The Fat Man and the Trolley: Moral Conundrums
Thursday, January 12, 2017Time 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Rosemary Bowler – The Fat Man and the Trolley: Moral Conundrums
Thursdays, January 12, 19, 26 and February 2, 9, 16, 2017 | 10:00am
Woman’s Club Room | $150/series of six
All of us have experienced the difficulty of making a major decision – Should I accept this job that requires me to move far away from friends and family? Do I agree to bring up my children in a religion in which I do not believe? Should I honor my mother’s end-of-life wishes if my siblings disagree?
In this course, we will examine both actual and hypothetical situations demanding a moral decision in which either choice will produce both positive and negative results. We will attempt to find some guidance in the arguments made by thinkers, past and current, who have grappled with these dilemmas. We will look at how neuroscience is providing new insights into the ways we think and act. Chances are, at the end of the course, you may be even more confused than when you begin. If so, the course will have succeeded. I’ll leave it to you to determine why this is so.