Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Blood and Virtue; The Unconventional Philosophy behind SAMCRO and Sons of Anarchy Installment 3 Matthew Powers #8

Link to Installment 1: Blood and Virtue Installment 1
Link to Installment 2:Blood and Virtue Installment 2

Aquinas believes that God is the true reaper; that his acts, both by himself and through his “henchmen,” are for the greater good. So when we look at the Sons of Anarchy, is there anyone who acts for the well-being of other people, or just for their own personal gain? It is not a line that can simply be drawn by cops versus outlaws because neither side fully represents one side or another. From SAMCRO, there is Clay who only does stuff in order to put himself in a better position, such as killing the person who raped the mayor’s daughter in order to gain the upper hand on the mayor whenever he needed it. On the other side, Jax truly think about the good of the people of Charming when he makes decisions. He even wants to get out of the illegal side of the motorcycle club’s dealings and get into legitimate business in order to stop all of the deaths that had been happening around him, although it seemed to push him deeper into the middle of it. On the other side of the law, Stahl does not care about anything than her career, even throwing her partner and lover under the bus in order to save herself. However, Unser, who let the motorcycle club conduct their illegal business ventures under the condition that they keep it out of Charming. This seemed to work in the time before the show takes place, as there are references to how low crime used to be. So even though Unser was not necessarily conforming to the duties of which he was sworn to acts in the betterment of his town of Charming, although it ultimately ends up back-firing on him. So Aquinas would not find a saint in either side of “justice” in the world of Sons of Anarchy, however he may find a saint in a particular member of each side, especially Unser, but also Jax.

Although the Sons of Anarchy was nothing more than an entertaining twist on Hamlet, it does provide some philosophical values, whether it is questioning the status quo like Socrates, teaching us vales that are stressed by the likes of Aristotle, looking to the roots of misfortune like Nietzsche, or finding justification for the greater good in the likes of Aquinas.

2 comments:

  1. Evan Luster Section 12 Installment 3 of 3

    The Philosophy of a Kind Heart

    In my first two installments, I used an excerpt from an individual in the popular novel, "This I Believe" which was entitled, "Our Brother's Keeper". The entry talked shortly about a young individual who helped an older homeless man who had been injured, which showed the young man's act of kindness. The goal of these installments for the reader was to talk on the subject of kindness and analyze human nature. I believe that early childhood experiences and the environment individuals live in has a big impact on the attitudes humans develop over time. Our character is one of the biggest descriptions that others notice and display you as. Kindness is a characteristic that can be a powerful difference maker in the world. Even though others may not always see your acts, the man above loves a kind heart, which to me means way more than man's opinion. Not everyone however can do these things because of their mental defiant behavior. It is sad, but research states that some hormones that some humans have that sparks their kind heart doesn't develop in others until they give up the anger and refusal. There are many different perspectives to this topic on kindness and human nature, but it is only up to your mind to whether or not you have the heart to care for others and do what is right.

    Installment 1 link http://thisibelieve.org/
    Installment 2 link https://randomactsofkindness.org/




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    Replies
    1. Did you not sign on as an author, Evan?

      Anyway, it's hard to deny the power of kindness and the tragedy of those who've never known it.

      "This I Believe" is not a novel, but a series of actual testimonials from real people.

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