Jeffrey C. Witt

A finals study mix to help Loyola students reach the end of a grueling semester

The list starts with a few upbeat tracks to get you pumped up, then it calms down to provide some mellow back ground music. Finally, it ends with a track by Eminem to encourage you not to give up, even when everything seems hard.

Feel free to share with your friends :)

You'll need "Spotify" to listen

Please feel free to use the comments to suggest tracks that I should add

This an attempt to graphically breakdown Hobbes' division between types of law as presented in his work, "On the Citizen". It is a work in process. Please feel free to offer suggestions and comments.

A fun little video about the phenomenon known as the Tragedy of the Commons

I don't really recommend this move since it is so gruesome and hard to watch. Nevertheless, it is a great illustration of the moral dilemma faced by both Utilitarianism and Kant's Deontological Ethics and Rousseau's Social Contract.

At one point in the movie, the character opposing the utilitarian use of torture appeals to our "humanity" which becomes a perfect illustration of the Kantian complaint. By using torture to bring about a desired effect, Kant thinks we may in the end prevent the deaths of millions of people. But he also thinks we will have lost our humanity in the process.

01:25:23 tell me it's okay.

01:25:24 - Lf there's another bomb out there... - You can't do this!

01:25:26 We're fucking human beings.

01:25:28 Let the bomb go off! We cannot do this!

01:25:41 That's it.

And just for fun here's a picture of Bentham's taxidermied body

Today in class we're discussing Hobbes' attempts to rescue mankind of from the state of nature. The following video is quite apropos.

Here we have an example of a situation where cooperation is deemed better than the pursuit of naked self-interest. However, Hobbes would argue that analysis given by Nash is incomplete. An important condition is necessary in order for this cooperation to be possible. This missing element is TRUST: trust that everyone will stick to the original plan. As soon as mistrust (diffidence) enters the scene, the kind of cooperation needed to secure the best result becomes impossible.