This philisophical thought experiment is focused on a fictional scenario in which an onlooker must choose to save a group of people about to be hit by a trolley by diverting its path and subsequently killing only one person or not act at all and letting fate proceed without human influence.
When Tommy shared his moral propositions, Raskin said they were nearly the truest propositions one would encounter, as they were filled with conviction and courage to bring them to fruition in the world.įocusing on one of the lingering ethical problems that lived inside Tommy’s mind before he passed, Raskin said the last thing he wrote about was the trolley problem. They were practical challenges for living a decent life, and he tried to live every moment of every day with deliberate ethical consciousness and integrity.” “I won’t be able to give you today any kind of complete account of Tommy’s philosophy, his worldview, but the key thing to understand is that none of the problems he faced were abstract to him, or academic,” Raskin said. In his time, Tommy wrestled with several dilemmas - moral, ethical, philosophical, political and social - in hopes of finding a path to a more just world. Tommy died at 25, but Raskin said his short life was infinitely valuable. Look after each other, the animals and the global poor for me. “He left us a note that said, ‘Please forgive me. 31, 2020, the last day of that fateful, wretched year, Tommy took his life,” Raskin said. Tommy grappled with a lifelong battle against depression, which Raskin said ultimately broke him. “My son Tommy, a young man of extraordinary gifts, a born moral philosopher, a comedian, a playwright, a prankster, a champion of human rights, an anti-war activist, a vegan, a visionary, a second year student at Harvard Law School when we lost him, a jazz musician,” Raskin said, “was born into this world of violence, trauma, plague and unreason.”
Raskin said his son was one of these people.
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“… We send Salman the strength and love of a resilient democratic America that knows how to think and read and write and feel without committing violence against other human beings.”Įven though the present moment is one of struggle, violence and trauma, there are people who defy these problems through their very existence. “We wish Salman Rushdie a speedy and complete and total recovery, because we love him and we need him,” Raskin said. Raskin dedicated his opening remarks to both Rushdie and his son, Tommy, who he called “another unyielding champion of human freedom and dignity.” Although the two never met, Raskin said Tommy admired Rushdie and his work. It is an attack on not just this community, but on the worldwide project of democratic community.” “It is an assault on everyone’s freedom to think, to write, to create, to argue and to grow. It is not just an effort to silence one man and break one pen,” Raskin said. “The bloody assault on Salman Rushdie on Friday is not just an assault on one writer of exquisite imagination and moral power. By stories, Rushdie was speaking on the narratives of families, communities, and religions, among others. In 2006, Rushdie said that the ability to argue and debate the meaning of all stories allows for the growth of societies. This decision was made several weeks prior to the attack on Salman Rushdie last Friday in the Amphitheater.Ĭalling Chautauqua “one of the freest and most beautiful places” in the country, Raskin said the grounds are “a space of reasoned, passionate and nonviolent dialogue” in a world that feeds off of violent fanaticism.Įmphasizing the spirit of Chautauqua and its focus on freedom and progress, Raskin reflected on Rushdie’s definition of freedom. The lecture’s location was switched from the traditional space of the Hall of Philosophy for security purposes. Raskin’s lecture, titled “It’s Hard to Be Human: The Political, Philosophical and Mental Health Struggles of Tommy Raskin,” explored the the philosophical and moral courage of Raskin’s son, who he called “a young man of extraordinary gifts.”
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