25. Tying up Loose Ends

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (PHIL 181)

Professor Gendler begins with brief introductory remarks about the course's methodology, explaining the approach that was taken to reading and presenting various articles. She continues with a discussion of Cass Sunstein's work on social norms, looking particularly at his account of the willingness to pay/willingness to accept distinction. The lecture continues with a consideration of how this distinction---and the heuristic reasoning that gives rise to it---might be used to explain our responses to the trolley problem. In the final segment of the lecture, Professor Gendler offers a way of thinking systematically about relations among the political philosophical views of Thomas Hobbes, John Rawls and Robert Nozick.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introductory Remarks
05:21 - Chapter 2. Cass Sunstein on Social Norms
16:56 - Chapter 3. Responses to the Trolley Problem
26:54 - Chapter 4. Hobbes, Rawls, and Nozick

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

This course was recorded in Spring 2011.