哈佛大学公开课程-JUSTICE《公 正：该如何做是好？》

哈佛大学公开课程

《公正：该如何做是好？》

Justice：What'stheRightThingtoDo?

Thisisacourseaboutjusticeandwebeginwithastory.Let'sbeginwiththoseinthemajoritywhowouldturntogoontotheside

Supposeyou'rethedriverofatrolleycar,andyourtrolleycarishurtlingtrack.Whywouldyoudoit?

downthetrackat60milesanhour.Whatwouldbeyourreason?Who'swillingtovolunteerareason?

Andattheendofthetrackyounoticefiveworkersworkingonthetrack.Goahead.Standup.

Youtrytostopbutyoucan't,yourbrakesdon*twork.Becauseitcan'tberighttokillfivepeoplewhenyoucanonlykilloneperson

Youfeeldesperatebecauseyouknowthatifyoucrashintothesefiveworkers,instead.

theywillalldie.Itwouldn,tberighttokillfiveifyoucouldkillonepersoninstead.

Let'sassumeyouknowthatforsure.That*sagoodreason.

Andsoyoufeelhelplessuntilyounoticethatthereis,offtotheright,asideThat'sagoodreason.Whoelse?

trackandattheendofthattrack,thereisoneworkerworkingonthetrack.Doeseverybodyagreewiththatreason?Goahead.

Yoursteeringwheelworks,soyoucanturnthetrolleycar,ifyouwantto,WellIwasthinkingit'sthesamereasonon9/11withregardtothepeople

ontothesidetrackkillingtheonebutsparingthefive.whoflewtheplaneintothePennsylvaniafieldasheroesbecausetheychose

Here*sourfirstquestion:what'stherightthingtodo?tokillthepeopleontheplaneandnotkillmorepeopleinbigbuildings.

Whatwouldyoudo?Let'stakeapoll.Sotheprincipletherewasthesameon9/11.

Howmanywouldturnthetrolleycarontothesidetrack?Raiseyourhands.It*satragiccircumstancebutbettertokillonesothatfivecanlive,isthatthe

Howmanywouldn't?Howmanywouldgostraightahead?reasonmostofyouhad,thoseofyouwhowouldturn?Yes?

Keepyourhandsupthoseofyouwhowouldgostraightahead.Let'shearnowfromthoseintheminority,thosewhowouldn*tturn.Yes.

Ahandfulofpeoplewould,thevastmajoritywouldturn.Well,Ithinkthafsthesametypeofmentalitythatjustifiesgenocideand

Lefshearfirst,nowweneedtobegintoinvestigatethereasonswhyyoutotalitarianism.

thinkit*stherightthingtodo.Inordertosaveonetypeofrace,youwipeouttheother.

Sowhatwouldyoudointhiscase?

Youwould,toavoidthehorrorsofgenocide,youwouldcrashintothefiveMostpeoplewouldn't.Here'stheobviousquestion.

andkillthem?Whatbecameoftheprinciple"bettertosavefivelivesevenifitmeans

Presumably,yes.sacrificingone?"

Youwould?-Yeah.Whatbecameoftheprinciplethatalmosteveryoneendorsedinthefirstcase?

Okay.Whoelse?That*sabraveanswer.Ineedtohearfromsomeonewhowasinthemajorityinbothcases.

Thankyou.Howdoyouexplainthedifferencebetweenthetwo?Yes.

Let'sconsideranothertrolleycarcaseandseewhetherthoseofyouintheThesecondone,Iguess,involvesanactivechoiceofpushingapersondown

majoritywanttoadheretotheprinciple"betterthatoneshoulddiesothatwhichIguessthatpersonhimselfwouldotherwisenothavebeeninvolvedin

fiveshouldlive."thesituationatall.

Thistimeyou*renotthedriverofthetrolleycar,you'reanonlooker.You*reAndsotochooseonhisbehalf,Iguess,toinvolvehiminsomethingthathe

standingonabridgeoverlookingatrolleycartrack.otherwisewouldhaveescapedis,Iguess,morethanwhatyouhaveinthe

Anddownthetrackcomesatrolleycar,attheendofthetrackarefivefirstcasewherethethreeparties,thedriverandthetwosetsofworkers,are

workers,thebrakesdon'twork,thetrolleycarisabouttocareenintothefivealready,Iguess,inthesituation.

andkillthem.Buttheguyworking,theoneonthetrackofftotheside,hedidn'tchooseto

Andnow,you'renotthedriver,youreallyfeelhelplessuntilyounoticesacrificehislifeanymorethanthefatmandid,didhe?

standingnexttoyou,leaningoverthebridgeisaveryfatman.That*strue,buthewasonthetracksand...

Andyoucouldgivehimashove.Thisguywasonthebridge.

Hewouldfalloverthebridgeontothetrackrightinthewayofthetrolleycar.Goahead,youcancomebackifyouwant.Allright.

Hewoulddiebuthewouldsparethefive.It'sahardquestion.Youdidwell.Youdidverywell.

Now,howmanywouldpushthefatmanoverthebridge?It'sahardquestion.

Raiseyourhand.Howmanywouldn*t?

WhoelsecanfindawayofreconcilingthereactionofthemajorityinthesePmnotreallysurethatthafsthecase.

twocases?Yes.Itjuststillseemskindofdifferent.

Well,Iguessinthefirstcasewhereyouhavetheoneworkerandthefive,it'sTheactofactuallypushingsomeoneoverontothetracksandkillinghim,you

achoicebetweenthosetwoandyouhavetomakeacertainchoiceandpeopleareactuallykillinghimyourself.

aregoingtodiebecauseofthetrolleycar,notnecessarilybecauseofyourYou*repushinghimwithyourownhands.

directactions.You*repushinghimandthafsdifferentthansteeringsomethingthatisgoing

Thetrolleycarisarunawaythingandyou'remakingasplitsecondchoice.tocausedeathintoanother.

Whereaspushingthefatmanoverisanactualactofmurderonyourpart.Youknow,itdoesn*treallysoundrightsayingitnow.

YouhavecontroloverthatwhereasyoumaynothavecontroloverthetrolleyNo,no.It*sgood.It*sgood.

car.What*syourname?

SoIthinkit,saslightlydifferentsituation.Andrew.

Allright,whohasareply?Andrew.

That*sgood.Whohasaway?Letmeaskyouthisquestion,Andrew.

Whowantstoreply?Yes.

Isthatawayoutofthis?Supposestandingonthebridgenexttothefatman,Ididn*thavetopushhim,

Idon*tthinkthat'saveiygoodreasonbecauseyouchoosetoeitherwayyousupposehewasstandingoveratrapdoorthatIcouldopenbyturninga

havetochoosewhodiesbecauseyoueitherchoosetoturnandkilltheperson,steeringwheellikethat.

whichisanactofconsciousthoughttoturn,oryouchoosetopushthefatWouldyouturn?

manoverwhichisalsoanactive,consciousaction.Forsomereason,thatstilljustseemsmorewrong.

Soeitherway,yoifremakingachoice.Right?

Doyouwanttoreply?

Imean,maybeifyouaccidentallylikeleanedintothesteeringwheelorOryoucouldlookafterthefive,restorethemtohealthbutduringthattime,

somethinglikethat.theoneseverelyinjuredpersonwoulddie.

But...Orsaythatthecarishurtlingtowardsaswitchthatwilldropthetrap.Howmanywouldsavethefive?

ThenIcouldagreewiththat.Nowasthedoctor,howmanywouldsavetheone?

Thafsallright.Fairenough.Veryfewpeople,justahandfulofpeople.

Itstillseemswronginawaythatitdoesn'tseemwronginthefirstcasetoSamereason,Iassume.

turn,yousay.Onelifeversusfive?

Andinanotherway,Imean,inthefirstsituationyou*reinvolveddirectlyNowconsideranotherdoctorcase.

withthesituation.Thistime,you'reatransplantsurgeonandyouhavefivepatients,eachin

Inthesecondone,you*reanonlookeraswell.desperateneedofanorgantransplantinordertosurvive.

Allright.-SoyouhavethechoiceofbecominginvolvedornotbypushingtheOneneedsaheart,onealung,oneakidney,onealiver,andthefiftha

fatman.pancreas.

Allright.Let*sforgetforthemomentaboutthiscase.Andyouhavenoorgandonors.

Thafsgood.Youareabouttoseethemdie.

Let'simagineadifferentcase.Andthenitoccurstoyouthatinthenextroomthere'sahealthyguywho

Thistimeyou'readoctorinanemergencyroomandsixpatientscometoyou.cameinforacheck-up.

They'vebeeninaterribletrolleycarwreck.Andhe's-youlikethat—andhe'stakinganap,youcouldgoinveryquietly,

Fiveofthemsustainmoderateinjuries,oneisseverelyinjured,youcouldyankoutthefiveorgans,thatpersonwoulddie,butyoucouldsavethefive.

spendalldaycaringfortheoneseverelyinjuredvictimbutinthattime,theHowmanywoulddoit?

fivewoulddie.Anyone?Howmany?

Putyourhandsupifyouwoulddoit.

Anyoneinthebalcony?Thafsanexampleofconsequentialistmoralreasoning.

Iwould.Consequentialistmoralreasoninglocatesmoralityintheconsequencesofan

Youwould?Becareful,don'tleanovertoomuch.act,inthestateoftheworldthatwillresultfromthethingyoudo.

Howmanywouldn't?Butthenwewentalittlefurther,weconsideredthoseothercasesandpeople

Allright.Whatdoyousay?weren'tsosureaboutconsequentialistmoralreasoning.

Speakupinthebalcony,youwhowouldyankouttheorgans.Why?Whenpeoplehesitatedtopushthefatmanoverthebridgeortoyankoutthe

I*dactuallyliketoexploreaslightlyalternatepossibilityofjusttakingtheoneorgansoftheinnocentpatient,peoplegesturedtowardreasonshavingtodo

ofthefivewhoneedsanorganwhodiesfirstandusingtheirfourhealthywiththeintrinsicqualityoftheactitself,consequencesbewhattheymay.

organstosavetheotherfour.Peoplewerereluctant.

Thafsaprettygoodidea.Peoplethoughtitwasjustwrong,categoricallywrong,tokillaperson,an

That*sagreatideaexceptforthefactthatyoujustwreckedthephilosophicalinnocentperson,evenforthesakeofsavingfivelives.

point.Atleastpeoplethoughtthatinthesecondversionofeachstoiywe

Let*sstepbackfromthesestoriesandtheseargumentstonoticeacoupleofconsidered.

thingsaboutthewaytheargumentshavebeguntounfold.Sothispointstoasecondcategoricalwayofthinkingaboutmoralreasoning.

CertainmoralprincipleshavealreadybeguntoemergefromthediscussionsCategoricalmoralreasoninglocatesmoralityincertainabsolutemoral

we*vehad.requirements,certaincategoricaldutiesandrights,regardlessofthe

Andlefsconsiderwhatthosemoralprincipleslooklike.consequences.

ThefirstmoralprinciplethatemergedinthediscussionsaidtherightthingWe*regoingtoexploreinthedaysandweekstocomethecontrastbetween

todo,themoralthingtododependsontheconsequencesthatwillresultconsequentialistandcategoricalmoralprinciples.

fromyouraction.

Attheendoftheday,betterthatfiveshouldliveevenifonemustdie.

ThemostinfluentialexampleofconsequentialmoralreasoningisThismaysoundappealingenough,buthereIhavetoissueawarning.

utilitarianism,adoctrineinventedbyJeremyBentham,EnglishpoliticalAndthewarningisthis,toreadthesebooksinthiswayasanexerciseinself

philosopher.knowledge,toreadtheminthiswaycarriescertainrisks,risksthatareboth

ThemostimportantphilosopherofcategoricalmoralreasoningGermanpersonalandpolitical,risksthateverystudentofpoliticalphilosophyhas

philosopherImmanuelKant.known.

Sowewilllookatthosetwodifferentmodesofmoralreasoning,assessthem,Theserisksspringfromthefactthatphilosophyteachesusandunsettlesus

andalsoconsiderothers.byconfrontinguswithwhatwealreadyknow.

Ifyoulookatthesyllabus,you*llnoticethatwereadanumberofgreatandThere'sanirony.

famousbooks,booksbyAiistotle,JohnLocke,ImmanuelKant,JohnStewartThedifficultyofthiscourseconsistsinthefactthatitteacheswhatyou

Mill,andothers.alreadyknow.

You*llnoticetoofromthesyllabusthatwedon'tonlyreadthesebooks;weItworksbytakingwhatweknowfromfamiliarunquestionedsettingsand

alsotakeupcontemporaiy,political,andlegalcontroversiesthatraisemakingitstrange.

philosophicalquestions.That'showthoseexamplesworked,thehypotheticalswithwhichwebegan,

Wewilldebateequalityandinequality,affirmativeaction,freespeechversuswiththeirmixofplayfulnessandsobriety.

hatespeech,samesexmarriage,militaryconscription,arangeofpracticalIt*salsohowthesephilosophicalbookswork.

questions.Why?Philosophyestrangesusfromthefamiliar,notbysupplyingnewinformation

Notjusttoenliventheseabstractanddistantbooksbuttomakeclear,tobutbyinvitingandprovokinganewwayofseeingbut,andhere*stherisk,

bringoutwhafsatstakeinoureverydaylives,includingourpoliticallives,oncethefamiliarturnsstrange,it*sneverquitethesameagain.

forphilosophy.Selfknowledgeislikelostinnocence,howeverunsettlingyoufindit;itcan

Andsowewillreadthesebooksandwewilldebatetheseissues,andwe'Hseeneverbeun-thoughtorun-known.

howeachinformsandilluminatestheother.

Whatmakesthisenterprisedifficultbutalsorivetingisthatmoraland"Takemyadvice/1Calliclessays,"abandonargument.Learnthe

politicalphilosophyisastoryandyoudon'tknowwherethestorywilllead.accomplishmentsofactivelife,takeforyourmodelsnotthosepeoplewho

Butwhatyoudoknowisthatthestoryisaboutyou.spendtheirtimeonthesepettyquibblesbutthosewhohaveagoodlivelihood

Thosearethepersonalrisks.andreputationandmanyotherblessings.**

Nowwhatofthepoliticalrisks?SoCalliclesisreallysayingtoSocrates"Quitphilosophizing,getreal,goto

Onewayofintroducingacourselikethiswouldbetopromiseyouthatbybusinessschool."AndCalliclesdidhaveapoint.

readingthesebooksanddebatingtheseissues,youwillbecomeabetter,Hehadapointbecausephilosophydistancesusfromconventions,from

moreresponsiblecitizen;youwillexaminethepresuppositionsofpublicestablishedassumptions,andfromsettledbeliefs.

policy,youwillhoneyourpoliticaljudgment,youwillbecomeamoreThosearetherisks,personalandpolitical.

effectiveparticipantinpublicaffairs.Andinthefaceoftheserisks,thereisacharacteristicevasion.

Butthiswouldbeapartialandmisleadingpromise.Thenameoftheevasionisskepticism,it*stheidea—well,itgoessomething

Politicalphilosophy,forthemostpart,hasn*tworkedthatway.likethis-wedidn*tresolveonceandforalleitherthecasesortheprinciples

YouhavetoallowforthepossibilitythatpoliticalphilosophymaymakeyouawewerearguingwhenwebeganandifAristotleandLockeandKantandMill

worsecitizenratherthanabetteroneoratleastaworsecitizenbeforeithaven*tsolvedthesequestionsafteralloftheseyears,whoarewetothink

makesyouabetterone,andthat*sbecausephilosophyisadistancing,eventhatwe,hereinSandersTheatre,overthecourseofasemester,canresolve

debilitating,activity.Andyouseethis,goingbacktoSocrates,there'sathem?

dialogue,theGorgias,inwhichoneofSocrates*friends,Callicles,triestotalkAndso,maybeit*sjustamatterofeachpersonhavinghisorherown

himoutofphilosophizing.principlesandthere'snothingmoretobesaidaboutit,nowayofreasoning.

CalliclestellsSocrates"PhilosophyisaprettytoyifoneindulgesinitwithThat'stheevasion,theevasionofskepticism,towhichIwouldofferthe

moderationattherighttimeoflife.Butifonepursuesitfurtherthanonefollowingreply.

should,itisabsoluteruin.”

Ifstrue,thesequestionshavebeendebatedforaverylongtimebuttheveiyYougottodowhatyougottodo,prettymuch.

factthattheyhaverecurredandpersistedmaysuggestthatthoughthey'rewithoutanyfood,youknow,someonejusthastotakethesacrifice.

impossibleinonesense,they'reunavoidableinanother.Someonehastomakethesacrificeandpeoplecansurvive.

AndthereasontheyYeunavoidable,thereasonthey'reinescapableisthatweAlright,that'sgood.

livesomeanswertothesequestionseveryday.What'syourname?

Soskepticism,justthrowingupyourhandsandgivinguponmoralreflectionMarcus.

isnosolution.-Marcus,whatdoyousaytoMarcus?

ImmanuelKantdescribedveiywelltheproblemwithskepticismwhenheLasttime,westartedoutlasttimewithsomestories,withsomemoral

wrote"Skepticismisarestingplaceforhumanreason,whereitcanreflectdilemmasabouttrolleycarsandaboutdoctorsandhealthypatients

uponitsdogmaticwanderings,butitisnodwellingplaceforpermanentvulnerabletobeingvictimsoforgantransplantation.

settlement/'Wenoticedtwothingsabouttheargumentswehad,onehadtodowiththe

"Simplytoacquiesceinskepticism/*Kantwrote,"canneversufficetowaywewerearguing.

overcometherestlessnessofreason/*Webeganwithourjudgmentsinparticularcases.

I*vetriedtosuggestthroughthesestoriesandtheseargumentssomesenseofWetriedtoarticulatethereasonsortheprincipleslyingbehindour

therisksandtemptations,oftheperilsandthepossibilities.judgments.

IwouldsimplyconcludebysayingthattheaimofthiscourseistoawakentheAndthenconfrontedwithanewcase,wefoundourselvesreexaminingthose

restlessnessofreasonandtoseewhereitmightlead.principles,revisingeachinthelightoftheother.

Thankyouverymuch.Andwenoticedthebuiltinpressuretotrytobringintoalignmentour

Like,inasituationthatdesperate,youhavetodowhatyouhavetodotojudgmentsaboutparticularcasesandtheprincipleswewouldendorseon

survive.reflection.

-Youhavetodowhatyouhavetodo?

WealsonoticedsomethingaboutthesubstanceoftheargumentsthatWhatdidhemeanbyutility?

emergedfromthediscussion.Hemeantbyutilitythebalanceofpleasureoverpain,happinessover

Wenoticedthatsometimesweweretemptedtolocatethemoralityofanactsuffering.

intheconsequences,intheresults,inthestateoftheworldthatitbroughtHere*showhearrivedattheprincipleofmaximizingutility.

about.Hestartedoutbyobservingthatallofus,allhumanbeingsaregovernedby

Andwecalledthisconsequentialistmoralreasoning.twosovereignmasters:painandpleasure.

Butwealsonoticedthatinsomecases,weweren*tswayedonlybytheresult.Wehumanbeingslikepleasureanddislikepain.

Sometimes,manyofusfelt,thatnotjustconsequencesbutalsotheintrinsicAndsoweshouldbasemorality,whetherwe*rethinkingaboutwhattodoin

qualityorcharacteroftheactmattersmorally.ourownlivesorwhetheraslegislatorsorcitizens,we*rethinkingaboutwhat

Somepeoplearguedthattherearecertainthingsthatarejustcategoricallythelawsshouldbe.

wrongeveniftheybringaboutagoodresult,eveniftheysavedfivepeopleatTherightthingtodoindividuallyorcollectivelyistomaximize,actinaway

thecostofonelife.thatmaximizestheoveralllevelofhappiness.

Sowecontrastedconsequentialistmoralprincipleswithcategoricalones.Bentham*sutilitarianismissometimessummedupwiththeslogan"The

Todayandinthenextfewdays,wewillbegintoexamineoneofthemostgreatestgoodforthegreatestnumber.**Withthisbasicprincipleofutilityon

influentialversionsofconsequentialistmoraltheory.hand,let'sbegintotestitandtoexamineitbyturningtoanothercase,

Andthat*sthephilosophyofutilitarianism.anotherstory,butthistime,notahypotheticalstoiy,areallifestoiy,thecase

JeremyBentham,EnglishpoliticalphilosophergavefirstthefirstclearoftheQueenversusDudleyandStevens.

systematicexpressiontotheutilitarianmoraltheory.Britishlawcasethat'sfamousandmuchdebatedinlawschools.

AndBentham*sidea,hisessentialidea,isaverysimpleone.Here'swhathappenedinthecase.

Withalotofmorallyintuitiveappeal,Bentham'sideaisthefollowing,theDIsummarizethestorythenIwanttohearhowyouwouldrule,imagining

rightthingtodo;thejustthingtodoistomaximizeutility.thatyouwerethejury.

Anewspaperaccountofthetimedescribedthebackground.Andthenforeightdays,theyhadnothing.

AsadderstoryofdisasteratseawasnevertoldthanthatofthesurvivorsofNofood.Nowater.

theyacht,Mignonette.Imagineyourselfinasituationlikethat,whatwouldyoudo?

TheshipflounderedintheSouthAtlantic,Therewerefourinthecrew,Here*swhattheydid.

Dudleywasthecaptain,Stevenswasthefirstmate,Brookswasasailor,allBynowthecabinboy,Parker,islyingatthebottomofthelifeboatinthe

menofexcellentcharacterorsothenewspaperaccounttellsus.cornerbecausehehaddrunkseawateragainsttheadviceoftheothersandhe

Thefourthcrewmemberwasthecabinboy,RichardParker,Hewasanhadbecomeillandheappearedtobedying.

orphan,hehadnofamily,andhewasonhisfirstlongvoyageatsea.Dudley,thecaptain,suggestedthattheyshouldallhavealottery,thatthey

Hewent,thenewsaccounttellsus,ratheragainsttheadviceofhisfriends.shoulddrawlotstoseewhowoulddietosavetherest.

Hewentinthehopefulnessofyouthfulambition,thinkingthejourneywouldBrooksrefused.

makeamanofhim.Hedidn*tlikethelotteryidea.

Sadly,itwasnottobe.Wedon'tknowwhetherthiswasbecausehedidn*twanttotakethechanceor

Thefactsofthecasewerenotindispute.becausehebelievedincategoricalmoralprinciples.

AwavehittheshipandtheMignonettewentdown.Butinanycase,nolotsweredrawn.

Thefourcrewmembersescapedtoalifeboat.ThenextdaytherewasstillnoshipinsightsoDudleytoldBrookstoaverthis

Theonlyfoodtheyhadweretwocansofpreservedturnips,nofreshwater.gazeandhemotionedtoStevensthattheboy,Parker,hadbetterbekilled.

Forthefirstthreedays,theyatenothing.Dudleyofferedaprayer,hetoldtheboyhistimehadcome,andhekilledhim

Onthefourthday,theyopenedoneofthecansofturnipsandateit.withapenknife,stabbinghiminthejugularvein.

Thenextdaytheycaughtaturtle.Brooksemergedfromhisconscientiousobjectiontoshareinthegruesome

Togetherwiththeothercanofturnips,theturtleenabledthemtosubsi