HarvardGovernment
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
Sandel's seminal Harvard undergraduate course on moral and political philosophy, taught in Sanders Theatre to hundreds of students. The lectures are publicly available and pair with his book. Twelve episodes; each episode has two lectures.
The course works through utilitarianism, libertarianism, Kant, Rawls, Aristotle, and contemporary debates (affirmative action, same-sex marriage, the morality of markets) by walking students through cases and challenging assumptions live.
Syllabus
- Week 1
The Moral Side of Murder; The Case for Cannibalism (utilitarianism)
- Week 2
Putting a Price Tag on Life; How to Measure Pleasure (Bentham, Mill)
- Week 3
Free to Choose; Who Owns Me? (libertarianism, Nozick)
- Week 4
This Land is My Land; Consenting Adults (Locke)
- Week 5
Hired Guns; For Sale: Motherhood (markets in morals)
- Week 6
Mind Your Motive; The Supreme Principle of Morality (Kant)
- Week 7
A Lesson in Lying; A Deal is a Deal (Kant continued)
- Week 8
What's a Fair Start?; What Do We Deserve? (Rawls)
- Week 9
Arguing Affirmative Action; What's the Purpose? (Aristotle)
- Week 10
The Good Citizen; Freedom vs. Fit
- Week 11
The Claims of Community; Where Our Loyalty Lies
- Week 12
Debating Same-Sex Marriage; The Good Life