Ethics: How Should We Live?

Extended topic hub · beyond most exam courses · Philosophy & Ethics · Going deeper

Stoic calm, Aristotle's mean, utility, duty — and the trolley problem that tests them all.

What you'll be able to do

• Compare virtue ethics, utilitarianism and Kantian duty
• Apply each theory to a live dilemma and feel where they pull apart

The minds who lived it

• Marcus Aurelius — Emperor · Philosopher · Stoic

Teach it to Ember

On Incandio you prove understanding by teaching: explain each idea to Ember, the AI apprentice, until it truly understands.

• What the Stoics Believed — What did the Stoics say we can and can't control?
• Aristotle's Golden Mean — How did Aristotle say we become good by finding the middle?
• Utilitarianism — What does it mean to say the right action creates the most happiness?
• Kant's Categorical Imperative — Why did Kant say some actions are wrong whatever the results?

Apply it

• The Runaway Trolley — Five lives against one, again and again — but each time the act that saves them feels more monstrous.
• The Experience Machine — A machine can give you a lifetime of perfect experiences, indistinguishable from real life. Do you plug in?

Open this learning path in Incandio →

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