Through Mental Prisms: What Online Learning Taught Me About Ethics and Justice
Aanya Padhi is a sophomore at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California. She is interested in applied ethics and political philosophy and is active in advocacy work to overturn wrongful convictions and address prosecutorial misconduct.
A few months ago, I started becoming more interested in political philosophy because I realized it connected two of my favorite academic topics: ethics and politics. That realization happened after I took the Justice course by Micheal Sandel, a HarvardX course which is free to audit online, where it became clear to me that ethics, politics, and philosophy are all interconnected ideas that work together to shape a just and coexisting society. Ethics and politics influence everything around us, and I love learning how they show up in real-world situations, not just in theories. Since the course is made up of videos and readings, I usually work through it at my own pace on my laptop, and I was relieved to see it wasn’t just a series of tired lectures but a mix that genuinely kept me engaged.
The course itself:Justice, which is also a book by Sandel, explained ethical concepts through discussions and real-world case studies. The focus on ethics naturally led into political philosophy, where I learned about philosophers like Nozick, Rawls, and Locke, and saw how their ideas still shape the way society functions today. Rawls’s idea of distributive justice, which focuses on fairly allocating resources and opportunities so everyone has a real chance, made me rethink what fairness means. I used to think fairness just meant treating everyone the same, but now I realize it also means recognizing people’s different starting points and adjusting systems so those differences don’t hold them back. One example that made this clearer was a news story I read a few months ago about unequal school funding across districts. Some communities had updated facilities and small class sizes, while others struggled with outdated textbooks and overflowing classrooms. Seeing that gap made Rawls’s point feel real to me, because treating every district “the same” would not fix anything if their basic conditions were already unequal. Personally, I like looking at facts and developing a fresh new opinion each time I look at a situation, which makes me feel like I am somewhere between different ethical theories. Sometimes I find myself leaning towards the clarity of moral duty, but other times the focus on outcomes seems more practical, so I am still figuring out my perspective.
What I appreciated most was how these ethical concepts are connected to real-life debates. Toward the end of the course, we examined divisive issues like same-sex marriage and affirmative action, analyzing them through the theories we studied. It was fascinating to see how philosophical frameworks developed hundreds of years ago still apply to the questions people argue about today. The course also showed me that philosophy isn’t about memorizing abstract ideas but is about understanding how those ideas apply to modern-day dilemmas and the ways in which people are treated today.
Actually paying attention to online courses can be difficult, especially if they are not engaging from the start. But Professor Sandel drew me into the material through the discussions he had with his students. Hearing so many opinions from such a diverse group of people opened my eyes to how differently people view the same moral and political questions, the kinds of questions our entire society is built on. One moment that stood out was a debate about affirmative action. Some students argued that it creates unfair advantages and goes against the idea of equal treatment, while others believed it is necessary to right long-standing wrongs and give students from under-resourced backgrounds a fair chance. They were all around the same age, yet their reasoning came from such different life experiences that it felt like they were seeing the same issue through completely different lenses. Whether most of us realize it or not, ethics and political philosophy are the mental prisms through which we all live our lives. This course helped me see that people’s thought processes are shaped by their own unique lived experiences and values, even when we are all in the same stage of life.
My Takeaways: Taking the online course Justice showed me that education is not limited by where you live or what school you attend but by how curious you choose to be. The learning is open to anyone who wants to put in time, not just people who can afford to pay for a certificate. That accessibility made the experience feel even more meaningful. I have also realized that online courses like this can be a really helpful supplement to what I learn in school because they let me go deeper into topics that my classes might only touch on. Learning how different ethical theories and political philosophies influence the world around us has made me excited to take more edX courses and keep building on what I’ve learned.
