I don’t think I answered that question! See the comments in this post:
http://www.bigwowo.com/2009/10/justice-episode-1/

I talked about heroism, but I don’t think I was able to come up with a mathematical formula to determine which move was right.

I’m on the chapter that discusses Immanuel Kant. Not done yet, but so far I’m not feeling his philosophy.

I actually picked up Sandel’s book 50% off yesterday. Ozzy Ousborne was beckoning at me hard with his biography, but I ended up with Justice instead.

So far it does not dissappoint. I’m surprised at how hard it is in some examples to separate yourself enough from your emotions to look at things rationally (i.e. the Wall Street bonuses, and most other examples touching on the free market philosophy).

Hey, if you’re interested in “post-graduate” work, check out the latest episode of Medium, called “Dear Dad…”.

Holy @#$%! It is amazing how one’s sense of justice depends on one’s position. Hurry, I think they only keep each episode up for a week or two:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/medium/video/

Montesquieu hit it on the head with his quote:

“A truly virtuous man would come to the aid of the most distant stranger as quickly as to his own friend. If men were perfectly virtuous, they wouldn’t have friends.”

This is much the issue I felt with that fake hate crime thing in Portland this year. Nobody wants to be a rat, and nobody wants to throw people under the bus because of inside information, but it’s also not right to lie. A truly virtuous man WOULD treat everyone equally, but as Sandel says, there’s something not human about that.

Sandel handled the masturbation question well. I probably would’ve let him answer, but he did the right thing by jumping in and guiding Hannah so that she didn’t make it personal. Steve made a good point about marrying oneself.

I liked how that one woman turned it around by referencing Catholic values. This is also related to a lot of bigWOWO’s questions this year. I thought I was a total liberal with no values by freedom and equality, but as the “Talent” post illustrated (to me at least), there is something related to dignity that guides the decisions I make–even if I often fall short. There’s a hierarchy based on values that I hold dear.

In the conclusion, I liked how Sandel talks about engagement, and how it helps to resolve questions. I also felt, and continue to feel, the unease that Sandel discusses. I guess this is a lifelong quest that goes beyond 12 weeks.

Anyway, thank you Harvard for providing this excellent series, and thank you to the people who watched with me. I wish I could’ve been a little more engaging with the discussion. I’m sure the issues will come up again in the future.