JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS

Fatma DORE

Makale detayları

JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS

Yazarlar:

Fatma DORE

Yayıncı:

Cyprus International University

Ana Başlıklar:

Edebiyat

Dergi:

Folklor/Edebiyat 2017 Vol.23 Issue 90, pp.151-166

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

5/2017

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2000418914

eISSN:

2791-6057

pISSN:

1300-7491

Özet:

 


This work is an evaluation, through the criterion of utilitarian ethics, of the resolution

of an intense moral dilemma in Victor Hugo’s 1862 masterpiece, Les Misérables. The

dilemma is faced by the main protagonist Jean Valjean. Valjean, a former convict, has

redeemed his life and has become mayor of a French city under an assumed name. Years

later, he learns that someone else has been erroneously arrested as him, and Valjean is

faced with the choice of letting this man be convicted and sent to a horrible punishment

in the galleys, or revealing his identity and facing reimprisonment himself in order to

save him. In doing the latter, he acts according to the demands of deontological ethics,

for which the author of the novel explicitly commends him. Nevertheless, this work avers

that in making the latter choice, Valjean, in terms of utilitarian ethics, acts immorally.

It affirms this by showing, through the writings of Jeremy Bentham, that in morally

evaluating an action in utilitarian ethical terms, the happiness and unhappiness caused

to everyone affected by his act must be quantified and balanced against each other.

Due to the effect that the loss of their benevolent mayor has on other characters, the

saving of one individual cannot be seen to be productive of the greatest good. This work

then examines possible objections to this evaluation and through writers on ethics and

Bentham himself, shows that these objections do not invalidate the central argument of

the work.

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Makale detayları

JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS

Yazarlar: Fatma DORE

Yayıncı: Cyprus International University

Ana Başlıklar: Edebiyat

Dergi: Folklor/Edebiyat 2017 Vol.23 Issue 90, pp.151-166

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 5/2017

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2000418914

eISSN: 2791-6057

pISSN: 1300-7491

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Fatma DORE

Yayıncı:

Cyprus International University

Ana Başlıklar:

Edebiyat

Dergi:

Folklor/Edebiyat 2017 Vol.23 Issue 90, pp.151-166

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

5/2017

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2000418914

eISSN:

2791-6057

pISSN:

1300-7491