Feb. 16th Discussion Question 3

Does utilitarianism threaten individual rights? What if the sum total of the pain caused by sacrificing the civil rights of a minority is less than the sum total of the pleasure derived as a result by the majority?
John Stuart Mill tried to rebut the objection that utilitarianism cannot account for individual rights. He argued that, far from being in tension with individual rights, the principle of utility was actually the justification for protecting rights. In other words, Mill believed that protecting individual rights is the best way to increase the sum of happiness in the long run. Was Mill right? Is this the best reason for not violating people’s basic rights? Give your rationale.

Feb. 16th Discussion Question 2

For utilitarians like Bentham, happiness is simply the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain. People are happy insofar as they feel pleasure, unhappy insofar they feel pain; there is nothing else that goes into happiness. Abilities, achievements, friendship, love—all these are, at best, only means to being happy, and only insofar as they give rise to pleasure. How do you feel about this idea? Be sure to give your rationale.

Feb 16th Discussion Question 1

Suppose that we have to choose between building a new sports stadium and building a new hospital. How would you make this decision? Give your rationale in as much detail as you feel comfortable

Jan 26th ethical dilemma question #3

3. There are many needy people in the world who could benefit from your help. If you were to volunteer one evening per week, you could reduce need and thereby increase the sum of happiness. But if you were to volunteer all of your evenings, then you could produce even more happiness. Should you volunteer all of your spare time to helping the needy? Would it be wrong not to do so?

Jan 26th ethical dilemma question # 2

2. Suppose a man has been missing for many years, and you have just learned that he is dead. Should you tell the man’s father, even if it will crush his hopes and send him into despair? Does utilitarianism have the right answer?

Jan 26th ethical delimma question # 1

1. Suppose a man has planted a bomb in New York City, and it will explode in twenty-four hours unless the police are able to find it. Should it be legal for the police to use torture to extract information from the suspected bomber? Does utilitarianism get the right answer?
1a. Now suppose the man who has planted the bomb will not reveal the location unless an innocent member of his family is tortured. Should it be legal for the police to torture innocent people, if that is truly the only way to discover the location of a large bomb? Does utilitarianism have the right answer?

About this collaborative learning team

This collaborative team activity will study ways to add to learning by refining student thought through the dialog process. We will involve students in discourse of import to curricular areas that will promote higher order thinking skills and foster classroom learning communities. These goals will align to Iowa Core Standards by helping teachers increase the rigor and relevance of content material as well as providing formative assessment of student understanding throughout the discussion process. Differentiated instructional areas addressed during the study and follow-up collaborative work will include: Quality Curriculum, Continuous Assessment, and Building Community.  This effort will allow teachers to support different styles of learners with different readiness levels to participate successfully.

We will read the book Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do? by Michael Sandel. As a group we will watch the videos connected with each of 10 topics. We will then develop rules of discourse to discuss the topics in groups. These will be incorporated into rubric form for self-assessment to be used by study group members and students in classes to determine their progress toward appropriate, effective discourse in a learning community.  Our project will be to develop lessons that involve a philosophical class discussion and to provide a summary of these activities to the group for shared evaluation and refinement.