Club Spotlight: Ethics Forum
By ANGELA HE and JILLIAN CHENG
From 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, you may hear the sound of clinking plates, scraping food, and muffled conversations tucked away in the Seabrooke Room at Elm. Here lies the enriching discussions of Ethics Forum, the Academy’s hub of all ethics-related debates. The club’s MyExeter description details the club as a means to “explor[e] all sorts of modern ethical issues in Harkness-style conversations.” But what really goes on behind closed doors?
New upper Robyn Davies described the numerous topics debated in the club. “It’s usually dilemmas, in which our moral values conflict a little bit and which raise a little bit of controversy to the point where we’re able to have an interesting discussion,” she said, “but things don’t get too heated. I think our first one was on a woman who accidentally murders her sister in childhood and then has thoughts about how to handle her guilt in adulthood and it was really interesting.”
Prep Diya Sandeep expanded on the broader scope of the debates, noting that “we talk a lot about the system that we live in and how certain aspects of society affect the way that we think about certain cases. The cases themselves have a bit of range, but what’s more important is how we address the case.”
As a cohead of Ethics Forum, senior Meishu Han emphasized the club’s central mission: “The goal of this club really is just to create a space that makes people feel like they have the opportunity to really dig deep and discuss with other people some of the ethical cases that are really pertinent to our society today.” Han highlighted the importance of creating an environment where students feel comfortable engaging in meaningful conversations about real-world ethical dilemmas.
Davies described Ethics Forum as a space for intellectual growth.“It’s a forum where we get to test out our ideas, test out our beliefs, have them challenged and reform them. ” She emphasized how the club allows members to critically engage with different perspectives.
While the main Ethics Forum meetings are conversations open to the public, the club also prepares for the Ethics Bowl, a national competition run by the Parr Center for Ethics. Club adviser and Instructor in Religion Hannah Hofheinz explained the preparation for the Ethics Bowl: “The Ethics Bowl gives teams an opportunity to evaluate and respond to a series of around fifteen cases that each describe an ethically complicated situation. Some focus on general ethical questions, while others present cases taken from recent news items. Each case closes with ethical questions, and, at the tournaments, judges ask teams to respond to others.”
Similar to clubs like Mock Trial and Debate, Ethics Forum assembles a highly advanced team to send to the competition: “The team works on their ethical reasoning skills in preparation for the tournament,” said Hofheinz.
At the competition itself, the PEA team competes with other schools by having meaningful conversations on specific cases. They have opportunities to ask each other questions, and then must respond to the judges’ questions.
Han explained that many new members come to Ethics Forum because they are not even sure what it is in the first place. However, she believes that everyone can benefit from coming, whether or not they have an interest in ethics. “I think ethics, what sets it apart from perhaps other fields, is just philosophies that are so applicable in their real lives. Philosophy is a lot about the bigger questions, but ethics is very pertinent to our real life.”
Hofheinz agreed, “We all have to decide who we want to be and what we want to do in the world. We all have choices to make every day. Some of these choices are big and some small, but they all ask us to choose a course of action. Sometimes those choices are tricky. Do I want to do this? Is this a good idea or a bad idea? What do I think about what someone else is saying or doing? Is it right? Is this law just? Is this rule fair? All of those are questions of ethics. I think everybody benefits from talking about them.”
Prep Kaylee Gong reflected on how much she enjoys these discussions: “I feel like ethics is a very fun thing to talk about because there are so many possible perspectives, and it’s fun to hear what everyone thinks. It’s like discussing and debating over dinner, almost like another Harkness conversation, which is fun.” Ethics Forum not only tackles important questions, but also fosters a lively and enjoyable atmosphere for its members.
Sandeep added that “the ability to see a variety of views and think about the world we live in are really important to me. It’s something I’m trying to work on, and I think Ethics Forum is one of a few outlets for that. It’s also very unique in the sense that none of the other clubs I’m in right now are addressing the current issues within our society in such a generalized sense.”
To sum it up, Han expressed the relevance of these discussions: “I think it’s so applicable to our real lives and something really important to consider. If you’re not really interested in ethics, you might wonder why you should spend time discussing these topics with people you don’t really know during dinner at Elm. However, it’s great for those who want to learn more about ethical dilemmas and frameworks. It’s especially helpful for anyone who may not take religion classes here, as they combine ethics and philosophy. Engaging in these conversations provides a strong foundation for understanding those subjects and really broadens your mind. I really enjoyed it, and I think Ethics Forum is a special place to be.”
