Ethical Exploration: BookWorm Reviews

It smelled like instant ramen and an existential crisis.

My roommate had just explained why he thought cheating on his economics exam was fine. “Everyone else is doing it,” he said, shrugging. “I’d be stupid not to level the playing field.”

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t find the words. Something felt wrong about his reasoning, but I couldn’t explain why. My frustration — the gap between my beliefs and my ability to defend them — led me to five books that changed my view on ethics.

When Philosophy Became Personal

Michael Sandel’s “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?”

The first book I grabbed was Michael Sandel’s “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?” I found myself in Sandel’s Harvard classroom, facing tough scenarios that really pushed my thinking.

Sandel doesn’t give you answers. He gives you better questions.

The famous trolley problem switched me hard:

Would you pull a lever to divert a runaway trolley from five people to one? Most say yes.