Series
AY 2013
Arts and Sciences

Society and Ethics ― Probing the Limits of What is “Human” (Global Focus on Knowledge)

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#Language & Thought
#Disaster Prevention & Resilience
#International Relations
#Economics & Finance
#Politics & Law
#共生
#倫理
#思想
#経済
#サステナビリティ
#法律
#カント
#Official UTokyo Courses (OCW)
#UTokyo Community Only
#Arts and Sciences
Coordinator: Tetsuya Takahashi (College of Arts and Sciences) Navigator: Yoshihisa Yamamoto (College of Arts and Sciences) The Fukushima power plant accidents that occurred on March 11, 2011, have caused us to reflect fundamentally on human agency. We modern people carry the confidence that we are the “lords and possessors of nature” (Descartes) by virtue of the light of knowledge, that is, science and technology. The discovery and commercialization of nuclear energy can be said to the pinnacle of our control of nature. However, we have shown that we are monsters capable of erasing ourselves out of existence, not only with nuclear weapons, but also with nuclear power generation. In the 21st century today, the question of what does it mean to be human is being asked in all domains of society. This question is asked not in a mood of confidence in human possibilities, as people in the early modern period experienced. Rather, it is asked in a mood of anxiety as the boundaries of what is “human” begin to crumble and the limits of being “human” are exposed. Along with this question is the loss of the self-evidentiary nature of “ethics,” which had formed human relationships up to now. In its place, people are exploring a new “ethics” that manifests itself at points of human boundaries. This lecture series seeks to explore the new “ethics” through the following topics on human boundaries: the medicine of life and death, mental disorders and normality, calamities and courtesy, religious dialogues, market economics, and the death penalty.

Content List

The Ethics of Co-Existence

1:16
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#1 Facing Disasters

Overview: After 3/11, how we should live is being fundamentally re-examined. In the midst of this questioning, how to conceive the ethics of co-existence is critical. In these lectures, through the lens of Chinese experience, we will consider what systems of ethics are conceived when we are faced with disaster. We will also further consider the question of what are the ethics of the ritual when c…

Lecturer | Takahiro Nakajima
1:16
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1:22
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#2 Questioning the Ritual Today

Overview: After 3/11, how we should live is being fundamentally re-examined. In the midst of this questioning, how to conceive the ethics of co-existence is critical. In these lectures, through the lens of Chinese experience, we will consider what systems of ethics are conceived when we are faced with disaster. We will also further consider the question of what are the ethics of the ritual when c…

Lecturer | Takahiro Nakajima
1:22
Resources
Available
Available for
Audio-Only
Listening
UTokyo
Community
Only

For the Rehabilitation of Human Economics

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#9 The Market Principle and the Living World

Overview: Capitalistic economy, which is established by converting nature, human beings, and currency to legal fictions and commercializing them, is essentially unsustainable. If it seeks to persist in unreasonably commoditizing and fictionalizing the world, major problems for the existence of humankind will arise. Nevertheless, global capitalism is seeking to advance this unreasonable thinking. …

Lecturer | Makoto Maruyama
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Resources
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#10 Beyond the Myth of Growth

Overview: Capitalistic economy, which is established by converting nature, human beings, and currency to legal fictions and commercializing them, is essentially unsustainable. If it seeks to persist in unreasonably commoditizing and fictionalizing the world, major problems for the existence of humankind will arise. Nevertheless, global capitalism is seeking to advance this unreasonable thinking. …

Lecturer | Makoto Maruyama
Resources
Available

Examining the Death Penalty: Its Legitimacy and Illegitimacy

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#11 The Ethics of the Death Penalty

Overview: While the trend worldwide is toward its abolition, the death penalty is maintained in Japan, and it is supported by much of public opinion. Is the death penalty ethically justifiable? Or is it unsupportable? The lectures will explore philosophical and ideological questions surrounding the death penalty (Lectures 11 and 12). Finally, we will consider what are ethical responsibilities in …

Lecturer | Tetsuya Takahashi
Resources
Available
Resources
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#12 Emotions and Justice in the Death Penalty

Overview: While the trend worldwide is toward its abolition, the death penalty is maintained in Japan, and it is supported by much of public opinion. Is the death penalty ethically justifiable? Or is it unsupportable? The lectures will explore philosophical and ideological questions surrounding the death penalty (Lectures 11 and 12). Finally, we will consider what are ethical responsibilities in …

Lecturer | Tetsuya Takahashi
Resources
Available
Resources
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#13 What Is “Responsibility”?

Overview: While the trend worldwide is toward its abolition, the death penalty is maintained in Japan, and it is supported by much of public opinion. Is the death penalty ethically justifiable? Or is it unsupportable? The lectures will explore philosophical and ideological questions surrounding the death penalty (Lectures 11 and 12). Finally, we will consider what are ethical responsibilities in …

Lecturer | Tetsuya Takahashi
Resources
Available
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