tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post2534683842333387556..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: Syllabus idea: "Making a Difference"Richard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-71851395163754010462012-07-21T16:06:07.082-04:002012-07-21T16:06:07.082-04:00Hmm, yeah, moral enhancement could be another fun ...Hmm, yeah, moral enhancement could be another fun topic to add to the "indirect" list.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-84941203340121167282012-07-20T16:12:51.909-04:002012-07-20T16:12:51.909-04:00Maybe it's because I already have an employer ...Maybe it's because I already have an employer and a mate, but the course sounds great to me. I'm interested in some of the "indirect" questions -- whether things like large-scale cabalistic cultural interventions (Zeitgeist Engineering, you might call it) could be pulled off by people like us and our friends and our friends' friends. I'm also interested in some of the classic consequentialism vs. non-consequentialism questions -- is ecoterrorism ever justified? What about forcible enhancement of people's empathetic capabilities?AndrewSepiellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024569137176120644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-43001666047599689672012-07-19T18:40:15.415-04:002012-07-19T18:40:15.415-04:00This sounds great! We'd love to chat to you at...This sounds great! We'd love to chat to you at 80k - we've got 1-2 people working on the cause selection content. Drop me an email.Benjamin Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03544566042612647688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-59526798332141021502012-07-19T07:32:42.374-04:002012-07-19T07:32:42.374-04:00Richard: Great idea!Richard: Great idea!Jack Woodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07924244192470629571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-370260241371551172012-07-19T06:57:29.971-04:002012-07-19T06:57:29.971-04:00Maybe add Thus Spoke Zarathustra as a how to manua...Maybe add Thus Spoke Zarathustra as a how to manual.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09239051317997043121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-15905370119722468512012-07-19T02:49:05.253-04:002012-07-19T02:49:05.253-04:00Something on the ethics of care could go in too, a...Something on the ethics of care could go in too, as a competing ideal (possibility under "nearest and dearest", I suppose, but I would think it could sustain itself as a topic).Alex Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03836914221864280274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-11491590819800286282012-07-18T22:18:22.407-04:002012-07-18T22:18:22.407-04:00For my general ethics course I have a service lear...For my general ethics course I have a service learning component -- they volunteer somewhere (student's responsibility to decide where; there are very, very broad guidelines, but I keep it pretty open -- but for a course like the one you're suggesting you would need to be a bit more specific) and do a journal and class presentation relating it to what we discuss in the course. It's a lot of work to design and integrate properly into the course, but (1) it keeps thematerial of the course from being purely classroom speculation and discussion, forcing students to think in terms of relevance-to-practice not just in the abstract (which is the level too many ethics courses stay at) but also in the concrete; (2) students almost always end up liking it quite a bit; and (3) makes it possible for students actually to be doing ethically significant activities in their ethics course, which is the main reason I started doing it. If the journals are to be trusted, it also makes clear that actually improving the world isn't just about ideals and good intentions but also about navigating practical details.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-76460825453201472792012-07-18T21:17:13.709-04:002012-07-18T21:17:13.709-04:00Good idea -- I'll definitely add that!Good idea -- I'll definitely add that!Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-23838993881684041572012-07-18T20:50:54.894-04:002012-07-18T20:50:54.894-04:00Sounds awesome. You might also address the common...Sounds awesome. You might also address the common worry: I'm just one person; can I really make a difference (or the related thought: I'm just one person, does it really matter what I do)?<br /><br />Lots of good stuff about voting, the environment, vegetarianism. There's Kagan's recent PPA piece and Nefsky's reply, lots on the rationality of voting, Unger's discussions in the first chapters of LHLD, interesting stuff on collective action problems and the tragedy of the commons...Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15632566707981286977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-2531956891087500752012-07-18T20:47:58.568-04:002012-07-18T20:47:58.568-04:00Why not a discussion of modern politics including ...Why not a discussion of modern politics including discussions of NGO/Non-profit/Foundation politics, party politics, and issue politics? In addition, you could create a space to talk about the international NGO system (with the UN and US Government at its top) and how that creates paths of 'optimal' development.<br /><br />I'm thinking specifically of a discussion of the difference between macro/wholesale change and micro/retail change.BGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10240112710471604989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-51943147303743550642012-07-18T19:55:59.207-04:002012-07-18T19:55:59.207-04:00Asking 'what does a difference look like?'...Asking 'what does a difference look like?' could create some space to historically examine people (great white men?) who have made a difference, and the motivations that drove them. <br /><br />Also, in regards to asking 'why make a difference?', it is might be worth taking to time to step back and examine today's neoliberal world of personal responsibility, in which we are told the task of fixing the world falls on every kids shoulders (unfortunately crushing a lot of them).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04041460906700855238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-28769429421932471912012-07-18T19:36:47.561-04:002012-07-18T19:36:47.561-04:00Well, maybe I was a bit rash in saying that my cou...Well, maybe I was a bit rash in saying that my course is similar to the course you're discussing.Michael Pershanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17046644130957574890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-85846993880137743052012-07-18T19:35:54.963-04:002012-07-18T19:35:54.963-04:00I'm a high school math teacher (did philosophy...I'm a high school math teacher (did philosophy as an undergrad) and I'm putting something similar to this together for this next year. I've blogged about it here: <br /><br />http://rationalexpressions.blogspot.com/search/label/Moral%20educationMichael Pershanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17046644130957574890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-50181000538196364932012-07-18T18:48:39.345-04:002012-07-18T18:48:39.345-04:00It would be a useful course. But would it help stu...It would be a useful course. But would it help students send desired signals to future employers and mates? There are after all lots of useful things colleges could teach, but don't.Robin Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396528456436940972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-86943193006621322822012-07-18T18:31:10.720-04:002012-07-18T18:31:10.720-04:00I have pretty much this exact same idea. I think i...I have pretty much this exact same idea. I think it would be a blast to teach, and I think a lot of students would be pretty into it. If you do this, I think it would be great to put huge amounts of course material online. If it were a big success, I think something like this would be great as a giant online course.Nick Becksteadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16561745593227211371noreply@blogger.com