Different people often see the world in very different ways. This has much to do with the stories we are told: those passed on to us by our families and our wider culture to include our local, national, and religious communities.These stories - these moral narratives - shape our perception of the world, of our place and duties within it, and of what we find significant. They have implications for how we act, both as a person and as a military professional. They influence what we notice and do not notice, shape how we think we ought and ought not to act. What is your narrative? How does it influence how you live?  

Listen here to an overview of the moral perception block

Read about the Moral Perception Block

At the successful completion of this week, you will be able to:

1. Identify and analyze the way different cultures, religious doctrines, and philosophical
   perspectives shape moral perception
2. Evaluate appropriate ways to engage in moral discourse despite the differences in # 1
3. Apply # 1-2 to evaluate a case study about ethical military leadership and moral discourse with
   foreign cultures

READ THIS

PHILOSOPHICAL TEXT:

Smith: Living Narratives (textbook)

Smith: Living Narratives (interactive version) 

WATCH THIS (Optional)

Why the Brain Loves Stories: Empathy, Neurochemistry, and the Dramatic Arc

Complete these steps before you come to class

1. Consider the following prompts (you may want to write responses to these in your notebook or talk about them with a shipmate):
   1. What moral narratives have shaped your life? Who told the stories that have helped influence your understanding of the nature of the world, your role in that world, and what you ought to find significant? 
   2. Are all moral narratives equally valid? What ought to happen when two people or groups shaped by different moral narratives come into conflict? 
   3. What are the moral narratives you beginning to absorb in your time at the US Naval Academy? What new ways of thinking are you being exposed to about reality, your duty within that reality, and what you ought to find significant? 
   4. Success in the military requires unity of effort. But diversity of thought seems to impede unity of effort: if we cannot agree on how we ought to act, they how can we act together to achieve mission success? How do you achieve unity of effort, therefore, when the members of the military inhabit widely varying and indeed incompatible narratives? Are certain narratives simply unacceptable for military professionals? Better or worse?