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Private Notes
Should parents be able to "design" their children based on genetic preferences? What are the dangers of turning children into commodities and childbearing into an extension of the consumer society? From a lecture at the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona, as edited for broadcast on Spanish television (Soy Camara).
Is it always right to sacrifice one life to save five? Is morality always about numbers? An excerpt of Sandel's Harvard Justice lecture, with animation added by Soy Camara (Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona).
Should celebrities and sports stars be paid more than service workers? Is fair pay determined by supply and demand? In this excerpt from the BBC program "Fairness and the Big Society," Sandel uses the pay of a famous soccer star to explore the meaning of fairness with a London studio audience.
Is torture ever justified? What if innocent lives are at stake? This excerpt from the BBC documentary "Justice: A Citizen's Guide to the 21st Century" examines the debate between Kantians and utilitarians on human dignity.
Should this generation of Germans take responsibility for addressing the evils perpetrated by their grandparents' generation during the Holocaust? Should this generation of Americans take responsibility for remedying the injustice of slavery? This excerpt from the BBC documentary "Justice: A Citizen's Guide to the 21st Century" asks whether moral responsibility can be collective as well as individual.
Michael Sandel leads a video-linked global classroom, broadcast on NHK television (Japan) with students in Tokyo, Shanghai, and at Harvard. Sandel and the students discuss the ethical and global implications of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster: What accounts for the strong communal response of the Japanese public to the crisis? Should nuclear power be abandoned in favor of safer energy sources? Does the outpouring of global support for Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake suggest that, in a global age, human sympathy and concern can transcend national boundaries and cultural differences?
Live-taped for the BBC program, The Public Philosopher, Michael J. Sandel, Harvard University's Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, engaged the audience in a lively debate about healthcare policy, social welfare, and the philosophical meaning of the American Dream.
