[HPforGrownups] Uses for imperius (was: Motivations for Joining DEs)

[Mira]

No: HPFGUIDX 141232

--- phoenixgod2000 <jmrazo at hotmail.com> wrote:

> While Crucio or the killing curse are probably more
> purely dark, I 
> can see lots of uses for the imperious curse.  how
> about the use of 
> the curse in mental health work, i.e. stop cutting
> yourself or stop 
> starving yourself.  I would think that you could use
> the curse to 
> condition people away from bad habits or towards
> good habits pretty 
> easily. While the magical world may not have the
> psychological 
> understanding to fully use the imperious curse, I
> bet an interprising 
> muggle could think of all sorts of benign uses for
> it.

I am probably exaggerating, but I find the idea of
using Imperius-like control on mental patients
particularly horrible. To take possession of a
person's free will is utter de-humanization. In fact,
I believe that this is what connects and sets apart
the three unforgivables: they effectively annihilate a
person, either by physically destroying her (AK) or by
transforming her into a slave (Imperio) or into a
beast, incapable of coherent thought because all
resources are concentrated into taking the pain
(Crucio). I cannot think of any other curse that might
have a similar effect. Which is why I believe that any
discussion of a 'positive' use for one of the
unforgivables is misguided.

Imperius turns its victim into a tool. I don't believe
that it is possible to perform partial control under
the Imperius curse, i.e. to tell your victim: 'be
yourself, except for the bad habits', for the simple
reason that the person who is possessed does not have
a self anymore.

The medical treatment which I see as closest to
Imperius is hypnosis. Except the two are fundamentally
different: the aim of hypnosis is a deeper exploration
of the self than possible during conscious state,
whereas Imperius completely cancels the idea of a
self.

So, no, I really do not think that taking over
somebody's will is ever justified. Indeed, I would
find the practice even more evil when used against
vulnerable persons like children or unbalanced
patients, because from the start those will have less
chances of opposing it.

JMO...

Mira


		
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