Lawrence Talks Podcast S2 Ep. 21 - Can Ethics Courses Influence Decision-Making w/ Brad Cokelet

Episode 21 Summary:

On this episode of Lawrence Talks: Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kansas Dr. Brad Cokelet joins Kevin and I, to discuss a study that explores what affects if any undergraduate philosophy courses can have on the decision-making of undergraduate students. Additionally, our conversation with Dr. Cokelet explores the general role philosophy professors have in instructing students and possible concerns over mass data gathering.

Episode Notes:

Conversation 1-Research overview

What is the study and what does it show? What motivated/lead to the study? How did the study differ from previous research in the same domain? Is it Experiential moral philosophy, Empirical moral philosophy, Social science, nudging?

Conversation 2- The purpose of philosophy Why should we engage in moral philosophy?

Engaging in philosophy to be better people—maybe somewhere along the line, we lost this tradition. Has philosophy removed itself from social life in ways that philosophy shouldn’t have? What is the purpose of philosophy? Why take ethics courses? what are the ends of ethics courses? Is ethics about introducing material to students or should we be concerned with changing students' minds?

Conversation 3-What caused the change in behavior? Proportion of graduate/philosophy students are vegetarian. TA who is vegetarian might present the argument more charitably. Could have shared experiences with the students—resonated with students What aspects of the course should be considered as influencing the students—the arguments, the discussion, the video? Were the people who read the Singer article more likely to donate to charity? --Tracking clicks through a charity site. What type of arguments are most convincing? Common sense? Hedonist? Arguments based on major moral theories.