full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions

Unscramble the Blue Letters


So, for instance, if it's really wrong to lie, it must always be wrong to lie, and if you can find an exception, well then there's no such thing as moral truth. Why would we think this? Consider, by anlaogy, the game of ceshs. Now, if you're going to play good chess, a principle like, "Don't lose your Queen," is very good to follow. But it clearly admits some eexcointps. There are moments when lisong your Queen is a brilliant thing to do. There are moments when it is the only good thing you can do. And yet, chess is a domain of perfect objectivity. The fact that there are exceptions here does not change that at all.

Open Cloze


So, for instance, if it's really wrong to lie, it must always be wrong to lie, and if you can find an exception, well then there's no such thing as moral truth. Why would we think this? Consider, by _______, the game of _____. Now, if you're going to play good chess, a principle like, "Don't lose your Queen," is very good to follow. But it clearly admits some __________. There are moments when ______ your Queen is a brilliant thing to do. There are moments when it is the only good thing you can do. And yet, chess is a domain of perfect objectivity. The fact that there are exceptions here does not change that at all.

Solution


  1. losing
  2. analogy
  3. chess
  4. exceptions

Original Text


So, for instance, if it's really wrong to lie, it must always be wrong to lie, and if you can find an exception, well then there's no such thing as moral truth. Why would we think this? Consider, by analogy, the game of chess. Now, if you're going to play good chess, a principle like, "Don't lose your Queen," is very good to follow. But it clearly admits some exceptions. There are moments when losing your Queen is a brilliant thing to do. There are moments when it is the only good thing you can do. And yet, chess is a domain of perfect objectivity. The fact that there are exceptions here does not change that at all.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
human values 4
wrong answers 4
moral questions 3
ted bundy 3
string theory 3
important questions 2
conscious experience 2
morality relates 2
human beings 2
physical health 2
equivalent ways 2
moral sphere 2
dalai lama 2
tolerate vast 2
vast differences 2
moral progress 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
tolerate vast differences 2

Important Words


  1. admits
  2. analogy
  3. brilliant
  4. change
  5. chess
  6. domain
  7. exception
  8. exceptions
  9. fact
  10. find
  11. follow
  12. game
  13. good
  14. instance
  15. lie
  16. lose
  17. losing
  18. moments
  19. moral
  20. objectivity
  21. perfect
  22. play
  23. principle
  24. queen
  25. truth
  26. wrong