Today we learned about different ethical philosophies and how they can help us think through ethical dilemmas. We discussed moral questions such as “Is stealing wrong?” and “Should I tell on my friend that’s cheating on a test?”. We taught mini lessons on important ethical theories, such as virtue theory, contractarianism, natural law theory, categorical imperative, and utilitarianism. We had some really in-depth discussions as a class about how dilemmas can be solved by applying these specific theories.
Parents- here are some thought-provoking questions you can ask your young ethicist over dinner:
– Is stealing food okay if a mother is stealing it to feed her children?
– Is changing the direction of a trolley to kill one person and save 5 people better than not changing the path at all?
– What is the Golden Mean and how can it be applied to an ethical situation?
– What is the difference between moral and cultural relativism?
See you tomorrow for another great day!