Hero of Moral Relativism: The Joker

Comments

1. Matthew says:

   August 25, 2010 at 3:16 pm

   Interesting thoughts, very interesting. I suppose you could say he’s a very skewed version of a moral relativist. But I think a better example would be Batman as a moral relativist. Batman at one time would see spying on people as “wrong”, but if it can help him to catch the Joker, then it’s right in the context of that situation. And in near the beginning of “Batman Begins”, he saw letting Ra’s Al Ghul fall to his death as wrong, but at the end he clearly did not when he told Ra’s, “I’m not gonna kill you, but I don’t have to save you.” I think that’s why Batman is a better example of moral relativism: because he DOES have morals, but they do change at times depending on the context. Whereas the Joker has NO morals whatsoever, which doesn’t really strike me as moral relativism. I’d say he’s completely AMORAL instead, meaning he doesn’t believe in any sort of moral code. He believes nothing is right or wrong, that morals are silly little buzzwords and codes which ultimately mean nothing. A moral relativist could not really agree because they believe that when they do something that would normally be considered “wrong” they are at least doing it for a good purpose within the context of the situation. If we’re to compare comic book villains, I’d say LEX LUTHOR is the king of moral relativism. He does a lot of good for the world but also does so much evil. Whenever he does an evil act, he justifies it in his head somehow as “doing what’s right for humanity”. So I see Lex as an evil version of Bruce Wayne in a way, whereas Bruce still has lines he will not cross despite his moral relativism. The Joker would mock both of them trying to analyze the ends justifying the means for what’s best for the world and ask them, “Do you really believe you’re making a difference?” Then he’d laugh at them spitefully.
2. Steve says:

   August 28, 2010 at 5:50 am

   Matthew,
   Thanks for your interesting reply. I still contend the Joker is a strong candidate for the hero of moral relativism. He is the ultimate sociopath; doing whatever he wants. I don’t believe any person can achieve amoral status; they cannot be neutral. The Joker has a moral basis; whatever gives him pleasure is his morality. Some call this “pleasure as ethics.” For the Joker he tries to derive pleasure from doing evil to others and incurring personal pain. He doesn’t want Batman dead because alive he makes all the evil he does increasingly pleasurable. What the Joker lacks is any objective standard for morality, which by definition qualifies him as a moral relativist. His decisions are based on what gives him the most personal pleasure, which I believe makes him the ultimate hero of moral relativism.

   I enjoyed your additional examples of moral relativists. An entire book could be written on the morality of comic books.
3. ALEX says:

   October 19, 2010 at 8:19 pm

   Moral relativism also relates to religions, tribes and nations, not just individuals.