CASE Library
Explore The Issues that Matter.
We excitedly invite you to browse, search, and explore our newly redesigned library of over 300 case studies which render some of the most complex and controversial moral and political issues of our time. These cases were formerly used for official NHSEB competitions at the Regional, Divisional, and National Championship levels. They are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses.
The NHSEB Case Library is an excellent tool for competitive preparation, internal or intramural competition, or beyond the context of the Ethics Bowl activity completely—as a classroom resource for Grades 9-12 and beyond.
Featured Cases
NAVIGATING THE LIBRARY
NHSEB’s Case Library is now fully browsable by individual case, or by Case Set—using the filters below. Or, if you already know a bit about what you’re looking for, the entire library of over 300 Ethics Bowl cases is newly indexed, referenced, and searchable by title, topic, keyword, year, and category. Each individual case entry contains the full text of the case and discussion questions as they originally appeared for competitive use, all references assembled in hyperlinked footnotes, and additional contextual resources curated by NHSEB HQ.
CASE SET COLLECTION
REGIONAL CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
National CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
FIND AN ETHICS BOWL CASE
ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION
All National High School Ethics Bowl cases are the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics, and all are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses once retired from use in NHSEB competitions. This library represents thousands of hours of work from our Contributing Authors, Editors, and others. Please do not reproduce NHSEB cases or sets—in part or in whole—without attribution, or modify the text of individual cases or sets. If you reproduce or make reference to NHSEB cases from this library (e.g., in classroom materials, academic papers, etc.), please attribute and/or cite those materials:
National High School Ethics Bowl (Ed.), <YEAR>. “<Case Title>.” National High School Ethics Bowl Case Library. UNC Parr Center for Ethics: Chapel Hill, NC. http://nhseb.org/case-library
Browse The Library
The Cases for and Against Reparations
Should Black Americans receive reparations for slavery and/or continuing discrimination? Does a person need to have cause a harm in order to be morally accountable for that harm, or is it enough that they benefit for the legacy of that harm?
Tip of the Iceberg
The only way for Erica, a waiter and primary bread-winner, to make ends meet for her family is to not report her tips as income to the IRS. Is stealing justified in this situation? Are we less morally responsible for lying, cheating, or stealing if our economic circumstances coerce us into doing so?
Almost Kiss and Tell
Juan almost cheats on his girlfriend Julia but then doesn't for lack of opportunity. Is it morally permissible to keep this information from Julia? What constitutes cheating on a partner?
Responsibility for Implicit Bias
Should we blame people for having or acting on implicit biases, and if so how much? How should the fact that implicit biases are so widespread influence what we think about them?
Risky Moral Decisions
An overseer at a large coal mine must decide who to save after an accident: a large group with a low chance of successful rescue or a small group with a high chance of successful rescue. What should he do? Is it morally problematic to make calculations with human lives?
Stuck in Love
Sarah and Chris were happily married until Chris became a paraplegic after a tragic climbing accident. Since then, their interests have diverged and Sarah no longer feels happy. Is there something morally bad about leaving your partner as a result of this kind of development? Is Sarah blameworthy for feeling unfulfilled?
Gender and Sports
Should there be such a binary division between men's and women's sports competitions? How should trans or nonbinary people enter competitions?
Dirty Hands
Lisa is a mechanical engineer whose only job offer is at a company involved in military technology. As a committed pacifist, she is conflicted about whether she should turn down the job to keep her conscience clean or accept the job to prevent a non-pacifist from taking the job.
Standing Up to Hate
Sam goes over to their friend Jake's house for dinner, where Jake's father and brother make hateful, bigoted comments. Should Sam confront them and stand up to hate or stay silent because it is not Sam's place?
Non-Human Animals in Biomedical Research
Biomedical experiments often use nonhuman animals as test subjects. This can lead to important scientific advances but exposes research subjects to injury/death without the possibility of consent. How should we compare the value of scientific knowledge with the wellbeing of nonhuman research subjects?
Teaching All Slides
Should a high school teacher in a class that studies many controversial subjects teach all sides of every issue or favor some sides over others? Should she use her own judgement, teach all sides of public opinion, or defer to experts and scientists? What questions can she treat as open and what questions should she teach as closed?
Drone Strikes
Are drone strikes ethical, given that they save the lives of American soldiers, but can also make military personnel too cavalier about taking life. Is it morally better or worse to engage in violence remotely rather than in person?
Taking Care of Parents
Charlotte is a college senior with a high-paying job waiting for her after she graduates. As they age, her extremely supportive grandparents ask her to provide for her financially irresponsible mother. To what degree is Charlotte obligated to financially support her mother? To what degree is she obligated to obey her grandparents' wishes?
Up and Down
Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. Is naloxone enabling opioid addicts, and if so, do the harms outweigh the benefits? When it comes to drug policies, is it more morally important to promote the wellbeing of drug users or reduce rates of drug use?
Hope for the Best or Plan for the Worst?
When Patrick's family is in a very bad financial situation, he puts on a brave face and tells his family that everything will be okay, knowing that his message is overly optimistic. His message of hope helps his family cope, but is it active deception or a morally permissible, if not required, part of caring for his family?
Contributing to Overpopulation
If current population trends are unsustainable, what does this mean for our individual procreative choices? Do we have a moral duty to limit how many children we have to address overpopulation?
In It for the Likes?
Is it okay for Leah to make political posts on Facebook and attend protests for self-interested reasons, like impressing people? She cares about the issues for their own sake, but if she had no self-interested reason to engage in political activity, her overall engagement would decline.