tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post6456455905402523865..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: Financial News from All Over HarvardHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-56307830938676935672016-11-05T04:33:09.108-07:002016-11-05T04:33:09.108-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287821785570247118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-6362414509144871222014-11-02T02:26:17.452-08:002014-11-02T02:26:17.452-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161378138086950442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-84330148241440868502014-04-17T11:37:59.730-07:002014-04-17T11:37:59.730-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12496446435644724584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-39567435702995613272014-03-14T22:45:18.118-07:002014-03-14T22:45:18.118-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-88739510433744480522013-11-21T04:14:38.452-08:002013-11-21T04:14:38.452-08:00Thanks for that. Makes sense.Thanks for that. Makes sense.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-32314118251995377362013-11-20T20:27:50.841-08:002013-11-20T20:27:50.841-08:00Well, if you'll forgive the belated reply, I&#...Well, if you'll forgive the belated reply, I'll make the Philip Sidney claim:<br /><br />Philosophy teaches what virtue is, and Moral Reasoning class is designed to teach students to define virtue. But Sidney claims that philosophy does not actually stir people *toward* virtue, and that other disciplines (he singles out literature, for his own reasons), are needed to impel people's hearts toward goodness.<br /><br />A standard freshman economics class typically builds in a rhetorical appeal: "pursuit of self-interest leads to the greater aggregrate good." That is a side effect of teaching marginal analysis, but it is an attempt to shift the student's moral world view. <br /><br />Moral Reasoning begins with the presumption that students wish to be good, which may defeat the purpose.Doctor Clevelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07326408523926507003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-49116233049231087722013-11-05T18:21:44.678-08:002013-11-05T18:21:44.678-08:00That is a plausible defense. But we actually know ...That is a plausible defense. But we actually know that <a href="http://harry-lewis.blogspot.com/2011/12/moral-effect-of-studying-economics.html" rel="nofollow">studying a standard freshman economics course makes students more selfish and less altruistic</a>. So it seems to me if we can affect students' morality for the worse, we can probably affect it for the better.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-31469143224097178672013-11-05T18:16:22.904-08:002013-11-05T18:16:22.904-08:00Well, Moral Reasoning is an easy target. But teach...Well, Moral Reasoning is an easy target. But teaching people how to think through moral decisions isn't the same as giving them the commitment to make moral decisions.<br /><br />So no, I don't think Harvard failed Freeman, or any of the other alums who've behaved badly after leaving Cambridge. Colleges can open minds. They can't save souls.Doctor Clevelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07326408523926507003noreply@blogger.com