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February 28, 2005
The Happiness Machine
Imagine there is a machine that you could plug into and that would satisfy any desire you might have. Inside this machine, you are given any experience you desire. The scientists in control of this machine stimulate your brain into thinking you are the greatest athlete, the richest person on earth, the most famous celebrity, a wonderful novelist, or you are simply enjoying physical and psychological pleasures. Moreover, the scientists vary the pleasures so you don't get bored.
Even though you are inside the machine, it's as if you were living in the real world. On top of that, you are free to leave the machine at any time, although no one ever has.
Would you plug yourself into this Happiness Machine? Why or why not?
Posted by seschmid at 12:40 PM | Comments (13)
February 23, 2005
Presentation #2: Cloning
Let's say you and your spouse had a child and the child only survived to be a few years old because of a rare disease. You, as the parents, have the option of taking viable healthy cells from your deceased child and using them to create an exact twin of the first.
What would you do? Would you go ahead with this procedure? How do you think the cloned child would react to finding out this information?
Posted by seschmid at 08:04 AM | Comments (23)
February 21, 2005
Reminders for Tuesday's Class
Reminder #1: If you have not already posted to the blog page for this week's presentation, do so before tomorrow's class. Posting to the presentation blogs is part of the requirement for presentation responses. Be prepared to take notes on the presentation. You have a post-presentation response due on Thursday. See the syllabus for details.
Reminder #2: Jennifer, Robert, and Circe have a new posting for their presentation next week. Be sure to look out for their posting on cloning.
Reminder #3: The exam is on Thursday. The study sheet is posted to the Notes and Handouts page. I'll also have some study sheets to pass out in class on Tuesday for those who have not downloaded a copy already.
Reminder #4: The notes for tomorrow's presentation are available on the Notes and Handouts page.
Reminder #5: Come see me or contact me if you have any questions.
Posted by seschmid at 01:04 PM | Comments (1)
February 15, 2005
Presentation #1: Adultery
Adultery in a nutshell is fornicating with someone other than your husband or wife.
What if inside a marriage, the husband and wife both what a child but the husband isn’t fertile, and they can not adopt. If the husband gives consent, is it considered adultery if the wife goes and sleeps with someone who can impregnate her so they could have a child?
Posted by seschmid at 12:49 PM | Comments (28)
February 12, 2005
Prisoner's Dilemma
You have just been arrested for committing a horrible crime. Arrested at the same time and for the same crime is your associate. You are both being interrogated separately and neither of you knows what the other is saying.
You and the other suspect both know that if neither of you confess, the case is weak and each of you will receive a minor sentence on lesser charges. In this case, the sentence is only 5 years in prison.
If you both confess, then you will be convicted of the crime and each will receive 20 years in prison.
If only one of you confess and testifies against the other, the one who did not cooperate will get life in prison and the one who confessed will go free.
What would you do? Would you confess? What is in your best interest? What is in your associate's best interests? What course of action would result in the least prison time for both of you?
Posted by seschmid at 01:34 PM | Comments (6)
February 07, 2005
Abortion on Left2Right Blog
The philosopher David Velleman has posted an interesting discussion on abortion and Roe v. Wade on the blog Left2Right. Click here to read the article. And, don't forget to read the comments following the article. Today's posting is part four. You can read the other parts by clicking on the links near the title.
Also, Velleman links to an article about Virtue Ethics and abortion. You can access that article here.
I hope you all will take the time to read both the blog posting and the linked article. We will be talking about all this stuff later in the semester both in lectures and student presentations. It's never too early to start thinking about the topic and what you think.
Posted by seschmid at 02:13 PM | Comments (2)
February 05, 2005
Ethical Relativism
The reading for the next class, "What's Culture Got To Do With It?," can be a difficult piece to read.
What are your initial reactions to the practice of female circumcision?
Do you ever think that right and wrong actions are determined by a society or culture? If so, then do you think that practices like female circumcision ought to continue? What justification can you give for continuing this practice?
We often hear that we ought to be tolerant of other cultures? Should we be tolerant of all of a culutre's actions? Are some practices really not ethically significant and we should practice tolerance in these cases? Do you have any examples?
Posted by seschmid at 12:28 PM | Comments (6)
February 01, 2005
Ethics without God
Here's a debatable question: Can one live an ethical and moral life without God? Can one find meaning in one's life without appeal to religion and religious faith?
What do you think? What does Kai think?
***
In addition to these questions, don't forget to find a partner and presentation topic. You can find out what presentation times and topics are taken by visiting the online Presentation Schedule. Once you have a topic, time, and team, let me know.
Posted by seschmid at 06:19 PM | Comments (9)