Justice is one of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history. Nearly one thousand students pack Harvard’s historic Sanders Theatre to hear Professor Sandel talk about justice, equality, democracy, and citizenship. Now it’s your turn to take the same journey in moral reflection that has captivated more than 14,000 students, as Harvard opens its classroom to the world.
This course aims to help viewers become more critically minded thinkers about the moral decisions we all face in our everyday lives.
In this 12-part series, Sandel challenges us with difficult moral dilemmas and asks our opinion about the right thing to do.
He then asks us to examine our answers in the light of new scenarios. The result is often surprising, revealing that important moral questions are never black and white.
Sorting out these contradictions sharpens our own moral convictions and gives us the moral clarity to better understand the opposing views we confront in a democracy.
This course also addresses the hot topics of our day—same sex marriage, affirmative action, patriotism and rights—and Sandel shows us that we can revisit familiar controversies with a fresh perspective.
Professor Sandel believes the process of thinking our way through the difficult moral questions of our day—figuring out what we think, and why—helps make us better citizens.
Visit www.justiceharvard.org for more information about the course.
Lectures can also be downloaded on MP3 on the Forum Network website at the links below:
Lecture One: The Moral Side of Murder
Lecture Two: The Case for Cannibalism
Lecture Three: Putting a Price Tag on Life
Lecture Four: How to Measure Pleasure
Lecture Five: Free to Choose
Lecture Six: Who Owns Me?
Lecture Seven: This Land is My Land
Lecture Eight: Consenting Adults
Lecture Nine: Hired Guns?
Lecture Ten: For Sale: Motherhood
Lecture Eleven: Mind Your Motive
Lecture Twelve: The Supreme Principle of Morality
Lecture Thirteen: A Lesson in Lying
Lecture Fourteen: A Deal Is A Deal
Lecture Fifteen: What's a Fair Start?
Lecture Sixteen: What Do We Deserve?
Lecture Seventeen: Arguing Affirmative Action
Lecture Eighteen: What's the Purpose?
Lecture Nineteen: The Good Citizen
Lecture Twenty: Freedom vs. Fit
Lecture Twenty-One: The Claims of Community
Lecture Twenty-Two: Where Our Loyalty Lies
Lecture Twenty-Three: Debating Same-Sex Marriage
Lecture Twenty-Four: The Good Life
Very interesting philosophical ideas and their personal and political ramifications are presented in an engaging open forum for exchange and debate. All the discussions between Michale Sandel and the students were largely governed by reason, logic and tested by the consistency and reasonableness of each philosophical approach based on various scenarios. However, I did not feel at any time that my own moral compass was temporarily confused by the pros and cons of each philosophical application because my moral compass is based on the Biblical truth, not man’s wisdom, logic or philosophies. There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Prov 14:12)
It’s too bad that no one in that open forum represented the moral compass of scripture as the authority concerning “the right thing to do”.
Nevertheless, a worthwhile and intellectual exercise. It stretches the mind a bit further than most feel comfortable.