Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 02: "PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON LIFE"

PART ONE: PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON LIFE

Today, companies and governments often use Jeremy Benthams utilitarian logic under the name of cost-benefit analysis. Sandel presents some contemporary cases in which cost-benefit analysis was used to put a dollar value on human life. The cases give rise to several objections to the utilitarian logic of seeking the greatest good for the greatest number. Should we always give more weight to the happiness of a majority, even if the majority is cruel or ignoble? Is it possible to sum up and compare all values using a common measure like money?

PART TWO: HOW TO MEASURE PLEASURE

Sandel introduces J.S. Mill, a utilitarian philosopher who attempts to defend utilitarianism against the objections raised by critics of the doctrine. Mill argues that seeking the greatest good for the greatest number is compatible with protecting individual rights, and that utilitarianism can make room for a distinction between higher and lower pleasures. Mills idea is that the higher pleasure is always the pleasure preferred by a well-informed majority. Sandel tests this theory by playing video clips from three very different forms of entertainment: Shakespeares Hamlet, the reality show Fear Factor, and The Simpsons. Students debate which experience provides the higher pleasure, and whether Mills defense of utilitarianism is successful.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Harvard University
• Michael Sandel
• WGBH
• Justice

[Schnikerdoodle]

Cool, now I can tell people I studied at Harvard.

[carlosleonardo88]

Kid is trolled at 19:15, lol.

[CIA182]

@avramiebk Ultimately the question is still: " How much could i give you for the life of your loved one?.. What would a fair price be?" So it's still the life of the person being equated with $mulah$ The reasin for the settlement, and therefore the settlement itself is precisely that.

[djesun1]

lol guy sleeping at 00:54!! :D

[AbandonedPanda]

This Gent looks amazingly like Brent Spiner! You know Data from Star Trek....

[avramiebk]

by the way, I was told that in the Ford Pinto case, they were simply calculating the settlement amounts that they would have to spend, so they were not actually placing a dollar value on the lives themselves, but rather on their settlement costs for those lives (and injuries).

It may appear that that is even more repulsive and inhumane (and I would be inclined to agree) but the fact remains that this does change the case since they were not really putting a value on a human life.

[MrLordCrazy]

To simply demonstrate how population prefer higher pleasure against intense and momentary pleasure, look at the view count of episode 1 vs the rest.

[QYRHBLF]

Re: Value; The value does not represent compensation-It represents "Caution or Warning"-and if the value is large enough itserves as a preventative measure,as those who have to honour it may weel find it punitive in the extreme.As such it serves to protect society.What we value is based on the nature of society.We treasure Money-Goods- Property,sometimes at the expense of life.This is an "inconvenient truth"and forces us to question our moral behaviour. Our defence becomes:everybody is doing it.

[kobidobidog]

Mans Justice is lightless, and blind even as the devil is blind not caring about anyone even himself. Justice has jails we can see. The devil has jails we cannot see where he puts humans that think mans Justice is good. That jail is for final judgment in Gods light that is real judgment. That judgment is final. Eternal life of the soul or it will be eternal death of the soul. Mans wisdom is foolish seeking eternal death of the soul. Mercy gets mercy for the soul. evil for evil kills the soul.

[schris3]

@onxiaftw For that reason we have in the US this system of government.

[schris3]

@diavarezable I always thought Harvard is overrated.