Available online
Description
In the third in a series of lectures drawn from Harvard professor Michael Sandel's famous undergraduate course on the philosophy of justice, he introduces the British philosopher John Stuart Mill a...nd compares the artistic merits of Shakespeare and The Simpsons. Mill argued 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. Sandel tests Mill's theory that that the higher pleasure is that which is preferred by a well-informed majority by playing video clips from three very different forms of entertainment - Shakespeare's Hamlet, the reality show Fear Factor and The Simpsons. Students debate their own preferences and whether Mill's defense of utilitarianism is successful.
In the third in a series of lectures drawn from Harvard professor Michael Sandel's famous undergraduate course on the philosophy of justice, he introduces the British philosopher John Stuart Mill a...nd compares the artistic merits of Shakespeare and The Simpsons. Mill argued 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. Sandel tests Mill's theory that that the higher pleasure is that which is preferred by a well-informed majority by playing video clips from three very different forms of entertainment - Shakespeare's Hamlet, the reality show Fear Factor and The Simpsons. Students debate their own preferences and whether Mill's defense of utilitarianism is successful.
| Series: | Justice |
|---|---|
| First transmission date: | 08-02-2011 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC4 |
| Published: | 2011 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:28:18 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Julian Mercer |
| Contributor: | Michael Sandel |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Link to related site: | BBC Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00y4y46 OU Website: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-justice-the-moral-side-murder |
| Production number: | FKAJ083J |
| Videofinder number: | 81999 |
| Available to public: | no |
