Open AccessPaths of Glory and the Tyranny of the Greater Good
Author(s) -
Donald R. Riccomini
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
film-philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.112
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1466-4615
DOI - 10.3366/film.2016.0018
Subject(s) - glory , conscience , relevance (law) , value (mathematics) , consistency (knowledge bases) , economic justice , politics , environmental ethics , law and economics , egalitarianism , sociology , law , social psychology , psychology , philosophy , political science , computer science , physics , machine learning , artificial intelligence , optics
In Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) the individual's moral intent is distorted, compromised, and eventually co-opted by the overriding utilitarian ethic of ensuring the survival of the system – the ultimate ‘greater good’ – at all costs. The individual may challenge the system in a noble quest for justice, like Dax. He may hypocritically seek professional advancement from striving to serve it, like Mireau. Or he may cynically manipulate it for political purposes, like Broulard. In each case, the consequences are ultimately the same – the individual is forced to align his particular moral vision, however noble or ignoble, with the imperative of the greater good. The individual may resist or affirm the system and achieve some level of moral consistency and purity, but only momentarily and with limited success. In the end, whatever the value or relevance of the individual conscience to a particular situation, it is overridden by the demands of the greater good.