The Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from ancient Mesopotamia, is likely the first recorded story we have, and it contains a beautiful philosophical argument from Siduri, a wise “alewife,” in her tavern. Siduri argues that Gilgamesh should stop seeking immortality and instead learn to appreciate… Read More »Lesson: Pascal and Nachiketa Walk into Siduri’s Tavern
Is morality simply a matter of living by the correct moral rules? Some people may be (and have been) tempted to say so – for example, some students might be tempted to think that the 10 Commandments or the Golden Rule or the categorical imperative… Read More »Lesson: Moral Rules, Ancient Sumerian Wisdom, and Killer Robots
The question—‘What makes humor racist, when it is?’—provides a rich platform for discussion about several philosophically interesting topics. The subject broaches issues in aesthetics, ethics, social and political philosophy, and even the philosophy of language. Challenges for constructing a theory of racist humor involve (1)… Read More »Lesson: The Ethics of Racial Humor
Sexual preferences represent a rich site for ethical exploration of topics such as oppression, responsibility, freedom. Because everyone has sexual preferences of some kind or another, everyone has some stake in the answers to these questions. Moreover, the deeply entrenched (indeed, possibly involuntary) nature of… Read More »Unit: The Ethics of Sexual Preference
After teaching the hedonism of Bentham and Mill in my Introduction to Ethics class, I often assign Marilyn Frye’s classic feminist essay “Oppression.” (I got this idea from the late, great Claudia Card). This serves two pedagogical purposes for me. First, it exposes my intro… Read More »Lesson: Understanding Oppression as a Critique of Hedonism
The pursuit and realisation of self-determination for Māori communities has been intimately bound up with – among other things – the revitalisation of Māori philosophies. The capabilities of Māori communities to be able to define who they are, and to pursue and realise lives they… Read More »Lesson: Whānau Ora Health Policy
This lesson focuses on a fragment of text from the late Pythagorean philosopher Theano (probably of Sparta, c. 4th-3rd century bce) on different kinds of value and their role in moral education. Theano approaches this topic through the lens of everyday moral advice.[1]
On a first reading – and a second and third – Analects does not always seem to Western readers like a philosophical work. In place of crisp definitions, arguments, and replies to criticisms, one finds anecdotes, snippets of conversations, and descriptions of what might seem… Read More »Lesson: Understanding the Literary Style of the Analects
Can a morally great / virtuous person choose the right thing to do in every situation all by herself, or does she need to follow moral rules as guides?
Socrates and Martin Luther King, Jr. discuss whether it is ever OK to break the law.