Non-violence as a Way of Life - MIT Prison Initiative

3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H · Undergraduate

Addresses the philosophical question of what a non-violent life entails. Investigates its ethical dimensions and challenges, and considers whether we can derive a comprehensive moral theory from the principle of non-violence. Discusses the issues of lying, the duty to forgive, non-violent communication, the ethics of our relationship to anger, the possibility of loving enemies, and the ethics of punishment and rehabilitation. Includes readings from primary exponents of non-violence, such as Tolstoy, Gandhi and King. Taught inside a secure Massachusetts correctional facility with a mix of MIT students and incarcerated students. Limited to 10.