The morning was spent putting final touches on the first lecture of my summer class. I'm doing Ethics 200 which discusses major Western ethical theories and some of the big issues of the day (abortion, euthanasia, etc.).
I always enjoy preparing for lectures; deciding what to include. This week I'm thinking about showing a clip of The Invisible Man. It's a perfect illustration of The Ring of Gyges story from Plato's Republic. Imagine someone who is invisible. Would they behave morally? Probably not. The point is supposed to be that no one would if they knew they could never be caught.
I think it says something about our character. I'd be in serious moral trouble if I could turn invisible. It's God's mercy that I can't. But the story also says something about why we ought to be moral. Should we be moral just so we aren't punished? If so, then we think morality has just instrumental value, not intrinsic value. But don't we think morality has intrinsic value?
Maybe we should be good because the good is its own reward. We aren't good because we want something, we simply want to be good. I do. I bet you do too.
Posted by Tim at May 21, 2004 11:18 PM