A Battle Of Ethics
Batman once said, ‘It’s not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me’. Beliefs form the crux of a virtuous person. Contemporarily, the word ‘belief’ is synonymous with God or religion. However, in its simple essence, belief could range anything from having faith in one’s best friend to the extreme extent of hope that Royal Challenges Bangalore may lift the IPL trophy one day.
Virtue Ethics is a part of normative ethics that prioritizes the virtue of the person carrying out the action rather than the consequences. Any action performed by a virtuous person is deemed to be good. If Batman is regarded as virtuous, his actions maximize his and the Gotham City’s well-being.
Utilitarian Ethics hold that actions are moral only if they maximize the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Batman must look beyond his personal fulfilment and strive to work that will lead to maximum pleasure, least pain, and maximum happiness in the Gotham City.
Batman always believed “I am not an executioner” and hence, he never wanted to kill Joker. Temperance, which is one of the seven virtues of the Christian faith, is followed by Batman. However, in this act, is another virtue of ‘justice’ served? Can torturing, instead of killing, serve as a virtuous act? Killing Joker can be a better recourse for the Gotham City than keeping him smile. However, if Batman performs such an act that goes against his virtue, the guilt of killing one person will haunt Batman for the rest of his life.
As per utilitarianism, Batman killing Joker would have resulted only in the greater good of the Gotham City. Is it morally wrong for Batman to hold a belief in insufficient evidence, thereby building his virtuousness of temperance?
When we can experience anything with full conviction, beliefs are not necessary. There is a flick of doubt that ignites every belief. Beliefs are easy to create, but they are difficult to break unless something substantially contradicts them.
Branding by luxury brands like Gucci is similar to that of Batman. We can witness product branding on the one hand and personal branding on the other. Gucci makes use of suave strategies to tackle the market to help them establish themselves as a trusted and eminent entity. Similar to striking packaging and design, Batman has his bat suit. Akin to how Batman has a set of beliefs about how he must dress and act, many companies try to build their uniqueness with a set of corporate beliefs and ideals. Any luxury brand will cease to exist if it shifts its focus to doing or producing for the greater good of the world. If a Gucci bag is used by 5 billion people, then it’s no longer Mamma Mia!
Batman and Gucci are doing their karma virtuously. While one tries to save the world, another tries to revive it. Things are working perfectly for them. But, a more affordable luxury brand like Zara can lead to a greater good for a greater number of people. If Batman deprioritises virtuousness and seeks to be more versatile, can it make him realise all epistemic truths about the consequences of his beliefs and ideals? Just like the saying “Amrutha (the divine nectar), if taken in excess is poisonous”, the extremity of virtuousness bestowed by Batman and Gucci can make them vice, inconspicuously.
