Dungeons and Dragons

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

It's so easy to a be on a high horse judging someone, and then when you're in the scneria yourself, all of a sudden it's not so simple. My uncle gave me the red box of basic addition of dungeon dragons way back in the day. You don't ti have to read about them any more. And this idea, this really attractive idea that a pencil, some paper, a in your imagination can go on forever. Theres no, there's no end to it. When you reach the edge of the board, the story just goes on.

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