Cultural Amuse-Bouche: Michael Sandel's "Justice"

Earlier this week, Michael Sandel was the featured guest on The Colbert Report. The philosophy professor at Harvard spoke of the way philosophy can inform current political debates and help towards a greater understanding on what's at stake. Having taken some philosophy at university some years ago, I still have a deep appreciation for being introduced substantially to great Western thinkers. In the interview, it was mentioned that his classes were available online for free so I checked it out and was quickly hooked by the questions, the ideas, the debates and the examples that were brought forward.

Callin' you out, Libertarians!

Also, I geek out over Kant.

Philosophy only comes alive when it's analyzed and debated. Once fully engaged, your ideas change or crystallize depending on the arguments raised in the debate.

Sandel's "Justice" covers a good range of philosophers (although David Hume was omitted) which are applied to topics such as gay marriage, cost-benefit analysis, affirmative action, torture, taxation, military conscription, meritocracy systems and patriotism.

The video series is a collection of 12 videos lasting around 1 hour each and consist of 24 lectures in all. So that comes out to 12 hours of video. Not recommended for binge watching (my method).

It's an opportunity to engage our moral beliefs into social and political discussions in a way that expands our understanding rather than reducing it. As such, I highly recommend it.

Here's a preview: