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Debating Same-Sex Marriage / The Good Life

November 29, 2009
Michael Sandel professor, philosophy, Harvard

Lecture Twenty-Two: "Debating Same-Sex Marriage"
If principles of justice depend on the moral or intrinsic worth of the ends that rights serve, how does society deal with the fact that people hold different ideas and conceptions of what is good? Using the example of same-sex marriage, students debate whether it is possible to detach moral permissibility of sexuality from the end or purpose of marriage.

Lecture Twenty-Three: "The Good Life"
Professor Sandel raises two questions. Is it necessary to reason about the good life in order to decide what is just and what rights people have? And if that's the case, is it possible to argue or to reason about the nature of the good life? Students debate these questions with a further discussion about government's role in deciding the purpose of marriage. Michael Sandel concludes his lecture series by making the point that we, as individuals, may never agree on many moral philosophical issues. However, he argues, on the one hand the debate about these issues is unavoidable. And on the other hand, it is a worthwhile opportunity for all of us to better appreciate the values of others.

WGBH
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