Topic: happiness

Flowers for Algernon

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A Utilitarian Perspective The attached PowerPoint (also found on the Resources tab of this lesson plan) introduces Mill’s idea of higher and lower pleasures by incorporating short videos showing forms of both higher and lower pleasures. Students will discuss, first, whether it is possible to distinguish between high and lower pleasures and, if so, to … Flowers for Algernon

What is Happiness?

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Ask the students to rank, from 1 to 8, the following activities according to how important they think each is for their happiness (1 is the most important on the list and 8 is the least important on the list). It can be helpful to prepare this list before the session and make a copy … What is Happiness?

What is Your Hope?

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This lesson can be used either in a classroom or online. Description: A Missouri middle school put the question “What is your hope?” on a chalkboard outside school before people arrived. They made a video of the ways students and teachers responded to the question. For this session, you can begin with the video (available … What is Your Hope?

Baboon on the Moon

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Baboon and the Moon still

This lesson plan can be used either in a classroom or online. Plot Summary: This six-minute film is about a baboon who lives alone on the Moon. Wordless and moving, the video portrays the baboon as full of longing for the Earth, struggling with feelings of sadness and loneliness. Looking wistfully out at Earth, he … Baboon on the Moon

Moral Spectrum Exploration Exercise

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Photograph of a spectrum from good to evil to illustrate the idea of a "Moral Spectrum"

The Moral Spectrum Exercise In this exercise, students are introduced to “the moral spectrum”—seven different perspectives on the right thing to do, seven different questions to ask themselves to determine whether a particular course of action is right or wrong. These questions are drawn from the dominant moral theories in Western philosophy over the past … Moral Spectrum Exploration Exercise