Dalai Lama Discussion Questions 2

  1. Beginning on p. 197, the Dalai Lama argues that no single value system (or set of ideals) is “adequate” for understanding the complex ethical questions we face today. Make a list of the value systems he sees as inadequate, and explain why he thinks each is inadequate.
  2. Who, in the Dalai Lama’s view, should be involved in ethical debates about the complex problems we face? Why? What, in your view, might be complicated about his claim?
  3. The Dalai Lama explains that we should find our “moral compass” by “putting faith in the basic goodness of human nature…anchored in some fundamental and universal ethical principles” (199).  What principles does the Dalai Lama say we should use to think ethically in the 21st century? What does he mean by each of the “key factors” of his moral compass (nutshelled on p. 200)?
  4. What would Hal Herzog say about the strengths and weaknesses of the Dalai Lama’s “moral compass” as a mode of ethical thinking? Be sure to use relevant quotations from “Animals Like Us” to support your answer, and address both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Dalai Lama’s moral compass.” Is the Dalai Lama’s “moral compass” compatible with Herzog’s advocacy of the “troubled middle?”