Puget Sound Ethics Bowl Team Competes at …

The Puget Sound Ethics Bowl team competed at the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl on November 18th, 2023 at Pacific Lutheran University here in Tacoma. This year’s team included Mei Pacheco-Leong ’23, Alysiana Sar ’24, Natalie Worthy ’25, and Holland Hauskins ’27 and was coached by Professor Tubert.

Alysiana Sar ’24, Natalie Worthy ’25, Holland Hauskins ’27, Mei Pacheco-Leong ’23, Prof. Ariela Tubert

With mostly a new team, the Fall 2023 ethics bowl students had to work extra hard to get ready for the competition. Mei Pacheco-Leong, the veteran team member, did an awesome job taking the lead and helping the rest of the team prepare. Prof. Tubert said, “I am incredibly proud of the work the team did this semester! Their presentations improved each round with each of the members of the team going well out of their comfort zone during the competition. It was so fun to watch them and be part of their process, I know this group has a bright future ahead!”

The cases for Fall 2023 involved the ethics of banning some books from schools, balancing posthumously the wishes of art collectors and accessibility to the works of art, ethical engagement with governments with a record of human rights abuses, the ethics of using artificial intelligence for approving and denying health insurance claims, and more.

Some of the students reflected on their work during the fall semester and being part of the competition:

Alysiana Sar ’24: Being part of Ethics Bowl ‘23, for the first time, has definitely been an experience. Though there were 4 of us, I could proudly tell others like ‘yeah, I was one of the four!’ It was hard because of external factors that were out of our control, but it didn’t stop us from continuing forward. I’ve learned so much as a participant, a team member and a student. I learned how to cooperate with my team in ways that were different from just inside the classroom. I learned how to present information and apply my knowledge to real life scenarios and being able to discuss it through a lens of deeper understanding. Alongside, I’ve gained the skills that Ethics Bowl provided me and friends!!! I would recommend E.B for the experience because reflecting (now that it’s over) I am so happy that I took it because I ended the semester with fun memories, new friends, and more knowledge!!!!!

Mei Pacheco-Leong ’23: It was only a couple of years ago that I joined Ethics Bowl for the first time, outwardly quiet, internally anxious but opinionated, especially ethically. My first competition, I tried to squirrel out of competing, citing performance anxiety  and performance-based forgetfulness (I did not, at that point, even contribute to class discussions, even when cold-called). I loved the prep work and I loved the discussions and debates between our team, but I was terrified of giving arguments in front of an audience– even my peers. Unfortunately for me, my team saw me with kinder eyes than I saw myself and supported me through the anxieties of public speaking. That first bowl, I performed timidly but I did perform, introducing the moral considerations of our cases and our ethical framework in as few words as I could get away with. 

This last bowl has been my third and final year on Ethics Bowl and I would like to say I’ve grown since that initial competition. Though between now and then, I have also taken more philosophy classes and completed a philosophy capstone course, it’s Ethics Bowl in particular where I really developed confidence both in my ideas and in sharing them. Talking through ethical considerations and intuitions with a team is such a fun way of applying philosophy to real-world events. We learn to think about how to balance what is ethical with what is practical, how to think through complicated ethical issues, and how to further the discussion without attacking people’s views. I have been delighted to watch my teammates grow as philosophers and as people, developing skills like public speaking, getting better at breaking down and talking through arguments, and learning how to support each other even when we disagree. This year, I took on the role of giving our main argument, the role I watched all the seniors before me perform so well thinking I would never do that. Just as the years before, we lost, but I am so proud of our team and I can’t wait to see how they grow as/(if) they continue onwards.

Natalie Worthy ’25: This was my first year in Ethics Bowl and coming into it with no philosophy experience was challenging, but so fulfilling. As a Vocal Performance Major, I didn’t feel very prepared to take on ethical debates, but I really wanted to experience something new while utilizing my public speaking skills. After competing with this team, I can confidently say that my time in Ethics Bowl has been so valuable. I gained great experiences, ethical knowledge, and lovely friendships throughout the semester!

Trail Article Highlights Chloe Ivy-Curwen’s Interdisciplinary Approach to Art and Philosophy

Sophomore Chloe Ivy-Curwen was chosen as The Trail’s “Artist of the Issue” and was interviewed about their art and artistic background. Chloe is a double major in Art and Philosophy with a minor in Bioethics, and their preferred artistic medium is gouache paint.

One question that the interviewer asked was about how Chloe’s broad range of academic pursuits intersect with each other. Here is their response:

I’ve been extremely passionate about ethics and philosophy since taking a philosophy class in high school, but again, I hadn’t found a way to overlap these interests until I took classes here. I’ve been really interested in the need for art in life and/or society, and also the new problems that Artificial Intelligence has been creating for art making. Last semester, I took a class on philosophy of mind, where we learned a little about A.I. “art”, and this is something I would love to continue studying, or at least the philosophy behind creativity and art.

Chloe also talks in the interview about their dad and how he inspired them to pursue art, as both he and his father are artists as well. They also describe their favorite art-piece they’ve done, and what they are currently working on.

Read the whole interview here!

“Bite Me!” by Chloe Ivy-Curwen

“Freedom and Determinism in the Thought of Karl Marx” – A Talk on Campus with Dr. Vanessa Wills

On January 26th the Philosophy Department hosted a lecture by Dr. Vanessa Wills, titled “Freedom and Determinism in the Though of Karl Marx”. The event was well attended, with faculty, students, staff, and community members coming to listen to Dr. Wills talk about Marx’s views about freedom and how they relate to his views about determinism, including Marx’s views about the possibility of the sort of freedom needed for ethical responsibility. After the talk, there was a lively Q&A session with Dr. Wills, which allowed her the opportunity to expand on her views and relate them to other topics of interest to the audience.

Dr. Vanessa Wills is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The George Washington University. Her monograph Marx’s Ethical Vision will be released in April 2024 from Oxford University Press. Her research draws upon her examination of Marx’s theories, emphasizing how economic and social structures impact the achievement of ideals like freedom, equality, and human development.

This event was organized by the Philosophy department with the support of German Studies, Politics & Government, Religion, Spirituality, & Society, and Science, Technology, Health & Society.