This course addresses the philosophical question of what a non-violent life entails. It investigates its ethical dimensions and challenges, and considers whether we can derive a comprehensive moral theory from the principle of non-violence. In addition, it 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. Readings are included from primary exponents of non-violence, such as Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King.

This course is part of the Experimental Study Group at MIT.