"What's the Right Thing to Do" is the Right Thing to Watch -- and Thoughts on the Importance of Moral Philosophy to Political Philosophy

Although it is generally rare that television shows inspire serious thought about philosophical issues, PBS’s Michael Sandel’s “What’s the Right Thing to Do” succesfully invites its watchers to become part of the great questions addressed by western moral philosophers throughout the ages—and gives its watchers an opportunity to appreciate the role of moral philosophy in political philosophy. I had the opportunity to watch two of the twelve episodes two Sundays ago, and another two last Sunday, and hope to watch two more today. All of them are accessible at http://justiceharvard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=9&Itemid=5. The show is a broadcast of some or all of Sandel’s moral philosophy class at Harvard University. The class invites its participants to consider moral dilemmas, like “Would you switch a runaway trolley from one track to another if it meant killing one person instead of five?” ;“ Would it be just as moral to push a person in front of the speeding trolley to stop it and save the five?”; “What about a surgeon killing one healthy person and using his organs so that five people who needed organ transplants could live?”; and “Whether it is better to harm one person to save multiple people or better to avoid harming anyone.” Through exploring the moral dilemma examples, he demonstrates the answers of various philosophical approaches, such as utilitarianism v libertarianism. Anyone interested in a general overview of western moral philosophy will definitely get that in this series For me, the show is serving an an unexpected reminder of the importance of moral philosophy to political philosophy. In my recent study of political philosophy, my mind has created an artificial border between morality and political philosophy that may not be true to those who established the values that underly our political system. Moral philosophy is an essential part of political philosophy. Political philosophy relies of morality to determine what is in society’s best interest. For instance, libertarian philosophy focuses on the morality of individual freedom over else. Utilitarianism focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number. Behind these political philosophies are questions of what is society’s moral responsibility to its citizens. Pure political philosophy asks only what system of governance is effective at creating the desired result, usually presuming that the desired result is something simply like satisfaction with the governing structure under which they live. However, that is a short sighted error because it ignores that moral questions underlie the expectations of government. For instance, would it be moral to maximize citizen liberty if it means that citizens are at a greater risk of injury from harm from pollution or unsafe commercial products? Alternatively, would it be moral to maximize citizen safety if it means that citizens have fewer rights to take personal risk, succeed at personal endeavors and decrease the number of personal choices available to them. These questions underlie our present political debates concerning health care, tort liability, environmental protection, and even national security. It is unlikely that Michael Sandel’s class will unilaterally increase the study of moral philosophy, or even the recognition that moral philosophy underlies so many of society’s decisions. However, Sandel’s book “Justice” and his PBS class are making philosophy more accessible to many outside the walls of university institutions. The importance of this to our society can not be over-stated, as much poltical dialogue today resorts to arguments over self-interest and claims of ignorance on the part of competing views rather than an acceptance of disagreements due to competing moral approaches to problems.