Robert Wigfall reports on his experiences attending “Introduction to Ethics” at Harvard University. During his first week, he explored the Cambridge campus, the city of Boston, networked at several extracurricular events, and dove into his coursework.
“The framework of my class was sectioned by the time period of a week, with the first one being the building of the foundation of numerous ethical and philosophical theories, and the second being the application of such a foundation in real-life scenarios. Completing my first seven days in what many refer to as ‘The Yahhd,’ I have learned of prudential theories such as Hedonism, Preferentism, and Objective Theory – those applicable to the goodness and value of one’s life, solely from the perspective of the person that leads it. Additionally, in my class, we have covered moral theories, those that aim to articulate the goodness of one’s actions from a more general standpoint, including Utilitarianism and Kantianism. Furthermore, with each of these theories, we have partaken in class discussions, readings, and written assignments regarding the validity, applicability, and our personal feelings toward them,” Robert explains.
“I truly am having an amazing time in my Ethics course. Though my original interest was Bioethics, I believe myself to be finding a home in the department of psychological and philosophical thought and analysis. Listening and partaking in discussions with those of a comparable academic identity to my own is an experience that has taken my breath away once more,” Robert adds.
Robert says during his first week he met “so many amazing people,” and has “formed bonds with people from all over the world.”
“Per my enrollment in the Pre-College Program, I am required to partake in at least two events in the categories of College Readiness, Academic Exploration, Social Activity, and Residential Activity. In the past week, I have completed seven of the required eight activities, including my attendance of a Time Management and Identity Formation meetings, lecture of the physics behind biological materials that comprise many man-made and biological structures, Prom dance, a trip to Boston, and a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Through my participation in these events, I’ve met so many amazing people, creating bonds that I not only hope to last, but those that I intend to maintain and nurture, moving forward throughout my academic and personal life,” Robert reports.
“I feel so incredibly grateful to be able to recreationally roam the campus of such a historical and renown institution; at times I have moments of realization throughout my day, reminding myself… I’m at Harvard! Sometimes immersed in the responsibilities and possibilities of my being here, I can almost neglect to shine light on the degree of my being here. Surrounded by history at every glance and turn of head, taking advantage of this opportunity almost seems to evoke stress, as there exist an unimaginable number of possibilities,” Robert says.
Week Two
Robert reports on his second and final week at Harvard, which he says has been nothing short of “magical.”
“Complete with the presence of amazing and relatable individuals at Harvard, was the significance of my coursework. Entitled Introduction to Ethics, the objective of my class was to explore the different perspectives regarding morality. Through our ten days of class, we learned of Prudential Theories, such as Hedonism, Preferentism, and Objective Theory. In addition, we covered Moral Theories, including Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Virtue Ethics. Similarly, we also spoke of Meta-Ethical Theories, such as Nihilism, Determinism, and Relativism. For what was essentially a daily pattern, these theories were introduced to my class through lecture. Also included with each theory were the objections to it, producing a ground of discussion amongst my class, allowing my peers and me to voice our personal opinions on the theory and objections at hand,” Robert says.
“As Ethics is a field based heavily on discussion, our class was designed similarly, set up in a square, conference-style arrangement, in which we held discussions for the majority of class time. Throughout the course of these discussions, I was able to view, observe, and (sometimes) object to the diverse perspectives of others in my class. More often than not, someone would offer a view on a particular theory or issue that remained distant from my own school of thought. I soon began to notice a difference in my own thought processes, able to incorporate strategies of approaching or debating an ethical dilemma from those used by my peers. These discussions and debates were translated to the context of our assignments. Given nightly readings about the theories discussed in that day’s class, we were assigned a corresponding writing in which we had more time to voice our personal opinions about numerous scenarios such as The Experience Machine, The Leaf Counter, and The Trolley Problem,” Robert explains.
“In a similar fashion, for our final assignment, we were given the freedom to select any topic covered through our coursework on which to do further research and write a 2,000-word report. Persuaded by the theory of Nihilism, I wrote my paper about the practicality of Revolutionary Fictionalism, a type of Fictionalism which is a subsection of Expressivism, a type of Moral Nihilism, a Metaphysical theory that states that morality (good and bad) does not objectively exist within the world, but rather as a useful human construct,” Robert adds.
When not in class, Robert had an opportunity to participate in several extracurricular and social events while in Cambridge.
“As a requirement of the program, each participant must complete a ‘Passport,’ a folder of eight events of their selection that they must attend during their stay. Divided into four groups, each student had to participate in two events of Academic Exploration, College Readiness, Social Events, and Residential Events. Completing my passport, I attended ‘Mixing Policy and Your Passions To Achieve Equity and Change the World,’ ‘What is the Physics of Materials That Build Themselves? A Review of Biological Self-Organization,’ ‘Keeping Up and Getting Ahead: Time Management for Success,’ ‘Who Am I and Who Will I Be?’ ‘Pre-College Dance: Awkward Prom!’ ‘Boston Trip,’ ‘Harvard Museum of Natural History,’ ‘Boba Social,’ and ‘Ice Cream Social.’ In addition to this, I did my best to explore campus with friends, going to several Harvard gyms, playing and hosting basketball tournaments in the basement of Lowell House (where I stayed), trying plenty of restaurants, riding the subway to Boston, renting bikes to ride along the Charles River, attending game nights, and attending college advice sessions from Harvard undergraduates,” Robert reports.
“My time at Harvard is one I will never cease to desire to relive. I am so thankful for the ability to write and possess experiences about such a campus and university that one can only dream of attending. Though it plays a role, the prestige of being able to attend Harvard is not the aspect to which I can accredit my fond memories, rather the fact that I was able to discover traits whose existence I was ignorant of within myself. Throughout my time at Harvard University, I made many connections to people all over the world, but of those connections, the one that I am most excited to expand upon, is that which I found within myself,” Robert adds.
Excellent work, Robert. We are delighted to hear that your time at Harvard was so enlightening!
>> Read Robert Wigfall’s final report (PDF file, 77 KB).
>> Learn about other students’ experiences in the GFF Scholarship Program.
