By Kim Bo-eun
Michael Sandel, a renowned Harvard University professor and author of the best-seller “Justice,” is to conduct a study on Koreans’ perceptions of social justice.
Sandel and researchers at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies will jointly conduct the study, which will take place simultaneously in Korea and the United States, the institute said Friday.
It will provide an opportunity to analyze and compare the perceptions of Koreans and Americans on the philosophical questions relating to social justice that Sandel has been raising in his work and lectures.
“Since Sandel has explained moral dilemmas through observations of the American society that he has experienced, the study will be able to verify the current analysis, using the data from both Korea and the United Staets,” said a researcher at the institute.
The questionnaire covers a diverse range of topics related to the subject, including the government’s role following the global financial crisis, social responsibility, redistribution of wealth, abortion, surrogate motherhood and the donation-based admissions system.
Unlike other studies, the questions for this survey are derived from various moral dilemmas from Sandel’s latest book, “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets,” which was published on April 24 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Korea among other countries.
One question asks whether a student donating a significant sum to a university that could enable four underprivileged students to attend, should be permitted to do so to gain admission.
The distinguished scholar will give a special lecture at Yonsei University’s open-air theater on Friday at 7 p.m. He will discuss moral dilemmas, the subject of his latest book.
Registration for the lecture closed early, due to great interest. The institute will provide live streaming of the lecture on its website at www.asaninst.org.
Sandel previously gave a lecture in 2010 at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Seoul, to an audience of 4,500 students.