Philosophy
Episode 2. It seems Harvard University is making Michael Sandel's popular course on justice publicly available in its entirety, so I will continue to post episodes on a regular basic (most likely weekly).
The first of today's lectures presents an analysis and application of utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham's felicific calculus. The idea is simple: since utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory, when deciding on how to act, we ought to perform a cost-benefit analysis and choose to act in such a way as to maximize utility (quantitatively) for the greatest number involved (no word on how to distribute that utility).
The second lecture starts with a famous and hilarious account of what happens when you take seriously the notion that all values can be assigned a numeric rate. This opens the door for Sandel to introduce philosopher John Stuart Mill's analysis of lower and higher pleasures and the question of whether the value of different kinds of pleasure can be evaluated from within utilitarianism or whether that represents a violation of the utilitarian framework.
50 pence a night? Man, I think I've been getting ripped off! :)
Learn more about Jeremy Bentham's contributions to free thought here.
Episode list: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
.
- When Is Good Enough, Good Enough?
The deep questions are often not the technical, complex ones, but the simple ones that challenge the technical complex answers that arose from earlier "simple" questions. In grad school, I was very lucky to study ethics with Susan Wolf, a philosopher...
- Positivism And Utilitarianism
.?Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck,? said Kant, and the Positivists decided to do away with this dark ocean, which had swallowed up the philosophers of the past and their philosophies. Positivism...
- John Stuart Mill's Methods Of Induction
If you're familiar with the name, then you probably know that the 19th century British philosopher John Stuart Mill is primarily famous for his work on the ethical theory of utilitarianism. What you may not know, however, is that this young and prolific...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 7. As we saw in the previous episode, the essence of Kant's categorical imperative is its absolute and universally binding force: since the moral status of our actions does not depend on consequences or contingent conditions, the moral law...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 1. I don't know if you've ever taken an Ethics class --and I admit I may be biased both because I had great professors and because now I teach the stuff-- but an ethics course is one of the greatest and most deeply formative experiences...
Philosophy
Justice - What Is the Right Thing To Do?
Episode 2. It seems Harvard University is making Michael Sandel's popular course on justice publicly available in its entirety, so I will continue to post episodes on a regular basic (most likely weekly).The first of today's lectures presents an analysis and application of utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham's felicific calculus. The idea is simple: since utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory, when deciding on how to act, we ought to perform a cost-benefit analysis and choose to act in such a way as to maximize utility (quantitatively) for the greatest number involved (no word on how to distribute that utility).
The second lecture starts with a famous and hilarious account of what happens when you take seriously the notion that all values can be assigned a numeric rate. This opens the door for Sandel to introduce philosopher John Stuart Mill's analysis of lower and higher pleasures and the question of whether the value of different kinds of pleasure can be evaluated from within utilitarianism or whether that represents a violation of the utilitarian framework.
50 pence a night? Man, I think I've been getting ripped off! :)
Learn more about Jeremy Bentham's contributions to free thought here.
Episode list: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
.
- When Is Good Enough, Good Enough?
The deep questions are often not the technical, complex ones, but the simple ones that challenge the technical complex answers that arose from earlier "simple" questions. In grad school, I was very lucky to study ethics with Susan Wolf, a philosopher...
- Positivism And Utilitarianism
.?Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck,? said Kant, and the Positivists decided to do away with this dark ocean, which had swallowed up the philosophers of the past and their philosophies. Positivism...
- John Stuart Mill's Methods Of Induction
If you're familiar with the name, then you probably know that the 19th century British philosopher John Stuart Mill is primarily famous for his work on the ethical theory of utilitarianism. What you may not know, however, is that this young and prolific...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 7. As we saw in the previous episode, the essence of Kant's categorical imperative is its absolute and universally binding force: since the moral status of our actions does not depend on consequences or contingent conditions, the moral law...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 1. I don't know if you've ever taken an Ethics class --and I admit I may be biased both because I had great professors and because now I teach the stuff-- but an ethics course is one of the greatest and most deeply formative experiences...