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
Formula for Disaster
Shirley runs out of baby formula to feed her newborn and heads to the grocery store. After swiping her card at checkout, the distracted cashier tells her she is good to go. Later, when Shirley checks her bank account, she notices that the grocery store payment did not go through. However, after paying her utility bill upon returning home from the store, Shirley no longer has money to go back and pay for the formula. Is it morally wrong for Shirley to keep the formula? To what extent is one morally responsible for an act done in ignorance?
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?
Unpaid Item
Jake, a busy college student, realizes at home that the grocery store forgot to charge him for a 24-case of bottled water. Given that it was the grocer's mistake, is Jake morally obligated to go back and pay for the item? How would the case be different at a small independent store versus a big chain store? What if the item cost several hundred dollars?
Swimming for Free
Angel works full time but struggles to make ends meet, and Mark attends an expensive private college. Is it morally permissible for Angel to use his friend Mark's school ID to swim in the pool for free?
Eating for Free
Milan is fired from her restaurant job for making herself free food when the restaurant closes at night. She did so because her manager and close friend Kai sometimes gave her permission to do so and she knew the leftover food was thrown away. What constitutes stealing? What moral obligations do managers have to subordinates who are also their friends?