The TedTalk above is really very interesting; alongside the example of politics, Haidt takes the audience into the world of ethical "teams", moral relativism, and several other concepts in a way that is applicable to class this week.
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant."--Louis Brandeis
"In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others; in ethics, he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so." Immanuel Kant
"That's a central part of philosophy, of ethics. What do I owe to strangers? What do I owe to my family? What is it to live a good life? Those are questions which we face as individuals." Peter Singer
As we begin sifting through ethics as an area (or rather, philosophy) of knowledge, think about all of the varied sources we have for our ethical values and our moral actions (or rather, immoral actions!). What is our goal in behaving ethically? What motivates ethical behavior? We don't necessarily receive a material benefit for doing the right thing--treat someone kindly, get a token? It doesn't work that way. However, as we will learn this week...it might be closer than you think.
We've talked about the ethical standards that we believe should apply to the Natural Sciences and the Human Sciences. You were all able to come up with some definite ideas of what should and should not be allowed when researching, experimenting, and reporting out in these fields. You felt strongly about ideas of right and wrong when it came to these two fields. But where did you begin in order to arrive there? What elements go into your judgment of what is right and what is wrong?
Finally, I would like you to think about the human race as a kind of metaphorical 'family.' In this family, are there core values that you believe to be inherent in human beings? If possible, try to list a few that you think exist, even in the slightest or varied form. If you can't think of any, make a short list of core values that you believe should exist in this human family, exactly as you did for the sciences.
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