Environment
and
Human Rights

Dr Tom Kerns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion Questions for

Ursula LeGuin's
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

 

 

  1. If the people of Omelas were to offer a justification for why their society’s set-up was morally acceptable, what do you think their justification might be?

  2. Would you characterize that justification as primarily teleological or deontological? Please explain.

  3. How would you characterize your own ethical judgment about the Omelas society’s set-up that requires one person to suffer in order for the rest of the community to be happy? Do you think that social set-up is morally just? Please explain.