12 th TOK 8 /22

1. 12th TOK 8/22 • JOURNAL (10 minutes): Draw a picture of a scientist and label key elements. • Video: Felix and Mad Mickey (10 minutes) • Read “Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know” (20 minutes): • What are the stereotypes about scientists? Where do they come from? How does perception affect people’s attitudes about science? • Watch “Bad Science” & Dawkins vs. Chopra (30 minutes): • Why are people willing to accept pseudo-science even when there is little evidence?Is it ethically right to use scientific principles as a metaphor for religion? ”Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” —Adam Smith

2. 12th TOK 8/17 • 300 word reflection (2 Paragraphs): • Take a real life dilemma and consider which Ways Of Knowing (Reason, Emotion, Language, and Perception)have most informed your ethical decision making. • Presentation Time: (2=12 min, 3&4=17 min) • Begin Natural Sciences on Wednesday!! “Man’s brain lives in the twentieht century; the heart of most men still lives in the Stone Age” —Erich Fromm

3. Is it worth trying to establish ethical laws?

4. 12th TOK 8/15 • Radio Lab: A scientific approach to studying morality (50 min) • How does emotion, reason, and science relate to ethics? • Linking Questions for Ethics: Handout • HOMEWORK: Think of a real-life, personal dilemma you have faced to write a 300 word reflection onnext class. Presentation Time: (2=12 minutes, 3&4=17 minutes) “I cannot see how to refute the arguments for the subjectivity of ethical values, but I find myself incapable of believing that all that is wrong with wanton cruelty is that I don’t like it” —Bertrand Russell

5. 12th TOK 8/14 • The TOK Presentation(10 minutes) • An overview of the parameters, expectations, and support materials • Justice Video: (20 minutes) What does the Trolley Car example teach us about the conflict between Deontological and Teliological ethics? • Reading: “Thinking Ethically” (15 minutes) • Review the 5 approaches to ethical reasoning • “Jim and the Indians” & “An American Story” (20 minutes) • Jigsaw: Each table apply one method to both stories to decide what is ethical • NOTE: Ethical does not equate to “morally right” Morals are PERSONAL. Ethics endeavors to: 1. Understand how we make moral judgments (Meta-Ethics), 2. Develop new ethical systems (Normative Ethics), and 3. Examine dilemmas in an effort to establish rules and/or laws (Applied Ethics) “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation” —Jeremy Bentham

6. 12th TOK 8/10 • JOURNAL (15 minutes): If faced with the dilemma presented to the son in Vertical Limit, what would an Absolutist (or Categorical, or Deontological thinker) do and why? Do you agree? Why or why not? (Journal Rubric) • Human Rights Articles (20 minutes) • Write your articles and post them on the wall for discussion • Remember “The Veil of Ignorance” – John Rawls Toward a Theory of Justice • "Imagine that you have set for yourself the task of developing a totally new social contract for today's society. How could you do so fairly? Although you could never actually eliminate all of your personal biases and prejudices, you would need to take steps at least to minimize them. Rawls suggests that you imagine yourself in an original position behind a veil of ignorance . Behind this veil, you know nothing of yourself and your natural abilities, or your position in society. You know nothing of your sex, race, nationality, or individual tastes. Behind such a veil of ignorance all individuals are simply specified as rational, free, and morally equal beings. You do know that in the "real world", however, there will be a wide variety in the natural distribution of natural assets and abilities, and that there will be differences of sex, race, and culture that will distinguish groups of people from each other." • Do you see any articles that are contradictory in your peers “Declaration of Rights”? • Do you see any articles you can think of exceptions to? • Kant-Categorical (Deontological) vs Bentham-Utilitarian (Teliological) • What does the Trolley Car example teach us about the conflict between Deontological and Teliological ethics? • HOMEWORK: Read “Thinking Ethically” “Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end.” —Immanuel Kant

7. 12th TOK 8/7 • Introduction / Icebreaker (10 minutes) • About Mr. Cook • “Never have I, ever…” • Course Outline, Rubrics, Ethics Unit, Supplies (10 minutes) • Pass/Fail (completion w/ exempted IB marks) • Only 2 weeks for Ethics Unit! • Only need a binder, paper, and small journal for this class • The Blog (5 minutes) • “Vertical Limit” (10 minutes) • What would you do and why? When is it OK to kill somebody? • “Ethics… an introduction” (35 minutes) – Various Activities • Begin Human Rights Articles (8-10) • HOMEWORK: Buy a binder and a journal for next class!! “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” – Albert Camus