. They develop the ability to discuss opposing views with grace, compassion, and respect, all without compromising their core beliefs.

Dr. Koert Verhagen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Taylor and Ethics Bowl coach explained, “As a distinctively Christian institution, our team has to figure out how to contend for positions in a manner that is both publicly accessible and deeply consistent with our foundational faith commitments.”

Conviction in Competition 

During competitions, a case is randomly selected, and a question is posed regarding the issue. The starting team has ten minutes to present their position and address counter arguments. The opposing team rebuts, and the beginning team responds to their commentary. Unlike traditional debate environments, the goal is to facilitate dialogue about contentious issues rather than dominate the opposing team.

Nursing sophomore Matthew Sanborn joined the Taylor Ethics Bowl team this past fall as a freshman. At the Midwest Invitational, he led Taylor’s dialogue on the morality of physician-assisted death. As a Nursing major, his interest in medicine and ethics came together as he argued in favor of the value of human life.

“I really do believe that the success we have is largely because of our Christian moral framework. When we enter into these competitive environments, our Christian convictions serve as a steadfast rock for us to stand on,” Sanborn shared.

At the Midwest Invitational, each member of Taylor’s Ethics Bowl team had the opportunity to boldly defend positions they believe to be moral, based on strong Christian conviction. For Taylor’s team, this shared, foundational conviction brings unity as they present arguments in a way that remains thoughtful and accessible to audiences who may not share their beliefs.  

 

Personal Formation 

 

Reflecting on the personal formation that Ethics Bowl fosters, Verhagen shared, “They are learning ways of reasoning and engaging with a complex and fallen world that God loves. I’m excited for what that will mean for their witness and impact for the Kingdom.”

Taylor’s Ethics Bowl team is focused on cultivating character before competitive success. Verhagen describes it as an encouraging and collegial atmosphere. Students grow in their critical reasoning, public speaking, confidence, and leadership skills throughout their time in Ethics Bowl, but they also gain much more, Verhagen explained. Students come to recognize that all of life involves difficult and complex moral decisions, and they gain the tools to evaluate them. Ethics Bowl equips students to be gracious in challenging contexts and to balance compassion and conviction in contested areas. 

“Students who care deeply about their faith and vocation as disciples of Jesus Christ see Ethics Bowl as a piece in the puzzle that is their preparation for the work that God is calling them to,” Verhagen explained.

With a variety of beliefs even within the team, students learn to grow intellectually and spiritually with one another, coming together as friends and colleagues.