What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 12: Part One: “Debating Same-Sex Marriage” & Part Two: “The Good Life”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "DEBATING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE" If principles of justice depend on the moral or intrinsic worth of the ends that rights serve, how should we deal with the fact that people hold different ideas and conceptions of what is good? Students address this question in a heated debate about same-sex marriage. Should same-sex marriage be... Continue Reading →

January 3, 2020 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 11: Part One: “The Claims of Community” & Part Two: “Where our Loyalty Lies”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "THE CLAIMS OF COMMUNITY" In this episode, Professor Sandel presents Kant's objections to Aristotle's theory. According to Kant: a) politics must respect individual freedom and b) people must always respect other people's freedom to make their own choices—a universal duty to humanity—but for Kant, there is no other source of moral obligation. This... Continue Reading →

December 30, 2019 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 10: Part One: “The Good Citizen” & Part Two: “Freedom vs Fit”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "THE GOOD CITIZEN" Aristotle examines the purpose and the the goal (telos) of politics. On the one hand, the purpose is to promote and cultivate the virtue of the citizens and we should reward most, those who in turn contribute most to the purpose. On the other hand, the good life is the... Continue Reading →

December 27, 2019 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 09: Part One: “Arguing Affirmative Action” & Part Two: “What’s the Purpose?”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "ARGUING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" Cheryl Hopwood, a white woman who had applied for admission to a Texas law school, saw her admission denied. At the same time, minority applicants who had lower grades than hers, were admitted. She took her case to court in 1996 arguing that her rights were violated by the school's... Continue Reading →

December 22, 2019 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 08: Part One: “What’s a Fair Start?” & Part Two: “What Do We Deserve?”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "WHAT'S A FAIR START?" Is it just to tax the rich in order to help the poor? John Rawls argues that to answer this question, one should ask about the principles that were chosen in order to govern the distribution of income and wealth in case he didn't know certain things such as:... Continue Reading →

December 9, 2019 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 07: Part One: “A Lesson in Lying” & Part Two: “A Deal is a Deal”), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: "A LESSON IN LYING" If your friend were hiding inside your home, and a person intent on killing your friend came to your door and asked you where he was, would it be wrong to tell a lie? If so, would it be moral to try to mislead the murderer without actually lying?... Continue Reading →

December 3, 2019 0

What’s the Right Thing to Do? (Episode 06. Part One: Mind Your Motive & Part Two: The Supreme Principle of Morality), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: MIND YOUR MOTIVE Professor Sandel introduces the challenging but influential philosopher Immanuel Kant who rejected utilitarianism and said that each person has certain fundamental duties and rights that take precedence over maximizing utility. Professor Sandel gives us an example that Kant used; that of a shopkeeper who didn’t shortchange a customer only because... Continue Reading →

November 28, 2019 0

What’s the right thing to do? (Episode 05: Part One: “Hired Guns” & Part Two: “Motherhood. For Sale.”) Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

PART ONE: HIRED GUNS Is today's voluntary army open to any objections? Should military service be allocated by the labor market or by conscription? What role should patriotism play, and what are the obligations of citizenship? Is there a civic duty to serve one's country? Are utilitarians and libertarians able to account for this duty?... Continue Reading →

November 21, 2019 0

What’s the Right Thing to Do? (Episode 04. Part One: This Land is My Land & Part Two: Consenting Adults), Justice, Harvard University, Michael Sandel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyygiXMzRk PART ONE: THIS LAND IS MY LAND The philosopher John Locke introduced the concept of the unalienable rights to life, liberty and property. He believed that since those rights were given to us as humans in the state of nature -before governments and laws were created- they are considered fundamental, and thus neither a... Continue Reading →

November 12, 2019 0

Justice: “What’s the Right Thing to Do?”, Michael Sandel (Episode 03: “Free to Choose” & “Who Owns Me?”)

Part One: "What's the Right Thing to Do?" Individual rights. Should the government have the power to enact laws that: Protect people from themselves, such as seat-belt laws?Impose some people’s moral values on society as a whole? OrRedistribute income from the rich to the poor? (Sandel, explains the libertarian notion that re-distributive taxation is akin... Continue Reading →

November 6, 2019 0