In a world ruled by profits and productivity, the moral values that previously guided us on how to live are being replaced by the motives of the market. But with environmental destruction and rising inequality, our need for ethical guidance is more urgent than ever. Do we need to revive the role of the inner voice of conscience? Could attunement to our human compass guide us towards the good life, even when it directs us to challenge the basic conventions of society?

Novelist and philosopher Janne Teller argues for the revitalisation of individual conscience in the face of the contemporary world.

In this course, Janne Teller will argue that:  

• An ethical human compass is inherent to all human beings.
• Capitalism, technology, and globalisation are skewing this compass.
• Sensual experience is under attack, undermining our ability to empathise.
• Literature is central to rediscovering empathy.
• Kant’s categorical imperative should serve as a guide for action.
• Only through compassion and humanity can an ethical community be possible.

As part of the course, there are in-video quiz questions to consolidate your learning, suggested further readings to stimulate a deeper exploration of the topic, discussion boards to have your say, and an end-of-course assessment. 

Janne Teller

“Everything begins only to end. The moment you were born you began to die. That's how it is with everything.”

Janne Teller is a celebrated novelist and essayist, having previously worked as a macroeconomist for the United Nations and the European Union. Despite being initially banned, her novel Nothing has won numerous awards in various languages. Teller’s work is often aimed at young adults and belongs to the existentialist tradition. As well as dealing with contemporary philosophical issues, her work covers political themes from the challenges of refugees to the dangers of mass surveillance.

Her other novels include Odin's Island, a modern Nordic saga of politics, history, and religion; Europa, All that you Lack, which explores history in war and love, and Come, an existential novel about ethics in art and modern life.

Teller has received many literary awards, including the Drassow’s Prize for literary works towards peace and human understanding, and her work has been translated into over 25 languages. Before she began writing full-time, Janne studied macroeconomics and worked as a conflict advisor for the EU and UN, mostly in Africa.

“A beautifully poetic writer.” - The Telegraph

• Arendt, H., The Human Condition, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).
• Bauman, Z., Postmodern Ethics, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993).
• MacIntyre, A., After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
• Nussbaum, M. C., Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
• Sandel, M. J., Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, (London: Penguin, 2010).
• Taylor, C., Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992).
• Teller, J., Nothing, (London: Simon & Schuster, 2011).
• Tugendhat, E., Egocentricity and Mysticism: An Anthropological Study, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).