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Justice

What's the Right Thing to Do?

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?Explore the fundamental questions of justice through moral dilemmas and philosophical debates. What is the right thing to do?

FIG. 01
Perspective Paradox
5 PEOPLE1 PERSON
Intervention Required

The Trolley Problem

A runaway trolley is heading toward five workers. You stand at a switch. If you pull it, the trolley will be diverted to a side track where it will kill one worker instead of five.

Default PathAltered Path
Do Nothing
5 Lives
Pull Lever
1 Life

The Fragmented Truth

Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham & John Stuart Mill

"Maximize Happiness"

PrincipleThe greatest good for the greatest number
FlawCan justify using individuals for the collective good
Utilitarianism

Libertarianism

Robert Nozick

"Respect Freedom"

PrincipleIndividual rights and free markets
FlawCan lead to extreme inequality
Libertarianism

Virtue Ethics

Aristotle

"Cultivate Virtue"

PrincipleJustice means giving people what they deserve
FlawWhose virtues? Whose purpose?
Virtue Ethics
ARGUMENT_01

Doing the Right Thing

Introduce the fundamental questions of justice through real-world moral dilemmas

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ARGUMENT_02

The Greatest Happiness

Explore utilitarianism and the principle of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain

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ARGUMENT_03

Do We Own Ourselves?

Examine libertarianism and the debate over free markets and individual rights

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ARGUMENT_04

Markets and Morals

Consider the moral limits of markets—can everything be bought and sold?

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ARGUMENT_05

What Matters is the Motive

Understand Kant's moral philosophy and the categorical imperative

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ARGUMENT_06

The Case for Equality

Explore John Rawls' theory of justice and the veil of ignorance

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ARGUMENT_07

Arguing Affirmative Action

Debate the moral and legal controversies of affirmative action

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ARGUMENT_08

Who Deserves What?

Examine Aristotle's theory of distributive justice and the common good

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ARGUMENT_09

What Do We Owe One Another?

Navigate the dilemmas of loyalty, community, and individual responsibility

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ARGUMENT_10

Justice and the Common Good

Synthesize the theories and explore the role of civic virtue in justice

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Michael J. Sandel

JUS
TICE

What's the Right Thing to Do?

Exhibit A: The Source
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The Final Verdict

"These dilemmas are just the beginning. Dive deeper into the moral reasoning that shapes our laws, our society, and our lives. Join the debate."

MAKE YOUR JUDGMENT

Justice is not a spectator sport.

The Foundation

The architectural blocks upon which modern justice is built.

REF_-375 BC

The Republic

Plato

"The foundational text of Western political philosophy. Plato's dialogue on justice remains as relevant today as it was 2,400 years ago."

REF_1971

A Theory of Justice

John Rawls

"The most important work of political philosophy in the 20th century. Rawls' systematic theory of justice as fairness transformed the field."

REF_-340 BC

Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle

"Aristotle's exploration of virtue, happiness, and the good life provides an alternative to modern theories of rights and utility."