Michael J. Sandel (born March 5, 1953) is an American political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. He is best known for the Harvard course ‘Justice’, which is available to view online, and for his critique of John Rawls‘ A Theory of Justice in his first book, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982).
The video below would help a UPSC aspirant in dealing with the paper on Ethics and Integrity which is there in the syllabus for Main examination.
Episode 12
Part 1 – DEBATING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
If principles of justice depend on the moral or intrinsic worth of the ends that rights serve, how should we deal with the fact that people hold different ideas and conceptions of what is good? Students address this question in a heated debate about whether same-sex marriage should be legal. Can we settle the matter without discussing the moral permissibility of homosexuality or the purpose of marriage?
Part 2 – THE GOOD LIFE
Sandel believes government can’t be neutral on difficult moral questions, such as same-sex marriage and abortion, and asks why we shouldn’t deliberate all issues—including economic and civic concerns—with that same moral and spiritual aspiration. In his final lecture, Professor Michael Sandel eloquently makes the case for a new politics of the common good. Engaging, rather than avoiding, the moral convictions of our fellow citizens may be the best way of seeking a just society. (Harvard)
