• WEEK 3: Deontological Ethics

Required Readings

• Immanuel Kant: Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (excerpt)
• Onora N'Neill: A Kantian Approach to Famine Relief
• Michael Sandel: Mind Your Motive (youtube video)
• The Trolley Problem (youtube video)
• Course Notes for Week 3

Discussion Questions

(Write out brief answers to this week's discussion questions and submit them via a direct message to me on Slack no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, September 12th. Your answers should be brief, no more than a few sentences each. Be prepared to discuss them in class.)

1. What is an example of a moral principle that many people would say should not be violated, even if doing so would make more people happy?

2. Describe a situation in which a John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant would disagree about what it would be morally best to do.

3. Give an intuitive counterexample to Kant's ethical theory. That is, either (i) give an example of a situation in which Kant's theory would recommend doing something that is intuitively morally wrong, or (ii) a situation in which Kant's theory would recommend against doing something that is intuitively morally right.

Zoom Meeting

This week's Zoom meeting will be on Monday, September 13th, 11:10AM–12:25PM. Here is the link to join.