JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS
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 mayo...
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Cyprus International University
2017-05-01
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Online Access: | http://www.folkloredebiyat.org/Makaleler/1036783657_90-9.pdf |
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doaj-57a88fb4713c4f0c84bb36b72e9a880b2020-11-25T02:38:55ZengCyprus International UniversityFolklor/Edebiyat1300-74911300-74912017-05-01239014716110.22559/folkloredebiyat.2017.28JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS Fatma Dore0* Yrd. Doç. Dr. Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü Öğretim Üyesi,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.http://www.folkloredebiyat.org/Makaleler/1036783657_90-9.pdfMoral PhilosophyFrench LiteratureJeremy BenthamLes Misérables |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Fatma Dore |
spellingShingle |
Fatma Dore JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS Folklor/Edebiyat Moral Philosophy French Literature Jeremy Bentham Les Misérables |
author_facet |
Fatma Dore |
author_sort |
Fatma Dore |
title |
JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS |
title_short |
JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS |
title_full |
JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS |
title_fullStr |
JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS |
title_full_unstemmed |
JEAN VALJEAN’S DILEMMA AND UTILITARIAN ETHICS |
title_sort |
jean valjean’s dilemma and utilitarian ethics |
publisher |
Cyprus International University |
series |
Folklor/Edebiyat |
issn |
1300-7491 1300-7491 |
publishDate |
2017-05-01 |
description |
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. |
topic |
Moral Philosophy French Literature Jeremy Bentham Les Misérables |
url |
http://www.folkloredebiyat.org/Makaleler/1036783657_90-9.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT fatmadore jeanvaljeansdilemmaandutilitarianethics |
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1724788853540126720 |