Good moral core (Re: Dirty Harry/Clean Harry)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 117077


Neri wrote :
"At what age exactly free will kicks in doesn't really matters. ONCE 
it did, all your background doesn't count anymore, only your decision.
The background might make your choise much more difficult, but it is
not A REASON. Asking for background reasons for a free will decision
is self-contradictory."

Del replies :
I'm slightly uneasy when I read that. To me, free will is the ability
to choose between different options. However, one must feel like they
have a choice before they are able to make that choice, and this is
where background and environment kick in. If their background doesn't
let them see that there are alternatives, how free are they really to
choose ?

For example : if a child is taught (actively or passively) to
systematically defend themselves in the most violent way possible, and
if that method always works to their advantage, it is unlikely that he
will choose non-violent methods of defense once his free will kicks
in. He won't even realise that there are other methods available, not
before he grows up quite a bit and looks around and/or unless he finds
a new mentor.

Another example : if a child is taught (by exemple or otherwise) by
everyone around him to despise and be cruel to some categories of
people, it is highly unlikely that by the age he is 11 he will think
otherwise. Not impossible, just unlikely.

Neri wrote :
"At 15, Tom Riddle was a talented student, a good-looking boy, a 
prefect, highly appreciated by both his teachers and his classmates. 
Yes, he didn't have parents and had to return to the hated muggle 
orphanage every summer, but he had friends at Hogwarts and many good 
things to look for in his future. He didn't have to open the Chamber 
and he didn't have to murder Myrtle. It was his choice. "

Del replies :
I agree that it was his choice. But I wonder how much of a choice it
felt *to him*. To us, it is obvious that leading a nice life, maybe
getting married and having children, those were things to look forward
to. But I don't get the feeling that Tom Riddle *ever* felt that way.
When I read CoS, I get the feeling that Tom was only concerned about 2
things : power, and vengeance. The way he talks about his friends
makes me feel like he never *rejoiced* in those friendships : they
didn't bring him fuzzy feelings, only *admirers*. It was already about
power. As for all the respect he was getting from everyone, it seems
obvious to me that it didn't make him feel good about himself or
anything : he only liked it because of the *power* it gave him. I
strongly feel that 16-year-old Tom didn't feel that respect *itself*
was something worth obtaining : only the power it brings seemed to be
of any interest to him.
So I'm wondering how much of a choice Tom ever felt he had. It seems
to me that as soon as he discovered about his identity, he felt he was
born to be the Heir of Slytherin, and to follow in Slytherin's
footsteps. He talks about it as though it was obvious, not as though
he had chosen that path.

Similarly, I get the feeling that Harry was born to be good, he was
born to be LV's nemesis. Right from the beginning of PS/SS, we see him
doing good things, but we're rarely told *why* he makes good choices.
Even when he befriends Ron, it reads as though he first did what was
right, and then he discovered that it feels good. Harry systematically
makes the good choices, but we don't know *why*. We rarely see him
considering the alternative and then basing his decision on precise
reasons or beliefs. It always goes back to "this is the right thing to
do". But why ??

Del, confused.