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

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 117151


> Neri wrote :
> " If you accept that he has free will, you must be satisfied with
> "because after considering the options (or not) he decided that 
> option A was better than option B"."
>  
> Alla anwered :
<snipped>
> OK, let me try to rephrase my question again - how does Harry KNOW 
> which decisions are right? What helps him: higher power? generation
> memory? What?"
> 
> Del rephrases:
> Option A was better than option B *according to what* ?? What scale
> was Harry using ? What determining principle was he applying ? He 
> was freely choosing, but what did he base his choices on ?

Dungrollin opines:
I don't know what JKR would say, and, for that matter I don't
know what Harry would say, either; but I would assume what I assume 
for everyone in real life: anticipatory guilt.

Decisions are made basically on the principle of `is it worth
it?' Was the guilt that Harry would feel over winding up Dudders
at the beginning of OotP likely to outweigh the pleasure he got from 
doing it?  Didn't seem like it to me – didn't seem like
he felt at all bad about it.  Would the guilt of hanging around 
doing nothing while Sirius was being tortured by Voldy outweigh the 
danger Harry would put himself in by dashing off to his rescue?  
Evidently so.  

Harry doesn't appear to be a member of an organised religion (or
if he is, he's keeping very quiet about it); he bases his actions
on imagining whether he can live with himself if he does or
doesn't follow a certain course.  When I say `imagining'
it can be a split second decision, or a long drawn-out process of 
agonising (but I think Harry generally goes for the former).

Voldy, on the other hand, doesn't appear to feel any guilt at
all.  About anything or anyone.  So he places far fewer curbs on his 
own behaviour.  His decisions are still based on `is it worth
it?' But with a far more materialistic basis.  Killing mudbloods 
makes him feel good, it demonstrates his power over the inferior to 
himself and others.  Is this good feeling going to be outweighed by 
the guilt he feels for having taken a human life?  Nope. Decision 
made.

The ability to empathise is the difference between them.  Where you 
think this ability comes from depends upon your views, (and how much 
you've thought about it).  

I would like to say one thing about nature/nurture (in the RW), 
however, and that is that the debate cannot be resolved 
philosophically, it can only be resolved by looking at evidence.  If 
you're interested, a mind-bendingly good book is Nature Via
Nurture by Matt Ridley (though it could be quite depressing for 
parents).  Nurture can only have an effect if there is a nature to 
work on, and nature can only reach its full potential if it is 
nurtured in a certain way.  They both have effects, but they 
interact with each other, rather than just contributing a percentage 
to the eventual character of a person.

With this in mind, Harry being brought up in a wizarding family as 
a `pampered little prince' *could* have had a disastrous
effect on him; and Riddle having had a loving family *could* have 
changed a great deal.

What JKR would say, however, I have no idea.

Dungrollin
Wishing, on days like today, that Drop the Dead Donkey would come 
back.