Alleviate Suffering

What’s your moral code? Starting with this class, we’ll be wrestling with the question of what it takes to live a moral life. According to utilitarians, the key to acting morally is to do whatever will alleviate suffering and promote pleasure in the world. As a result, anything that can feel pain or pleasure deserves your moral consideration. And we might be called upon to make some significant sacrifices for the sake of a better world.

Note: If you are just joining the class, welcome! Please read the opening message in the “Announcements” section of Canvas and complete all tasks from the “Welcome to GGL” page as soon as possible.

Do This:

• Register for How We Argue. (See Canvas announcement or “How We Argue” assignment page for more information.)
• Recommended: Complete lessons 1-3 of How We Argue by Sunday, Jan 28.

Pre-Class Questions

1. In your own words, describe one significant difference between Aristotle’s moral theory and utilitarianism.
2. Describe a scenario (real or imagined) where this difference would lead to different moral judgments or decisions, and explain why.
3. What questions do you have about today’s reading? What would you like to discuss more in class? Submit questions and discussion topics on PollEverywhere, and/or upvote any classmates’ responses that you’d also like to cover in class. The most upvoted questions will be answered during the Q&A portion of class.

Content Reflection

At the end of the week, think back and identify the two actions of yours from the past week that a utilitarian would say produced the highest net utility and the two actions that a utilitarian would say produced the lowest net utility. Then, choose one of these four actions to analyze in more detail. List the action’s most significant consequences (direct or indirect), and try to quantify how much overall utility and disutility resulted from each consequence. Explain your reasoning.