Do You Pull the Lever?

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The importance of curiosity as a virtue, i can't emphasize enough. We should be curious towards others and how they think. And so looking inward at ourselves, not just to do important psychological work, but philosophical work as well. Ethics is all around us. It's in the air we breathe. I wish there were just more super hero stories to interrogate. Imenjust ta,. i just finished watcing a the fupin and the winter soldier, and i'm, i'm delighted with it. So you sort of get entertained as you're doing this.

Roleplaying games and the Marvel universe may be fictional, but they can also teach us a lot about morality in the real world. Christopher Robichaud is a Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In this episode, he shares ways we can explore important, everyday issues in fun, safe, and unexpected ways. Christopher has made a career out of teaching ethics and philosophy using pop culture, dissecting moral questions using anything from zombie apocalypse simulations to superhero narratives. He received his doctorate in philosophy from MIT. In 2015 he won the Innovation in Teaching Award at the Harvard Kennedy School for creating a day-long simulation--using design elements from old school tabletop roleplaying games like D&D--where policy students wielded their leadership skills and confronted ethical dilemmas to deal with a zombie pandemic. To learn more about "How to Be a Better Human," host Chris Duffy, or find footnotes and additional resources, please visit: go.ted.com/betterhuman