Individual Freedom & the Public Interest

1. Individual Freedom and the
Public Interest

2. Seek first to understand (Marvin Pickering)
Countering opinions are OK and may even
be helpful (J.S. Mill)

3. The best guide to our actions is well confirmed
research that connects actions with
consequences
Boards and the public determine the ends
Educators are the means to achieve the ends.
Science tells us what decisions and actions
will bring about the policies and goals deemed
by others to be desirable

4.  You probably believe in both principles to some
degree-relatable to everyone
 Both principles seem dependent on the other.
• Value the welfare of others equally to ours
• We want people to be as well off as possible
• We value the welfare of others
 The principles conflict
• What happens to the minority interest?

5.  Consequences = which action has the best result
(we may have to predict this…is that OK?)
 Respect the dignity and worth of the individuals
involved (even if the result is less beneficial than
an alternative outcome).
 Is it a cop-out to say that you can’t please
everyone?

6. I can differentiate between public and
private matters.
I can use strategies to find balance
between the interest under consideration
and the possible effect on the students
(The Third Thing).
I understand Facts vs. Morals vs. Values.
I understand the importance of moral
principles and how they assert duties and
obligations on us.

7. You have reviewed our Codes of Ethics.
Does being a teacher carry with it the
responsibility of being a good influence for
students?

8. Is Miss Loring’s job as a topless dancer to
be considered public or private?
What is the scope of her job? Does it
include being a good influence for
students?

9. Public or Private?

10. Private=Affects only those that engage in
the behavior.
Public=Affects others.

11. Can have an effect on interests of others?
• 1950’s social studies teacher and communism
Central to people’s conception of who they
are and what their fundamental duties and
obligations are
Have profound personal consequences
(more so than public consequences)
Should be considered private matters!

12.  Role of teacher should be construed broadly
enough to include moral education
 Area of teacher’s life that should be treated
as private (not under school control) should
be balanced between or interest under
consideration and the possible effect of the
teacher on the students
• Religion and politics are private unless
extremely undesirable consequences are
involved.

14. We must weigh the importance of the
kind of privacy involved against the
public interest threatened.
What is this principle?

15. What does the law say?

16. The grass is green.
We should always tell the truth.
Pickles are better than olives.

17. The grass is green. (FACT)
• Says something about the world.
We should always tell the truth. (MORAL)
• Says something about how the world OUGHT to be.
This could be PUBLIC!
Pickles are better than olives. (VALUE)
• Expresses a preference of something that is good or
better. This could be PRIVATE!

18.  Moral judgments DO have truth conditions.
 “We should always tell the truth”
 These judgments are important for oneself and for others!
 There are reasons to support this!
 It is reasonable to coerce someone to believe (murder/theft)
 We have obligation to others
 Theft and murder are two examples
 Value judgments DO NOT have truth conditions.
 “Pickles are better than olives”
 Personal preference

19. Can it be stated that…

20. …moral judgments are public
matters and value judgments
are private matters?

21. It is wrong to
_______________.

22.  Some Americans enjoy baseball.’
 Some Americans believed baseball should only
be played by white players.
 What about gender equity…Title IX?
• Are there other examples?
 Certain mascots…smoking in public place…donations from
convicts

23. Is it OK for someone to believe it is OK to
steal…or murder?
Do we allow them to continue on the basis
that this is their choice?

24. Honesty, candor, or integrity conflicting
with commitment, responsibility, or promise
keeping
What is the truth?
What do we agree to be the truth?
Must accurate, complete, relevant.
Allegiance is very powerful.

25. The “code of silence” for high school
students.
The Girls Scouts on page 118
Sudan example on page 119 and Hans
Hubermann and Max Vandenburg in The
Book Thief

26. Us vs. them, self vs. others, smaller vs. the
larger group
We live in a liberal democracy.
Is this changing? How can we mitigate this
change?
WWII example on page 128.

27. People are not objects to
be manipulated. It is a
violation to human dignity
to use people in ways they
do not freely choose.
People have dignity based
upon their ability to choose
freely what they will do
with THEIR lives and they
have a fundamental moral
right to have these choices
respected.
Immanuel Kant

28. Individuals are their own best judges of
what makes them happy.
It is the freedom to choose that makes
people happy.
Freedom provides for experimentation in
diverse ways of living which makes are
lives better and happier.

29.  Respect for morality requires respect for free
choice.
• “I must respect your choice because it is your choice.”
 Important to grant people the freedom to make
their choices
• “If you are responsible, then I should not interfere.”
 If we do interfere then we are treating others as
a means to our own ends.
• “To interfere with choices is to treat people as a means
to OUR ends.”

30. Immediate needs or desires conflicts with
future goals or prospects.
Paolo’s dilemma on page 134
Pun’s dilemma on page 136

31.  Fairness, equity, even-handed application of
the law often conflict with compassion, love,
and empathy
 Everyone is unique…and each circumstance
new, mercy attends to the specifics of the
experience and the difference among
individuals.
 Justice is blind; mercy is not blind
 p. 137 examples

32. Ariana Iacono.
Clayton High School,
and the Church of Body Modification

33. Is Ms. Loring’s activity a value issue or a
moral issue?

35. Texas State
Capitol
Jackson County
Public Schools

37. Heroes of the AlamoVolunteer Firemen
Confederate Soldiers
Terry's Texas RangersHood's Texas Brigade Texas CowboyThe Hiker
Statue of Liberty ReplicaVeterans of the 36th
Infantry
Ten CommandmentsWorld War
I
Disabled Veterans
Pearl HarborTexas Pioneer Woman
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Tribute to Texas Children Texas Peace Officers Memorial World War II Memorial

38. Pulaski County Courthouse
McCreary County Courthouse

39. Facts of the Case
Thomas Van Orden sued Texas in federal district court, arguing a Ten Commandments monument on the
grounds of the state capitol building building represented an unconstitutional government endorsement of
religion. Orden argued this violated the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the
government from passing laws "respecting an establishment of religion." The district court and the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Orden and said the monument served a valid secular purpose and
would not appear to a reasonable observer to represent a government endorsement of religion.
Question
Does a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of a state capitol building violate the First
Amendment's establishment clause, which barred the government from passing laws "respecting an
establishment of religion?"

40. Facts of the Case
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued three Kentucky counties in federal district
court for displaying framed copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public
schools. The ACLU argued the displays violated the First Amendment's establishment clause,
which prohibits the government from passing laws "respecting an establishment of religion."
The district court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the displays violated the
establishment clause.
Question
1. Do Ten Commandments displays in public schools and in courthouses violate the First
Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits government from passing laws
"respecting an establishment of religion?"
2. Was a determination that the displays' purpose had been to advance religion sufficient for the displays'
invalidation?

41. Moral principles assert duties and
obligations to us. It is the point of
these moral principles to regulate
the interactions among human
beings.
“Whoever tells the stores, defines the
CULTURE.”

42. None of our reasons so far allow us to do
whatever we want simply because we
have chosen to do so.
Need to understand the difference
between the public sphere and the private
sphere.

43. All men are mortal. FACT
Socrates is a man. FACT
Socrates is mortal. CONCLUSION
All men are mortal. FACT
Socrates is a man. FACT
Socrates’ dog is mortal. WHAT??

44. “Moral principles
cannot be derived from
facts alone.”
Now what…
…if you don’t like the
answer be sure you
are asking the right
question!
David Hume

45.  To the Truth (about matters that significantly
affect our choices)
 Of Privacy (as long as it does not harm others)
 Not to be Injured (unless we freely and
knowingly do something to deserve punishment
or knowingly risk injury
 To what is Agreed (contracts and agreements
should be honored)

47. What is the problem and is it a moral issue?
 What are the circumstances out of which the problem arose?
Who is responsible to respond/do something?
What are the relevant facts?
 Ask a lot of questions & get the details.
What are the end results I want to receive?
 What is the right thing to do? What is the successful thing to do?
 What is your first inclination for course of action?
Community Acceptability Test/Test for right vs. wrong.
 Does this solution conform to my school, community, district,
professional code of conduct?
 Is it legal?
 Does it violate a code or standard regulations?
 Does it adhere to the values of the community?
 What would mother think if my decision shows up on the front
page of the newspaper?
Personal Value Test
 Does it adhere to my personal values?
 Can I sleep tonight?
What ethical or moral principals are involved? (think about the 4 paradigms…justice
v. mercy, short-term v. long term, truth v. loyalty, self v. community.)
Apply the resolution principles…ends-based, care-based, rule-based
What is the continuum of possible solutions?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of each solution?
 Is there a trilemma option?
What is your decision?
Reflect on your decision.

48. I can differentiate between public and
private matters.
I can use strategies to find balance
between the interest under consideration
and the possible effect on the students
(The Third Thing).
I understand Facts vs. Morals vs. Values.
I understand the importance of moral
principles and how they assert duties and
obligations on us.