Topics Education

Question My question concerns ethics and moral obligation. One of my professors consistently presents views that are unsupported, and the content of our class is restricted to reading authors who agree with her political position. I find this irritating, and I object to that kind of indoctrination. But I have more or less remained silent. Recently, however, she had a guest speaker present a very anti-medical view to the class, and discouraged them from listening to their doctors concerning the health risks of obesity. I did some independent research on the information the speaker presented, and found that the information she used was false or misleading. I think that allowing the speaker to present this slanted information, while presenting no contrary opinions from doctors or scientists, was irresponsible and dangerous. I'm worried that these girls will take this advice to heart and ignore their doctors, which will ultimately hurt their health. I kept my mouth shut when I was simply irritated, but now I'm actually concerned for their welfare and I feel that I might have a moral obligation to share the studies I've found with my classmates. If I do so, however, it will make me a pariah in the class. The teacher already singles me out for voicing contrary opinions. Am I required to act because the well-being of others is at stake, or is it supererogatory? When, if ever, are we required to publicly take an unpopular stance against something we view as immoral? What is the prof's responsibility for the students' health? What are the students' responsibilities here, and how do they affect my obligations to them?

Accepted:
March 14, 2013

Comments

I would not feel responsible for your colleagues in the class, they are adults and it is up to them how to take the information they receive. I do not see why you think the teacher and the invited speaker are doing anything immoral. They are presenting their views, fairly tendentiously on your account, and surely they are entitled to, and it is up to others to decide how to take those views. It is wrong of the teacher to make you feel bad about presenting contrary views, most teachers are delighted by students who do this, but again if I were you I would get through the class by playing ball and not take any more classes with this teacher.

It is a bit like finding oneself at a political rally where the speaker is producing objectionable ideas to the apparent approval of the audience. Should one stand up and denounce the speaker? Probably not a healthy option, nor a reasonable one in those circumstances.