Several of our students have been preparing for the national Ethics Olympiad which is due to take place at the end of May. The boys involved are James Huckle, Max Russell, Matthew McPhail and Finn MacTaggart and they are being coached for the competition by Mr John Graham. The Ethics Olympiad is based on an American competition which seeks to promote high school student engagement with complex ethical issues and give them the skills to think critically about and discuss issues that may be challenging and controversial. An Ethics Olympiad differs from debating in that students are not assigned opposing views. They may choose to adopt whichever position they believe is right and can win by showing that they have thought more carefully, deeply, and perceptively about the issues in question. This is designed to encourage and help students develop intellectual virtues such as ethical awareness, critical thinking skills, civil discourse, civic engagement, and an appreciation for diverse points of view.

In the lead up to the Olympiad, each team is presented with eight ethical questions to which they must develop a response after discussion and debate. In the actual competition, a moderator will select one of the issues and teams will have to present their standpoint on the topic. Both teams involved in a match are encouraged to work together to solve a complex issue rather than adopt an adversarial approach.  The questions are designed to test the boys’ skill at developing a sound moral argument and include such topics as  “ The benefits of restorative justice” and “Should university entrance be done by lottery?”.

Earlier in the term the boys all did a training day on Zoom and learnt a lot about how to approach moral and ethical problems. When they were asked about how they were enjoying the preparation, Mathew said that he had always been interested in the kinds of ethical problems that they are considering and Max said that the type of discussions that they are currently having are valuable because they make you more aware of other people’s views. James added that the training was showing them how to structure an argument and that would be a really useful skill in other subject areas.

We wish all the boys luck with their preparation and the competition in May.

Article added: Thursday 14 April 2022