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

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 117220


Naama wrote :
" How about Kant's moral imperative? (Quoted from 
http://www.faithnet.org.uk/A2%20Subjects/Ethics/catergoricalimperative.htm)

"... 'Act as if the maxim of your action was to become through your 
will a universal law of nature.' 
In Christianity this could be expressed as 'Treat others as you want 
them to treat you.' (Matthew 7:12))""

Del replies :
As a Christian, I've found that kids very often need to be taught that
principle over and over again before they start understanding it. I
see  many truly Christian teenagers (and adults...) around me who are
still unable to put it into practice. They need to be put through the
whole process of "think about what it would do to you" before they
start understanding what they are doing wrong.

Naama wrote :
"I also makes sense from a purely psychologcial point of view (not 
Kantian) - Harry shared his sweets because, if the situation was 
reversed, he would have liked Ron to share with him. All resting on
our universal ability to empathise - put ourselsves in the other
person's shoes. "

Del replies :
I have found this ability to be anything but universal. I have way too
often found myself explaining to person A what's going on with person
B and why person B has hard feelings for person A. Things that seem
obvious to me just aren't to others.
Inversely I also often found myself in the position of person A being
told what's going on with person B, even though I had been actively
trying to understand person B ! I was trying to put myself into person
B's shoes, but I was getting it all wrong, because I didn't understand
something about how person B works or, more disturbingly, about how
*I* work.

Naama wrote :
"This means that having been treated like garbage by the Dursleys, 
makes Harry *less* likely to treat others like that - because he knows
how painful that is. (I think also according to research, most abused
children do not become abusive parents themselves.)"

Del replies :
Two instincts often conflict in abused people : the will not to make
other people suffer as they did, and the human tendency to repeat
learned behaviours. Abused kids won't become abusive parents if they
learn another way to behave. They can choose to learn another way,
they can be unconsciously taught another way, or their nature can
simply be too much at odds with that original behaviour, but whatever
the reason, they have to learn another way. If they don't, then the
probability is quite high that they will repeat the abusive behaviour
if they find themselves in the same circumstances.

Applied to Harry, this means that Harry would naturally not want to
treat others badly, but that he would still have to learn how to do
so. Which is why it is so surprising that he doesn't seem to have to
learn any new behaviour : it seems to come naturally to him. He never
had a friend, and yet he instantly becomes the perfect friend. He
never had anything, and yet he instantly shares. It seems like he's
not a natural just at Quidditch, but at *happiness* too. And this is
quite a rare gift.

Del