Moral Dilemmas and Concepts of Justice

Funding for the Program

• Initial and additional funding details.

Trolley Car Scenario

• Scenario: Driver of a runaway trolley can steer to kill one worker instead of five.
• Poll: Majority would turn to kill one, minority would not.
• Reasons: Majority argue killing one is better than five. Reference to 9/11 heroes who did similar.

Alternative Scenario - Fat Man

• Scenario: Onlooker can push a fat man to save five workers.
• Poll: Majority would not push the fat man.
• Discussion: Differentiation between being directly involved (pushing) and indirect action (steering).

Doctor Dilemmas

1. Emergency Room: Save one severely injured patient or five moderately injured patients?

   • Most would save five.

2. Transplant Surgeon: Sacrifice a healthy patient to save five needing organ transplants?

   • Majority would not do it.

Emerging Moral Principles

• Consequentialist Reasoning: Morality based on the outcome (greater good for greater number).
• Categorical Moral Reasoning: Absolute duties and rights, regardless of consequences.

Philosophers and Moral Reasoning

• Utilitarianism: Philosophy by Jeremy Bentham (18th century) focusing on maximizing utility, i.e., pleasure over pain.
• Categorical Reasoning: Ideals by Emmanuel Kant (18th century) emphasizing absolute moral laws.

Real-life Case: Queen vs. Dudley and Stephens

• Incident: Shipwreck survivors resort to cannibalism, killing a cabin boy to survive.
• Jury Poll: Majority think what they did was morally wrong.

Arguments for Defense

• Necessity: Dire circumstances justified their actions.
• Survivability: Ensured the survival of more people.

Arguments for Prosecution

• Moral boundaries: No situation justifies killing another person.
• Consent: Question if cabin boy consenting would make the act permissible.

Key Moral Distinctions and Questions

1. Sacrifice and Agency: Difference between direct involvement in killing versus indirect actions.
2. Fairness & Procedures: Does a fair procedure (like a lottery) justify morally contentious outcomes?
3. Role of Consent: How consent changes the moral permissibility of actions.

Future Discussions

• Exploring Bentham's Utilitarianism vs. Kant's Categorical Imperative.
• Reading classics on moral philosophy including works by Aristotle, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and more.
• Connecting philosophical theories to contemporary political and legal issues.

Risks and Challenges in Philosophical Study

• Philosophy reveals known truths in new ways, unsettling our understanding.
• Potentially makes one a worse citizen before a better one.

Conclusion

• Aim of the course is to awaken the 'restlessness of reason' and to deeply engage with these fundamental moral and philosophical questions.