Area: Science

Mind Games

Illustration from Jiaqi Emily Yan's animated short film "Mind Games" featuring a pink brain coloring on the sidewalk

This lesson can be used either in a classroom or online.  Plot Summary: In Jiaqi Emily Yan’s animated short “Mind Games,” a child sits bored at a school desk, trying to focus on classwork. Their brain jumps out of their head, stuffs it with books, and heads outside to play while the child robotically regurgitates Mind Games

Conflicting Values in Environmental Ethics – The Mountain Goat Dilemma

Mountain goat laying down on mountain side

Mountain goats are not native to Olympic National Park. They were introduced into Olympic Peninsula in the 1930s to encourage an increase of tourism via hunting. Shortly after, Olympic National Park was established. Under Park jurisdiction, hunting of any kind is forbidden, so the mountain goats placed there were protected. Olympic National Park is now Conflicting Values in Environmental Ethics – The Mountain Goat Dilemma

Truth, Lies and Bullshit

Part 1: What is the difference between Truth, a Lie and Bullshit? Students should begin by writing brief definitions of these words –> WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?  TRUTH, LIE, SATIRE/ JOKE, FICTION, MISTAKE, BULLSHIT (or, politely, BS) After 10 minutes, discuss how these concepts overlap and differ from each other.  It is important to get to the point where the Truth, Lies and Bullshit

Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots

parrot perched raising wings

For much of modern science, since the Enlightenment, animals were generally thought to be automatons:  materialist robots programmed to behave in certain ways.  Rene Descartes drew a sharp distinction between thinking beings, humans, and everything else, matter.  20th Century behaviorism continued to think of animals in this way but added humans to the mix.  “Mind” Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots

How Do We Decide Who Should Decide?

Medical Ethics and the State The role of the state (government) in medical ethics can be quite complex. In these two articles (see links below), two perspectives are explored. The famous Baby Theresa case involves a situation where the state prevents parents from acting to share their dying daughter’s organs. The second case concerns a How Do We Decide Who Should Decide?

The Ethics of the Creation of Dual-Species Chimeras

flying bird with pug dog face

On November 6, 2015, NPR aired a story about the controversial topic of stem cell research. This story can be used as the basis for a philosophical discussion of a variety of topics, including what it is to be human and the ethics of medical research. Here is a link to the story: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/06/454693391/should-human-stem-cells-be-used-to-make-partly-human-chimeras This The Ethics of the Creation of Dual-Species Chimeras