Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 01 'THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER'

PART ONE: THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER
If you had to choose between (1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and (2) doing nothing even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do? What would be the right thing to do? Thats the hypothetical scenario Professor Michael Sandel uses to launch his course on moral reasoning. After the majority of students votes for killing the one person in order to save the lives of five others, Sandel presents three similar moral conundrums—each one artfully designed to make the decision more difficult. As students stand up to defend their conflicting choices, it becomes clear that the assumptions behind our moral reasoning are often contradictory, and the question of what is right and what is wrong is not always black and white.

PART TWO: THE CASE FOR CANNIBALISM

Sandel introduces the principles of utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, with a famous nineteenth century legal case involving a shipwrecked crew of four. After nineteen days lost at sea, the captain decides to kill the weakest amongst them, the young cabin boy, so that the rest can feed on his blood and body to survive. The case sets up a classroom debate about the moral validity of utilitarianism—and its doctrine that the right thing to do is whatever produces "the greatest good for the greatest number."

[Mwangazahealth]

I just had a Harvard Lecture, from my local village, Kithatu in Kenya.

[lexasscentedcandles]

He’s the type of professor I would raise my hand to answer, there is no wrong answer with him he takes it to consideration. He is so engaging as well

[aKm]

I am so glad, and thankful, that these talks, lectures have been recorded and put up, for free, for people to watch.
Thank you. Really.

And thank you, StudyIQ, for recommending this professor's lectures.

[mingyukim]

If my professor is like this "I like your bravery" "okay you are good" etc etc. I will participate in class actively, I swear.

[RjhnlyNm]

The privilege of having an internet to see and accessing lectures such as these, even though your learning halfway across the globe is such a great honor to be born in this time. From Philippines with love 😘

[avivastudios]

"That's a great idea, except for the fact that you just wrecked the philosophical point."

This was more entertaining than it had any right to be. I think I've watched this at least 4 times now. That proffessor is brilliant.

[AFrownAndAFatMan]

Besides the way he draws the students in, encourages participation, and steers the discussions, I am utterly impressed by how present he is in the room. He remembers your name.

[iluvkimchi]

I love how he doesn't make students feel right or wrong and encourages people of different perspective to speak.

[solitarydiaries]

I would never skip classes if my professor would be engaging like this.

[IamNoLongerHuman]

I'm a Japanese middle schooler who has just finished watching this very first video of the whole course, but I can't help saying these things on my mind...
I found lots of things in this lecture impressive and amazing (sorry, words can't explain this well enough).
First, Professor Michael Sandel takes all ideas from his students seriously. I definitely wanna take his course at least once in my life. Thanks to him, I became much more interested in philosophy and ethics. I came to enjoy thinking. I can feel that he values and adores philosophy.
Second, students are very active and participating, eager to learn and gain knowledge, and also witty. In Japan, it is said that 50 percent of high schoolers enroll in university, but in most cases, they don't actually want to study. They just want friends, someone to love, and things like that. I mean, it's so horrible that most of those students go to university just because everyone else does. Of course, I have never attended a class in a Japanese university, but in both my elementary and middle school, I noticed that everyone remained quiet and hardly spoke. I always feel uncomfortable in a situation like that. But in Harvard, they have their own thoughts and are open to sharing them with others.
I profoundly want to study in this kind of environment.
I can’t thank everyone involved in this program enough for making such a splendid video and providing it for free to all of us. I'm going to keep watching this series of lectures!

[Gemini_Gorex]

I wish I had made a harder attempt and strive to pursue some type of education in this school/university. It just at the time seemed to out of reach and complicated. Now watching this I can't help but feel I could have been sitting in one of those seats learning and engaging my mind. I wish anyone who attempts their courses and is trying to graduate the best of luck and please use this opportunity to better things for us all in the world.

[bobbiegrind]

youtube: lets recommend this to everyone after 11 years

[lorderik]

I just came here to quickly see what a Harvard lecture looked like, but I ended up watching the entire thing. Awesome video.

[greatacademy]

How many fellow Indians, UPSC IAS (Indian Administrative Service) Aspirants watching this for GS4 Ethics?

[rheaniduelan]

i just developed a new hobby of watching this series. i love how the Prof discusses each case/theory and always stimulates questions one after another.

[RayMak]

I've achieved enlightenment watching this 12 years later.

[koenifyy]

This is the class we all really needed.

[froysaber]

What a fantastic lecturer. Everyone should have this kind of experience in their lives.

[ericksanchez]

I am a business master's student in California, and I am very thankful that this video is available for everyone who wants to learn how to approach legal cases using different justice mindsets and ethics principles (the right things to do).

I firmly believe the most valuable aspect of the video is the diversity of opinions and analyses from different students' backgrounds that make this discussion unique.

This video is a really good resource for the academic community, thank you Professor Michael Sandel and Harvard University!

[dinnerwithfranklin]

I took philosophy although not in Harvard. In over half a century living on this planet I have never found an experience that was more painful and rewarding than beginning to learn how to think more thoroughly. The world would be vastly different if we all had exposure to philosophical thinking.