Philosophy Department Hosts The Ethics Cup!

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Should we ban short domestic flights in response to climate change? Is it wrong to use computer-generated imagery to represent deceased actors? Should we set a youth-quota to ensure we have a higher percentage of younger people in government? These were just some of the important questions which were discussed during the North-West regional tournament of The Ethics Cup.

The event was hosted by the Philosophy Department on the 27th January, and our guests were students from eight secondary schools in the region, who competed by debating a wide-range of ethical and social issues.

However, this was no ordinary debating competition! Teams were rewarded, not just for their argument, but for expressing their views with insightfulness, thoughtfulness and civility. For more on the unique approach of The Ethics Cup see: https://ethicscup.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

All the students did incredibly well. The time-keepers and judges were academic staff, Masters or PhD candidates from the philosophy department, and they were all really impressed with how the students conducted the debates, and with their careful consideration of the issues.

We enjoyed an exciting morning involving all eight schools playing two matches each, with the top four schools playing the regional finals in the afternoon. After two incredibly close afternoon matches, the students from Tytherington School in Macclesfield and the students from The Hammond School in Chester were victorious! They are our joint winners and have secured places at the finals to be held at The University of St Andrews, where they will play the winners from the other regional tournaments. As a token of their achievement, both teams were given a copy of head of department Michael Hauskeller’s new book: The Meaning of Life and Death.

Thanks to the students from The Hammond School, Hutton C of E Grammar School, Liverpool College, Manchester Grammar School, Neston High School, The Orme Academy, Tytherington School, and Upton Hall. You were all fantastic!

Our co-champions - The Hammond School (L) and Tytherington School (R).