HSS1000

Week 4

Recorded Lecture (Freedom: Responsibility)

The Good
Don't need to reason to make moral decisions, ur born with a moral sense
The cook dog experiment thingy shows that our morality is not rational
Moral sense is similar to our taste sense (we're born with it, but our environment can shape the sensitivity)
Our morality is affected by our emotions
Infants and animals also have moral sense

The Bad
morality is dead; it's biological instead of choice-based
if it's innate, then can u punish people for immoral actions?

The Uncertain
does morality require freedom and reason?
do u think that morality is simple, or complex and negotiated?

Readings + Tutorial Prep

schizophrenia or dementia: impaired cognitive capacity (cannot differentiate right and wrong)
psychopaths: now the difference between right and wrong, yet emotionally lack the feeling of what is right and
wrong
Glenn et al. (2011) believes that psychopaths lack motivation to behave morally; their social knowledge is rhetorical
and has little influence on behavior; so there should be special laws for them
same as Morse (2008), which is stated in the text

For Fabry, 2015; Borgen, 2008; and Economist video (Freedom: The Collective)
What is current international practice when it comes to self-determination?
accept self-determination claims to independence put forward by colonies and by non-colonial entities that
obtained assent of their parent states
opposed claims set forth by non-colonial entities against the will of their parent states unilaterally
Which peoples should have the right to self-determination?
Resolution 1514 (XV), also known as the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples, which proclaimed that ‘all peoples have the right to self-determination’ and ‘by virtue of that right
they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’
no legal or political text defined ‘peoples’ bearing the right in the non- colonial context
Waishan: minorities whose government do not represent the people
Government have to provide internal "self-determination'; if not, their external self-determination claims
become more legitimate
Papuans in Indonesia: have to have the ability to govern themselves/ have good economic growth
^similar to Thailand (king had to prove that they were capable of being self-governance)
Should there be limits to the right to self-determination? What types of limits should there be? Are there
any situations in which exceptions should be allowed?
Yes. As written by Fabry (2015) and said by Dr.Elaine during the week 3 live webinar, if there is no limits to self-
determination, there will be global political instability. There will be wars everywhere. The goal of self-
determination is to improve lives of the people; to prevent them from being subjected to abuse and/or
violence. Without limits, self-determination will actually cause violence
But when it comes to what types of limits, I can't exactly answer it. I think that in cases of extreme human rights
violations, it s crucial for us to support self-determination for that group of people.
Does Kosovo have the right to external self-determination? Should Kosovo have this right, and were the
states that recognised Kosovo’s sovereignty wrong to do so? Why, or why not?
criteria: rights, gov representation, global stability, self-governance capability