Session E6: A Praxis Approach to Religious Ethics:
Relating Belief & Practice: The Case of Elie Wiesel

Preparation

• Reading: Elie Wiesel, Night (entire)
• Write critique of Wiesel book

1. Information Gathering & Organizing Skills (Individual writing)
   1. What are the facts of this case?
   2. What other information can we deduce from these facts?
   3. Where are the gaps in our knowledge?
2. Remembering Skills
   1. Why did Elie Wiesel first begin to have contact with the Nazis?
   2. What is his initial reaction to them?
   3. When and why does he change his mind about his initial assessment?
   4. What are his sources for these ethical decisions? I.e., where do his "oughts" arise (Scripture & Tradition, Reason, Human Experience)?
3. Organizing Skills
   1. How are the facts of the case and the gaps in our knowledge related to each other?
4. Analyzing Skills
   1. What do you see as the basic ethic/value which Wiesel first applies in making his decisions? Do you see him changing to a different ethic? If so, what is his later ethic?
   2. What mode of ethical reasoning is he using in each case?
5. Generating Skills
   1. How does Wiesel's pattern of moral decisions logically flow from his basic ethic? Are there other decisions you can envision him making as a continuation of this pattern?
6. Integrating Skills
   1. How do the moral decisions flowing from this ethic actualize Wiesel's religious beliefs, or lack thereof? (Cf. "Transformations" article.)
7. Evaluating Skills
   1. What is your assessment of Wiesel's ethic and his decision(s)?
   2. What do you see as their strengths and weaknesses?