Philosophically Speaking (8th-12th grade)
Philosophy is not about finding life’s answers. It is about considering life’s questions. Philosophy allows us to refine our intuitions by testing them against a long tradition of thinkers who came before us. "Philosophically Speaking," which is modeled on an intro college philosophy class, provides a context for teens to think more deeply about the choices and experiences of their everyday lives.
For example, engineers have concluded that it is impossible to design a self-driving car that will never get into an accident. So the question becomes: how do they program for the inevitable accident? And is there a difference between the public good and what is required for the car to be commercially viable?
Here’s a sample situation: you are part of a design team for a self-driving car, and you have to create an algorithm to guide the car’s decision making process in the unfortunate event that a collision is imminent. You can choose to send the car towards another car, which may injure or kill the passengers of that other car. You can choose to send the car towards the sidewalk, which may injure or kill any pedestrians or bicyclists or people waiting for the bus in that section of sidewalk. You can choose to send the car towards the median or guardrail, which may injure or kill the occupants of the self-driving car but would not affect other drivers or innocent bystanders. What do you choose? Why?
For example, engineers have concluded that it is impossible to design a self-driving car that will never get into an accident. So the question becomes: how do they program for the inevitable accident? And is there a difference between the public good and what is required for the car to be commercially viable?
Here’s a sample situation: you are part of a design team for a self-driving car, and you have to create an algorithm to guide the car’s decision making process in the unfortunate event that a collision is imminent. You can choose to send the car towards another car, which may injure or kill the passengers of that other car. You can choose to send the car towards the sidewalk, which may injure or kill any pedestrians or bicyclists or people waiting for the bus in that section of sidewalk. You can choose to send the car towards the median or guardrail, which may injure or kill the occupants of the self-driving car but would not affect other drivers or innocent bystanders. What do you choose? Why?
You can find out more about "Philosophically Speaking" here.