Social Studies

Discussion Question - Why Eat Less Meat

The website Why Eat Less Meat cites four major reasons to eat less meat: the efficiency of the global food system, the environment, health (both personal and public), and animal welfare. Which of these reasons to eat less meat do you find most compelling? Are any of these reasons (or the combination of them) compelling enough to make you think you personally should eat less meat? Why or why not?

 

Discussion Question - Ecology

In the transcript of Slavoj Žižek’s conversation from Examined Life, he says, "the true ecologist must also accept that nature is the ultimate human myth, that we humans, when we perceive ourselves as beyond nature, exploiting nature and so on, we also, through this opposition, create a certain image of nature. And that idealized image of nature is the ultimate obstacle to ecology. So, again, this is why my formula is ecology without nature. The first duty is to drop this heavily ideologically mythological, invested notion of nature." What do you think? What are the two notions of "ecology" he is comparing? Do you agree? 

Discussion Question - Famine Relief

In his clip from Examined Life, Peter Singer argues that we should all be giving substantial amounts of money and/or time to famine relief, e.g., by giving to Oxfam. He draws on an analogy: suppose you were walking by a shallow pond and a child was drowning. All you need to do to save her life is wade in and help her, though you would ruin your nice shoes. You are morally required to sacrifice your shoes to save the child's life. He argues: children are dying every day from famine. If you restrict yourself to what you really need and sacrifice luxuries, giving the money you save to famine relief, you will save many lives. So you are morally required to do so. What do you think of the analogy? 

 

Final Presentations (Ethics in your Life)

During the last two classes of the term, each student will give a 5–7 minute presentation on their own ethical perspective, as developed over the course of the term.

The presentation should begin with a clear statement of your question or topic and its ethical significance, and then explain how your thinking on the topic has progressed over the semester.

We are looking for you not to just state your opinion on a question, but to think about it in some depth and show us how your line of thought has changed over the course of your investigation. If you've changed your mind on the question, great; but if you haven't changed your mind, that's fine too. If you don't have a settled opinion and are still unsure what to think, even better! We just want to hear how you've engaged with alternative points of view on the question and what you've learned from doing so.

Discussion Question - What can a body do?

In the Judith Butler / Sunaura Taylor clip from Examined Life, Butler considers the question "what can a body do?” She and Taylor suggest that the "can" here is not just about what bodies are physically capable of, but what constraints are imposed by society. They consider the possibility that gender and disability are similar, socially speaking, because there are substantial social constraints on how we can use our bodies to enact our gender and/or physical capacities. What do you think? Is there an analogy here? What other social constraints are there on our embodiment? 

 

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