Monday 8/26

Monday 8/26

Introductory Remarks

Readings

Cases

Synopsis

We began today by reviewing the syllabus and discussing the mechanics of the course. The requirements are simple: Four examinations, all as scheduled on the course's homepage, and four short (take home) essays, likewise scheduled. The grading scheme is graduated for the exams and the essays. Early work counts for much less than later work on the expectation that you'll get a better grip on the material as the semester proceeds (and, thus, that any early missteps won't seriously damage your overall grade for the course.

Next today we considered two cases: The Useful Sibling and Students' Little Helper. In our discussion we found that the cases split the class: Some for, some against, and no few withholding judgment. As we explored the reasons for and against, we found good reasons for, and apparently equally good reasons against. So what do we say about this?

These cases, we say, are moral dilemmas. But what are moral dilemmas?

While identifying precisely the features of a case that make it a moral dilemma is surprisingly difficult, I would like to suggest on a first run that our discussion of the cases revealed:

  1. In a moral dilemma we find apparently equally good reasons for alternative, incompatible, and consequential courses of action.
  2. The existence of such competing reasons makes us unsure how to proceed, particularly when the stakes are high.
  3. Competing reasons raises the difficult question of how we should go about adjudicating between them.
  4. The challenge of assessing competing reasons in an unbiased, principled way can even make us wonder whether there really is a morally right course of action in the first place.

I must say I was extremely impressed by the quality of the contributions to our discussion, which was easily one of the best opening discussions I've seen in some time. I'm eager to continue working with you this semester to explore the many moral issues these kinds of cases raise.

Next time we'll further discuss (by example) the nature of moral dilemmas and raise an important skeptical challenge to the very possibility of teaching ethics.