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
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
It’s Just a Joke!
Nick, Tyrone, Grasyon, and Zack have known each other since Kindergarten and been good friends since Middle School. Recently, Zack's girlfriend Della has been joining them for their High School lunch break. One day, Della is invited to game night, but is unable to go because of her self defense classes. All the friends are excited to learn more, and impressed by what she is able to do. When Della said that she wanted to learn knife throwing, Nick jokingly warns Zack, and jokes that if she ever pulls a knife on him, all he needs to do is pull out some bread, mayo, and ham and her instincts will kick in. This offended Della, and Nick was forced to defend his joke.
Believing in Others
Tamir and Sharon have been friends since their first year of high school. Sharon went on to school for arts and dreams of starring on Broadway. Tamir went on to school for philosophy and dreams of becoming a professor. After Sharon gets turned down for a role in a local production she begins to question whether she should move to NY and asks Tamir what they think. Tamir is unsure that Sharon will be successful in NY and wants to be supportive, but also doesn’t want to lie to Sharon. What does it mean to believe in someone? Does it mean believing that they will achieve their goals, even when the evidence says that they won’t?
Best Man or Worst Man?
Bijan's best friend Mike is getting married. Bijan does not like his friend's fiancé and is unsure whether he should tell Mike about these feelings. If Bijan doesn't confront Mike, is he to blame for anything? What is the morally best way for Bijan to confront Mike if he chooses to? If Bijan shares his feelings, how should or could Mike feel about them?