Ethical dilemma: What makes life worth living? - Douglas MacLean

Puzzle through a classic ethical dilemma and decide: can human existence be meaningful without its creativity and culture?

--

Life on your planet depends entirely on Nuronium for normal cognition. Unfortunately, its source has been compromised and you are now at risk of extinction. Scientists have found an alternate energy source, Polixate, but it can’t sustain cognition and would mean the loss of people's creativity. So, what shall it be: extinction or life without culture? Douglas MacLean explores this classic dilemma.

Lesson by Douglas MacLean, directed by Asparuh Petrov, Compote Collective.

This video was produced in collaboration with the Parr Center for Ethics, housed within the renowned Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Parr Center is committed to integrating abstract work in ethical theory with the informed discussion of practical ethical issues, and prides itself on the development of innovative and inclusive approaches to moral and civic education.

Learn more about how TED-Ed partnerships work: https://bit.ly/TEDEdPartners

Support Our Non-Profit Mission
----------------------------------------------
Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop
----------------------------------------------

Connect With Us
----------------------------------------------
Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
----------------------------------------------

Keep Learning
----------------------------------------------
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/ethical-dilemma-what-makes-life-worth-living-douglas-maclean
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/ethical-dilemma-what-makes-life-worth-living-douglas-maclean#digdeeper

Animator's website: https://asipetrov.com
Music: https://www.soundscapers.org
----------------------------------------------

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Michael Aquilina, Jason A Saslow, Yansong Li, Cristóbal Moenne, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann - they-them, Siamak Hajizadeh, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Christophe Dessalles, Heather Slater, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz and Victor E Karhel.