We’ve all, at some point
or another, have had the idea or wish to grant ourselves some sort of divine or
otherwise mystical powers that allow us to perform superhuman feats. The whole
superman list of extraordinary abilities so that we can further benefit
mankind. Well in class we discussed Plato’s thought provoking Experiment known
as the “Ring of Gyges”. This, in concept, is much like The One Ring that Frodo
must take to Mordor in Lord of the Rings, it grants the wearer the ability of
invisibility and the whole idea is that human nature would first want to help
others with this power rather than go evil and fulfill selfish desires. I would
hypothesize that this is true in some aspects. I do not believe we are born to
potentially do evil with the power we may obtain, but are molded into the deeds
we do by the circumstances that brought us there. Invisibility would allow the
wearer to do anything while undetected, completely unseen. So how could you
help people with such a power. In my group discussions we said you could try to
impersonate a ghost and scare someone to goodness, much like Charles Dickens
classic A Christmas Carol. Or impersonate God or some Divine Power and
make some subtle changes that could better society. Then it turned to a
discussion of do the ends justify the means… would they really? If you rob a
store to help elderly or sick people in a nearby shelter, does that justify the
theft? Most of us would agree that it is for the greater good. But I propose a
question to you, If a loved one were gravely ill and the cure to her disease
was too expensive to purchase, how would you use this power of invisibility?
Would you stick to law and find a way around this or the alternative to the
law?
Martin Luther King Jr (I believe) said that we have a moral responsibility to overturn unjust laws. If then, moral ends justify immoral means does that make the means themselves moral by proxy?
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King Jr (I believe) said that we have a moral responsibility to overturn unjust laws. If then, moral ends justify immoral means does that make the means themselves moral by proxy?
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