Natural Law : Ethical Issue From The Hunger Games Of Government Control, Dishonesty, And Child Killing

Kant's deontological moral theory also claims that the right action in any given situation is determined by the categorical imperative, which provides a formulation by which we can apply our human reason to determine the right and rational thing to do, which is our duty to do it. This imperative applies to all rational beings independent of their desires and that reason tells us to follow no matter what. By his categorical imperative we

In life there is always some sort of violence and there always seems to be a good and a bad side. The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross is a movie about 24 tributes fighting to the death for the Hunger Games crown. The prize is riches, fame and freedom from ever having to physically fight in the arena again. It is a game of violence, ferocity, and blood, and only one tribute can win. Even though stories often have a Battle between Good and Evil, it is Katniss’s internal conflict confronting her own good and evil that portrays humanity with a longing for destruction, violent inclination, and sense of separation.

To begin with, The Hunger Games is the first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy, and is written by Suzanne Collins. First off, the novel takes place in Penem, a make-believe future where the Capital is surrounded by districts. The Districts are like slaves to the Capital, give away resources to the Capital and only keep some resources to themselves; so you can imagine that the districts are very poor. The Capital also forces the districts to give up one boy and girl to go to annual Hunger Games, so to prevent War. Katniss, the main character in the book, ends up being part of the hunger games alongside with Peeta. Katniss then has to fight for her life because there may only be one victor. Lastly, throughout this book you’ll see conformity and civil disobedience play a huge role in the Hunger Games.

According to the Kantianism approach the right or wrong action is not taken as a concern of consequence because you cannot control them. It is whether you can fulfill your duty. Whatever you are about to do, and why you are going to do it, is your maxim. Kant explains that the only thing that has intrinsic value would be the goodwill, and he believes that the goodwill is the only good without limits. Moral decisions are the structure of the person by good reasons, features, and the appreciation of the law. A person would do an action not because of what that action produces, in the sense of past experiences, but that they understand by reasoning that the action is the right thing to do. The standard that Kant uses to explain efficient motives and is exercised by everyone is called categorical imperative. It gives us a way to analyze moral actions and make moral reasoning’s. It is used to decide if an action is morally important and is the basics to fulfill universality and rationality. Kant using the Principle of Universalizability to determine whether we are fair and consistent. Below I will demonstrate how it connects to my

“So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong” (Collins, 2). In this moment, not only citizens, but neighbors, friends, family, neighborhood, look up at Katniss knowingly in pure frustration and empty hearts that their humanity is slowly slipping away before them and there is nothing no one can do about it. Susan Collins creates a government that generates fear to the citizens who live in a pain, fear filled dystopia. A dystopia, a society characterized by human misery, oppression, disease, and overcrowding sums up Panem and its districts accurately. The central government that

Kant's theory is different to utilitarians. It is based on a deontological approach, a non-consequentialist approach to ethics. The key aspect in this is goodwill, which is the ability to act out of duty and principle (Seedhouse, 2001). Morality in this theory is absolute, the actions of right or wrong is independent from consequences. The categorical imperative is the foundation in this theory, it determines if the action is

The games were biased as they were set to entertain a few individuals in authority while everyone else suffered the death consequences or the loss of a loved one. It also shows how Katniss a lady from a humble background defies the norms and laws of the capitol, specifically the President as she decides not to kill Peeta and become the last survivor. Most people in different Districts did not approve of the The Hunger Games as they were unfair but lacked the courage to voice out their concerns in fear of the consequences (). Katniss displays positive attributes; sacrifice by taking the place of her younger sister in the games and bravery and defiance of the norms by saving Peeta. The theme of inequality in the movie addresses the social classes that define modern society. The dictators enrich themselves and continue growing richer while the poor suffer and continue to drown in

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, is a novel based on the impact that power has with corruption. It is built off of great success, and has obtained multiple awards. Many movies were created based on the plot of The Hunger Games novel. The author does a considerable job of highlighting current issues within the society we live in today. This novel shows the significance of power and corruption, and how it affects the world we live in today, portrays how war and fighting cannot solve issues, and that impactful main characters don’t have to be men.

In the dystopian novel the Hunger Games Suzanne Collins emphasizes the excessive government control and surveillance, not only in the hunger games, but in contemporary America as well. Ever since the failed rebellion cameras and other methods of surveillance have been placed in Panem to prevent any other rebellions. Katniss is well aware of all the punishments that come after speaking out against the capitol. While Katniss is illegally hunting in the woods, she accidentally blurts out a statement against the capitol, and “then [she] glance[s] quickly over [her] shoulder” because “even [there], in the middle of nowhere, [she worries] someone might overhear [her]” (Collins 6).

Kant’s philosophy was based around the theory that we have a moral unconditional obligation and duty that he calls the “Categorical Imperative.” He believes that an action must be done with a motive of this moral obligation, and if not done with this intention then the action would hold no moral value. Under this umbrella of the “Categorical Imperative” he presents three formulations that he believes to be about equal in importance, relevance, and could be tested towards any case. The first formulation known as the Formula of Universal Law consists of a methodical way to find out morality of actions. The second formulation is known as

Unlike Utilitarianism however, Kantianism states that ethics is a purely a priori discipline, thus, independent of experience, and that ethical rules can only be found through pure reason. Also contrary to Utilitarianism, Kantianism asserts that the moral worth of an action should be judged on its motive and the action itself, and not on its consequences. Based on these ideas, Kantianism propose that an action is good only if it performed out a 'good will '; which is the only thing that is good, in and of itself. To act out of a 'good will ', one must act in accordance with a categorical imperative. According to Kant there is only one categorical imperative, which is to "act only on that maxim in which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law" (Kant, 528); and can also be formulated as "act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as means, but always at the same time as an end" (Kant, 532). Essentially, the categorical imperative states that your actions must not result in a practical contradiction, which can be determined by conceptualizing all other people performing the same act. To illustrate, if I were

Immanuel Kant concerns himself with deontology, and as a deontologist, he believes that the rightness of an action depends in part on things other than the goodness of its consequences, and so, actions should be judged based on an intrinsic moral law that says whether the action is right or wrong – period. Kant introduced the Categorical Imperative which is the central philosophy of his theory of morality, and an understandable approach to this moral law. It is divided into three formulations. The first formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative states that one should “always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity”; an act is either right or wrong based on its ability to be

The Games fulfil their purpose of terrifying the people of the Districts and thus preventing them to rebel against the government as they once tried. If the consequence of the last rebellion were the Hunger Games, there is no way of knowing whether or not the Capitol would destroy every one of them were they to fail again: “How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion” (Collins). Panem is a truly totalitarian state, where dictatorship rules, with a tremendous difference between the rich, who live in the Capitol and the Districts nearest to it, and the poor, especially the outer Districts like Eleven or Twelve: “What it must be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button?”(Collins). In such a society the bonds between people outside one’s family are weak and trust does not come easily, of which Katniss is the best example. The question whether love is possible in such conditions remains throughout the trilogy, as Katniss has to sort out her feelings towards Gale and Peeta and decide without whom she cannot live. However, in the first book the reader finds out that she never wants to have kids, meaning she would not want to expose her children to the dangers of the Games. The movie essentially preserves the original genre of the text, although it mostly focuses on the adventurous parts, and meticulously tries to follow the main plot but certain alterations were

German philosopher Kant was first to introduce the Kantian ethics; hence, the named after him. According to Professor Elizabeth Anscombe, Immanuel Kant was Unitarianism’s rival; he believed actions that are taboo should be completely prohibited at all times. For instance, murder should be prohibited. Even though nowadays a person cannot be punished if death is involved as a self defense, from Kant’s perspective this is still prohibited, although sometimes these actions bring more happiness to the big majority of people than sorrow. Kant stated that before acting, one should ask his/her self: am I acting rationally and in a way that everyone will act as I purpose to act? Is my action going to respect the moral law or just my own purpose? If the answer to those questions is a no, the action must be abandoned. Kant’s theory is an example of the deontological theory that was developed in the age of enlightenment. According to Elizabeth, these theories say that “the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty.”( Anscombe, 2001) Kant said that morality is built based on what he called “Hypothetical Imperatives”, but rather principles called “Categorical Imperatives” he referred to it as the supreme principle of morality. (Texas A&M University, n.d.) Cavico and Mujtaba reported on their book that Kant stated that morality

Kantian ethics emphasizes on two conditions for an action to be morally good. The first, that an action only has moral worth if it is done for the sake of duty. The second is that an action is considered right if its maxim can be willed as a universal law. Kantian ethics then is working on the basis of duty and universality. In failing to recognize the multiple aspects of morality, Kantian ethics shows inadequacy as a moral theory. (Hinman, 2008)