Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
Tag: Christian Ethics
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Lesson 11: Aristotle’s Justice (Sandel, Chapter 8)
Read MORE: Lesson 11: Aristotle’s Justice (Sandel, Chapter 8)Aristotle believed humans are political creatures by nature. He thinks this is apparent when we see how our speech enables us to relate to one another quite differently than beasts or gods. Politics not only gathers us into communities for…
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Lesson 10: Is Affirmative Action Fair?
(Sandel, Chapter 7)Read MORE: Lesson 10: Is Affirmative Action Fair?Rawls acknowledges after we establish a fair situation, it immediately is lost as factors such as birth, education, talent, skill, and situation come into play. The question becomes whether we simply accept this or seek some compensation for the weak.…
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Lesson 9: John Rawls– Equality for All (Sandel, Chapter 6)
Read MORE: Lesson 9: John Rawls– Equality for All (Sandel, Chapter 6)We’re looking at how we find the moral principles to determine what is right, just, and good. Kant believed we could this with human reason alone. Theoretically, every rational individual will come up with duties natural to all people. John…
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Lesson 8: Kant: Absolute Law (Sandel, Chapter 5)
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Kant: Absolute Law (Sandel, Chapter 5)If the first question in ethics is whether there is justice or right written into all things out there, the second is how do we know what that is. So far Sandel has tried to show utilitarianism, libertarianism, and the…
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Lesson 7: What is the Free Market?
(Sandel, Chapter 4)Read MORE: Lesson 7: What is the Free Market?As I read Sandel, I constantly ask myself, “What is the free market?” Almost all his examples and arguments assume it is lurking in the shadowy background to make sure its role is considered. Yet although Sandel continually refers to…
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Lesson 6: The Free Market and Paying for Pregnancy (Sandel, Chapter 4)
Read MORE: Lesson 6: The Free Market and Paying for Pregnancy (Sandel, Chapter 4)Sandel’s second test of the approaches he has examined so far concerns paying someone else to carry your baby. He begins with the Mary Beth Whitehead case in which a couple makes a contract for someone else to bear their…
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Lesson 5: The Free Market and Volunteer Army (Sandel, Chapter 4)
Read MORE: Lesson 5: The Free Market and Volunteer Army (Sandel, Chapter 4)The big question in modern ethics is agreeing on what is just in a pluralistic, often democratic world. How do we determine the right thing to do, if we all do not accept the authority of a king, a god,…
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Lesson 4: Libertarianism
Read MORE: Lesson 4: LibertarianismTraditionally those doing ethics began with principles and then dealt with exceptions. They might declare “no abortion” and then cite exceptions, such as rape, age, and danger to the health of the woman. We have problems today, such as governmental…
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Lesson 3: Utilitarianism
Read MORE: Lesson 3: UtilitarianismSandel first takes a look at utilitarianism, the way our modern society usually does ethics. (See Chapter 2 of his book.) In the past we determined right and wrong by using laws or principles to evaluate an action. You did…
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Lesson 2: What are Ethics?
Read MORE: Lesson 2: What are Ethics?When I began my face-to-face classes by asking how many ethical decisions they had made that day, I received a variety of answers. Some felt these were confined to big questions that demanded carefully considering the proprieties and priorities of…
Recent Comments
So forgiveness pre-requires understanding the mistakes of the past? here hear re this opposing this me-first, America-first, white-first, male-first approach>…
An extremely timely topic. Thanks, Fritz!