Justice Course: Lecture Summary

Introduction

• Funding: Initial and additional sponsors were mentioned.

Trolley Car Dilemmas

Hypothetical 1

• Scenario: You are the driver of a trolley car with failed brakes.
• Tracks: Main track has five workers, side track has one worker.
• Choice: Steer to the side track or proceed straight?
• Poll Results: Majority would turn to save five by sacrificing one.
• Majority Reasoning:
  • It's better to kill one person than five.
  • Parallel drawn with 9/11 incident where passengers sacrificed themselves.

Hypothetical 2

• Scenario: You are an onlooker; a fat man stands on a bridge.
• Choice: Push the fat man to stop the trolley and save five workers?
• Poll Results: Most would not push the fat man.
• Discussion:
  • Pushing someone is more direct and feels morally different.

Ethical Discussion

• Consequentialist Moral Reasoning: Rightness depends on outcomes.
• Categorical Moral Reasoning: Morality in the act itself, regardless of outcomes.

Real-life Case: Queen vs. Dudley and Stephens

• Scenario: Shipwreck survivors resort to cannibalism.
• Defenders' Arguments: Necessity and survival.
• Prosecutors' Arguments: Murder is categorically wrong.
• Poll Results: Majority finds the actions morally wrong.

Consent and Moral Judgment

• Scenario: Does consent change the morality of the act?
• Lottery Proposal: Introduces fairness but still controversial.
• Student Arguments: Examined effects of coerced or real consent.

Philosophical Implications

• Moral Principles:
  • Utilitarianism (Consequentialism) - Greatest good for the greatest number.
  • Categoricalism - Moral duties irrespective of outcomes.
  • Consent - Importance and moral weight.

Upcoming Content

• Philosophical Readings: Aristotle, John Locke, Emmanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham.
• Topics: Equality, free speech, same-sex marriage, military conscription, and philosophical implications in daily life.

Final Thoughts

• Risks of Philosophy: Involves personal and political challenges.
• Skepticism: Differentiates between resting place and permanent settlement for human reason.