Justice with Michael Sandel

tv show

poster for Justice with Michael Sandel

12 total episodes

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1 seasons

First Aired September 09, 2009

Genres:

Overview

Justice is the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and on public television. In this 12-part series, college professor Michael Sandel challenges us with hard moral dilemmas and invites us to ponder the right thing to do-in politics and in our everyday lives.

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A Lesson In Lying/A Deal Is A Deal

Season 1 - Episode 7 - 0h 0m

Air Date

September 09, 2009

Overview

Immanuel Kants stringent theory of morality allows for no exceptions. Kant believed that telling a lie, even a white lie, is a violation of ones own dignity. Professor Sandel asks students to test Kants theory with this hypothetical case: if your friend were hiding inside your home, and a person intent on killing your friend came to your door and asked you where he was, would it be wrong to tell a lie? If so, would it be moral to try to mislead the murderer without actually lying? This leads to a discussion of the morality of misleading truths. Sandel wraps up the lecture with a video clip of one of the most famous, recent examples of dodging the truth: President Clinton talking about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.