Utilitarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #36

Our next stop in our tour of the ethical lay of the land is utilitarianism. With a little help from Batman, Hank explains the principle of utility, and the difference between act and rule utilitarianism.

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[Master_Therion]

So, the reason Batman _won't_ kill the Joker is... because he Kant?

[xezpra]

my ethics course in college has been covering this topic for the past 2 weeks which consist of many many readings and this video just did it all in 10 minutes....

[kaerblover]

"If you have the ability to stop a killer, and you don’t, are you morally pure because you didn’t kill? Or are you morally dirty because you refused to do what needs to be done?" ~Crash Course Philosophy #36

[passerby]

Joker being alive means possible future chapters of him returning to action, meaning more comic book sales and hence more utility... to DC comics.

[jovyrivera]

Ah, comics and philosophy, two of my favorite subjects

[forlife]

'' Pain is pain regardless of whose experiencing it '' powerful line

[ductuslupus]

It's said that the reason why Batman doesn't kill is due more to the fact that Bob Kane didn't want to keep writing up new villians every month, rather than any moral reason.

[williamedmeades]

Kant believe you didn't make a pun between Batman and his 'Utility' belt xD

[samgardner]

"Should Bateman kill the Joker...?"
I can just hear Jason Todd screaming in the distance.

[jackieboyborden]

My favorite version of Batman's personal justification for not killing the Joker is not that he doesn't because it's immoral, but because once he does that, he worries that he would then not be able to stop himself from killing again.

[brandonhall]

I don't even know if it's possible to create a code of ethics that isn't over-broad or have horrifying, unintended consequences or edge-cases.

[kafuuchino]

Rule utilitarianism sounds a lot like Kant's categorical imperative - taking a moral rule and universalising it. The difference is Kant asks "if we universalised this, would it lead to logical contradictions?" while rule utilitarianism asks "if we universalised it, what would the consequences be for people's lives and happiness?" So I think it'd be possible for Batman to be a rule utilitarian and still not kill the Joker, if he'd deemed that "killing bad people" was an action that, if universalised, would lead to less happiness in the long run.

[cougarhunter]

"All the people I murdered by letting you live...."

Batman, shortly before killing The Joker.

[MalcadorTheSigilite]

Can't believe you didn't bring up the trolley problem.

[tulliusagrippa]

The most relevant moral argument here is that killing the joker would kill two cash cows, the comics and the film sequels.

[ThatAnnoyingBird]

6:45 *"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who sit there and watch without doing anything at all"*

~Albert Einstein.

[Silmerano]

Batman doesn't even have to cross his line. He could just sever Jokers spine in several places making him paralyzed.

[davidyaconis]

"All the people I've murdered by letting you live..."
Batman, Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013)

[ChristianNeihart]

Batman really should kill the Joker. Failing that, he should contact a Green Lantern or Supes, find a hospitable planet that hasn't been settled and is completely out of the way, round up all three of the Jokers and just leave them on that planet and have a giant quarantine sign for all sapient species.

[Yamikaiba]

Veidt: "In the end, did I do the right thing?"

Dr. Manhattan: "Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."