Ethics for kids -- e.g., why Thanos's solution to hunger and poverty isn't the best choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Good Place is another great starter for philosophy!

Was going to say this!

Also, I think Stephen Colbert asked Josh Brolin a great question when he interviewed him about Thanos/Marvel: If you have ask the Infinity Stones, why not snap your fingers and increase all resources (rather than decrease all life)? I always liked that question! Turns things on their head!

Some other great replies here (I’m a philosophy/ethics nerd, so I really appreciated the JS Mill and Kant shout-outs, both of whom were referenced in The Good Place).

[Anonymous]

Thanos' solution was also mathematically illiterate. His concern was Malthusian "limits to growth," but since growth is exponential under this assumption, eliminating half of all life means that in one generation you'd be back to the status quo ante.

[Anonymous]

Watch the Good Place together

[Anonymous]

Pull out "A Modest Proposal" and read that with your kid.

I think it is a good conversation to have.

Who gets to decide what the greater good is?
Why do those people get to decide what the greater good is?
Do you think people raised in a different culture or in a different religion might have a different idea of what the greater good might be?
What if someone like Hitler or Stalin was the person who was able to define what the greater good is? Would that be ok?

I think it would be even good to look at the current world structure and ask why it is that the US has been in a position to set international rules for so long? Why do some countries dislike the rules that the US has developed? China and Russia are easy ones to pick out but look at policy differences in a number of areas between the US and European countries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pull out "A Modest Proposal" and read that with your kid.

I think it is a good conversation to have.

Who gets to decide what the greater good is?
Why do those people get to decide what the greater good is?
Do you think people raised in a different culture or in a different religion might have a different idea of what the greater good might be?
What if someone like Hitler or Stalin was the person who was able to define what the greater good is? Would that be ok?

I think it would be even good to look at the current world structure and ask why it is that the US has been in a position to set international rules for so long? Why do some countries dislike the rules that the US has developed? China and Russia are easy ones to pick out but look at policy differences in a number of areas between the US and European countries?

This question has such a simple and obvious answer. I find it absurd that you ask it.

[Anonymous]

Another fun thing to watch with teens that addresses the “greater good” issue is the movie Hot Fuzz. Both of my kids love it.