Snape, Dumbledore and the philosophy of virtue

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 35872

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "vilaphile" <alison at a...> wrote:

> There is a web site where you fill in a questionnaire, and it tells 
> you what moral philosopher fits in best with your own ideas. It's at
> 
> http://www.selectsmart.com/PHILOSOPHY/
> 
> I tried filling this in giving 'the answers I thought Snape might 
> give' (that was quite interesting in itself, trying to put myself in 
> his shoes). The answer I got was Jean Paul Sartre, but I'm not 
> convinced that was the right result, I must have given the wrong 
> answers. Satre isn't 'rational' enough.

I tried the same experiment (putting in the answers I thought Snape
would give), and found it unexpectedly difficult.  You'd think, with
all the time I spent obsessing about Snape, I'd find it easier to get
into his head.  Then again, who wants to be in head, anyway?  It can't
be a pleasant place.

Anyhow, I did end up with Kant as the answer, but it might be a biased
result -- I've been viewing Snape from a Kantian perspective all
along, so I may have been subconsiously choosing answers that would
give the expected result.

Then I got to thinking about Dumbledore.  His statement to Harry in
CoS about how it's our choices that determine what we are can be
viewed as Kantian -- as long as you make the right choices, you're a
good person, regardless of what your natural inclination might be.  If
Snape's morality has been influenced by Dumbledore -- and I'm guessing
that it has -- then it all fits.  This would also explain Dumbledore's
legendary willingness to give people second chances.  If he sees evil
people as being evil because of their choices rather than because of
their fundamental natures, then if someone indicates a desire to make
new, better choices, then they should be allowed the opportunity.

Dumbledore himself, though, doesn't strike me as a Kantian character. 
He seems to genuinely like people, and to like doing good, so that
conflict between duty and inclination is absent in him.  But I also
think that he's wise enough not to think that other people must be
just like him in order to be good.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com