It's Okay; I Understand (2008)

Undergraduate: Kenneth Silver

Faculty Advisor: Joshua Knobe
Department: Philosophy

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Would it be OK for a sea captain to whip a sailor found drunk on the job? What if it were 200 years ago, and whipping was the common form of punishment? A study was recently performed which found that more people were OK with whipping 200 years ago than today, and the conclusion drawn from these findings was that whipping was more morally permissible then than now. My counter-study, with the above title, was meant to challenge this conclusion. If it's wrong, then what in the wording of the questions could lead people to answer how they did? And, if their conclusion is right, what can this mean for the common assumption that what's wrong today was just as wrong at any time in history?