--- title: What is an ethics olympiad? — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «What is an ethics olympiad?», a lesson of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Ethics means thinking carefully about what is right and wrong, good and bad, and above all why: it is about reasons, not just opinions --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/) / What is an ethics olympiad? # What is an ethics olympiad? Lesson 36 of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school: 17 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/0/) — Ethics means thinking carefully about what is right and wrong, good and bad, and above all why: it is about reasons, not just opinions. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/1/) — In an ethics olympiad, school teams are given short stories called cases, each with a dilemma, where every choice has something costly about it. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/2/) — The teams do not win by shouting the other side down; judges give points for clear reasons, understanding the case, thinking about every person affected, answering questions well and showing respect. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/3/) — In many rounds one team gives its view and the other team responds, adding ideas and asking questions rather than attacking. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/4/) — For a child today this is good practice for real life: at school or at home you can slow down, ask who is affected, listen, and give your reasons kindly, which is also what Jesus' command to love your neighbour asks of a Christian. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/5/) — Ethics is careful thinking about right and wrong, good and bad, and the reasons for them. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/6/) — An opinion just says what you think; a reasoned view also says why, so others can weigh it. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/7/) — An ethics olympiad is a competition where school teams discuss real dilemmas. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/8/) — Teams are judged on how well they think and listen, not on who "wins" the argument. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/9/) — The Ethics Bowl is a similar competition in the USA and elsewhere, where teams analyse cases and respond to each other. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/10/) — Unlike a debate, an ethics bowl does not give teams a side they must defend; they may agree with each other. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/11/) — A dilemma is a situation where every choice has something wrong or costly about it. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/12/) — A case is a short story given to the teams to discuss, before or during the competition. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/13/) — Stakeholders are everyone affected by a decision, including people and animals who are not in the room. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/14/) — Judges look for clear reasons, understanding of the case, thinking about other views, good answers to questions, and respect. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/15/) — In commentary and response, the second team builds on the first team's ideas and raises questions, rather than attacking. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/36-what-is-an-ethics-olympiad/16/) — Teams prepare together, share the speaking and support each other. - ← previous: [Virtues: courage, responsibility, rights and duties](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/35-courage-responsibility-rights-and-duties/) - next →: [Three ways of thinking: rules, consequences, character](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/37-rules-consequences-character/) - ↑ back to [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/)