Describe Kathleen Taylor’s concept of “otherization.”

Readings:

• Kathleen Taylor, Cruelty: Human Evil and the Human Brain. (Oxford, 2009)

• Introduction: “Cruelty in Context”

• Chapter 1: “What is cruelty?”

• Chapter 2: “Quis judicat? Who decides?”

• Chapter 3: “Why does cruelty exist?”

Questions:

• Describe Kathleen Taylor’s concept of “otherization.” What are the biological conditions that contribute to “otherization”? What are the social conditions?

• Why do you think Taylor uses the concept of “cruelty” to define what human being traditionally mean by the word “evil”?

• How does Taylor describe the origins and social practice of “morality”?

• Describe Taylor’s argument about “why cruelty exists.”

• Abrahamic monotheism, the nature and role of women, and the ethics of slavery

Readings:

• Passages from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Scriptures, from The Human Rights Reader (.pdf handout)

• “The Divine Order: The Great Chain of Being”

• “Plato on Women”

• “Plato and Aristotle on Women”

• “Philosophers and Christian Theologians Justifying Slavery.” BBC Ethics Guide.

• Kecia Ali, “Islam and Slavery.” Brandeis University, The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project.

• “The Ptolemaic Cosmology,” in The Galileo Project.

Questions:

• To this day, the vast majority of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions do not allow women to hold the role of a religious minister (i.e., rabbi, priest, imam). Why is this? Do you agree or disagree with the theological reasons for these restrictions?

• Why do you think each Abrahamic religions’ sacred texts considered slavery acceptable, even if they offered regulations and rules about how slaves should be treated?

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