Why should I be good?Age 7-11

Summary of lesson:

This lesson begins with a moral dilemma and a general exploration of different reasons to be good. Students will investigate whether rules, laws, and the promise of reward or the fear of punishment are the only reasons to be good, and whether some motivations are better reasons (more morally virtuous) than others. They will explore what humanists think about rules, rewards, and punishments as motivations to behave; learn what other motivations humanists think we have to be good; and discover why humanists think we can use our natural capacities of reason and empathy to help us do the right thing without the need of guidance from a god or gods. Finally they will explore in groups a number of moral dilemmas and use what they have learned to explain how a humanist might decide to act and why, and compare it to their own reasons.

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Students will be able to:

Assess the moral worth of different motivations to be good

Explain why humanists think we should be motivated to be good

Describe the importance of reason and empathy to humanists

Explain how humanists would act and why when faced with a moral dilemma

Resource links:

Film: What makes something right or wrong? humanism.org.uk/thatshumanism/

Book a visit from a BHA School Speaker at understandinghumanism.org.uk

Preparation:

Before the lesson...

Read the teacher’s notes (see below) Print the Why be good moral dilemmas Print the Humanist responses activity If you need further information:

o Watch What makes something right or wrong? humanism.org.uk/thatshumanism/

o Read the Humanist Perspective: Ethics

Key Vocabulary:

Humanist Humanism Good Moral dilemma Reward Punishment Rules Empathy Motivation Virtuous Reason

Lesson:

Starter:

Ask students what the word ‘good’ means. Tell them they are not allowed to use the words ‘good’ or ‘goodness’ in their answer.

Discussion:

Present the students with the following scenario: You are in a sweet shop with some friends. The owner of the shop is not looking. One of your friends tells you to steal some sweets. What should you do? Why?Give the students some time to discuss and feedback. Ask them to give reasons for their decisions and collect their ideas. Why would they not steal the sweets?

You could ask the students to carry out a ‘conscience alley’. Students stand in two lines opposite each other. One student walks down the middle and as they do, the children on one side whisper reasons why they should steal the sweets, while those on the other side whisper reasons why they shouldn’t.

If some of the students talk about rules, the law, or fear of punishment, then present the following extra information. If they had a cloak of invisibility, like in Harry Potter, they would be able to do whatever they wanted without anyone being able to see them. If they wanted, they could now steal the sweets without anyone knowing it was them. If they had such an invisibility cloak, and knew they would not get caught or punished, would they steal the sweets?

If they say no, ask them why not.If they say yes, ask them what other bad consequences might happen if they stole the sweets.

This activity is based on a famous thought experiment by Plato called the Ring of Gyges. The ring made its owner invisible and therefore able to do whatever they wanted. It is useful to get people to think about whether they would use this power to misbehave or if there are other reasons not to misbehave other than the danger of getting caught and punished.

Show students the concept cartoon: Why would you not steal the sweets? I might get caught and get in trouble It’s against the law I would feel like a bad person The shopkeeper will be unhappy I wouldn’t like it if someone stole from me If everyone did it, then the sweet shop would have to close down

Ask students what they think about each of the character’s reasons for not stealing. Are they good reasons? Are any of the reasons better than others? Do any of the reasons match their own reasons?

Alternatively you could pin up each of the answers around the classroom. Ask the students to circulate the room stick up post-it notes next to those they consider to be good reasons or comment on whether they think it is a good reason not to steal the sweets or not.

Many younger students give reasons similar to the first three on the list as the reasons not to do bad things, avoiding bad consequences for themselves. As they develop their cognitive ability to empathise they become better able to think about the rights and needs of others, the consequences of their actions upon others, and the good of society as a whole.Ask the students if fear of punishment and following rules are the only reasons to be good.

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Show the students the reasons on the slide.

Explain that people give different reasons for why we might be motivated to good things and not harmful things (see the teachers’ notes).

Ask the students if any of the other reasons are more important (more morally virtuous) than fear of punishment and following rules.

Show the key beliefs of humanists Humanists believe human beings are special and human life is valuable Humanists don’t believe in a god, or believe we can never know if there is a god Humanists don’t believe there is any evidence for an afterlife: we should therefore make the most of

this life Humanists believe human beings should try to live full and happy lives and help others do the same

Ask the students if you don’t believe in a god or gods, then is there any reason to behave well?Ask them what reasons they think humanists would say are good reasons not to steal the sweets?

Explain what humanists think about rewards, punishment, and rules as motivations (see the teachers’ notes)

Show the reasons humanists believe we should be good on the slide:• We should treat others the way we would like to be treated• If everyone tries to do the right thing, we can make the world a better place; if everyone does the

wrong thing, then everyone will be worse off• Making others happy can make us happy

Explain why most humanists believe we should try to be good, and how reason and empathy can help us (see the teachers’ notes).

If the students have previously explored other approaches to ethics, ask them what similarities and differences there are between humanist and other approaches to the question: Why should I be good?Show and read the quotes and ask the students what they think they mean.Ask the students whether it matters why we do the right thing as long as we do. Are we still being good if we do something for a selfish reason?

Group activity:

Divide the class into groups and hand out the moral dilemmas:Ask each group to think about the scenario and discuss what they would do and why.Then ask them to think about what a humanist would do and why they would do it.Remind the students that it is the reasons that you are most interested in.Show the reasons humanists believe we should be good again to help the students answer the questions.Encourage them to use empathy to think about how they would feel in the other person’s situation and reason to think about what would happen if everyone did the same.

Get each group to feedback what they decided to do and their reasons to the rest of the class and ask the rest of the class whether they agree.

Plenary:

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Ask students what they think about humanists’ views on why we should be good.Look back at the concept cartoon and ask students which of the characters they think might be humanistsAsk the students to use what they have learned to complete the humanist responses activity filling in the humanists’ response to the statements and questions:

The possibility of getting a reward is the best reason to be good. If you knew you wouldn’t get caught, why wouldn’t you steal something? If you don’t believe in a god, then there is no reason to be good.

Ask them to think about whether it would be similar or different from their own response.

Ask students what questions they would want to ask a humanist about their views on why we should be good. Finally ask the students whether they have changed their minds about anything during the lesson and how they might use what they have learned today.

Extension activities:

o Create a poster advising people why it’s good to be good.

British Humanist Association ©2016

Teachers’ notes:

There are many motivating reasons to be good and to avoid doing things that cause harm to others. Some are listed below:

Reasons to do good things Reasons not to do bad thingso Rewards (reciprocal kindness, heaven, karma)o Following rules and lawso It makes you feel goodo Making others happyo Would want others to do the same to meo The world would be a better place if everyone

did the same

o Fear of punishment (prison, hell, karma)o Breaking rules and lawso It makes you feel bad / guiltyo Hurting other peopleo Wouldn’t like it if someone did the same to meo The world would be a worse place if everyone

did the same

Humanists don’t believe in an afterlife or in karma and don’t believe our actions will be ultimately punished or rewarded by a god or gods. The belief in such rewards and punishments are not therefore motivating reasons for humanists to behave well. We may, of course, be punished or rewarded by our family, friends, or the law. Most humanists, however, like many people, believe that although fear of punishment can motivate people to be good, this shouldn’t be the only reason we don’t do bad things. Some humanists believe that doing the right thing simply due to the fear of punishment or the hope of reward could be considered a selfish rather than a morally virtuous motive. If this were the only reason to be good, then we might not do the right thing if we saw no opportunity for reward or danger of punishment. In addition, rules and laws may help to guide us, but being good simply because rules or authorities tell us to do so, does not mean we are acting virtuously: we are simply doing as we are told.

‘A humanist is someone who does the right thing even though she knows that no one is watching.’Dick McMahon

‘Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.’

Kurt Vonnegut (1922 – 2007)

Humanists believe there are reasons to be good even without rules, laws, and the promise of reward or fear of punishment. Nor do we need to believe in a god or gods to be good. Our natural ability to use reason and empathy can motivate us to behave well. Empathy can motivate people to be good to others as we can imagine what it would be like to be in their position and think about how we would wish to be treated (for more information on the Golden Rule, see the lesson Do rules always help?). We can also reason about the wider consequences of our actions on the world in which we live (e.g. if everyone thought stealing was OK, we wouldn’t have any shops). Humanists value happiness, freedom, and justice, and believe if we all try to do the right thing, we can make the world a better place for everyone.

Our empathy with others has the added benefit that making other people happy can make us happy too. Some people highlight the fact that being good won’t necessarily make us happy: we risk being taken advantage of. They highlight the fact that bad people often do prosper and good people suffer. Nonetheless it is not naive or stupid to be good, as such cynics may claim. Good people do generally earn the affection and respect of others and so are generally happier. Assuming the best in others carries risks, but it can also be a rewarding way to live.

‘Virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice and meets with a more favourable reception from the world.’ David Hume, philosopher (1711 – 1776)

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