Harry Potter and Philosophy

Important aspects of human fulfillment fall under ethics, which is the branch of philosophy that focuses on how we ought to live and what kind of people we ought to be.Many philosophers believe that the questions of ethics are intrinsically connected to human nature and that to be truly happy and fulfilled as a human being; one must live a moral life.In the Republic, Socrates’ student Plato offers an answer to this question. Plato argues that to be fulfilled as human beings, we must be moral. For Plato, being a moral individual is necessary and sufficient for true happiness. This means that in order to be truly happy, we must be moral. It also means that if we are moral, then we will be truly happy.

According to the Sophists, the just or moral person always gets less than the unjust person does. Immorality pays, because by being immoral one is better able to secure power, wealth and pleasure. The unjust man is able to gain more wealth because he takes advantage of others in order to do so. He is not held back from doing this by his moral commitments, as a just person is. If the unjust person can get others to trust him, then they become vulnerable to him.We see Voldemort do this time and time again not only to his enemies but also to his followers. They trust him enough to put themselves at his mercy, and he generally makes them pay for that trust once he no longer needs them. When trust and vulnerability are present, the unjust person can then manipulate and exploit others for his own personal gain of power. 

People who live justly do not need to wait until the afterlife to receive their reward. According to Plato, justice is intrinsically good because the moral life is also the happy life. This type of happiness that Plato is referring to is a deep and sustainable inner contentment, moral and intellectual virtue, and well being. For Plato, reason is the aspect of the human soul that desires knowledge, including knowledge of moral reality. Spirit is the aspect of the soul that desires honor and gets angry and appetite is the aspect of the soul that desires food, drink, sex, and other bodily pleasures. When reason rules over spirit and appetite, there is an inner harmony that constitutes true happiness. A person with the four “cardinal virtues” of wisdom, moderation, courage, and justice is the truly happy person. The virtuous person is in a state of harmony and spiritual health.Harry’s story illustrates Plato’s views: he is by no means perfect but displays many of Plato’s virtues. The physical appearance of Voldemort reflects his wretched inner life.  Contrast that with the physical appearance of Dumbledore, which reflects the inner peace and harmony that constitute his good moral character.

For Plato, the choice of the moral life is the rational choice. The moral life is the best life and those who choose the immoral life are making an irrational choice the rational choice is the just and moral life. We see the reality of these truths of ethics and human nature exemplified in Harry’s story.

Harry was willing to give his life in the struggle against the Dark Lord and his allies. Socrates, Plato’s teacher died for what he believed to be true. Socrates was accused of leading the youths of Athens astray with his philosophy but he refused to give in, choosing death rather than exile. Dumbledore chose to die for something that Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato’s student Aristotle all valued-the common good. Harry too, is willing to die for the common good, if that is what is necessary to defeat Voldemort.