Mark White shortly after his lecture on Batman’s Moral Code (Northern Review/Michael Kirchner)
Have you ever wondered what moral code Batman follows? Mark White, PhD, Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island gave two lectures to students and faculty at Ohio Northern this Thursday, one of which answers this very question. The first focused on the more niche question of the implications of Kant’s moral philosophy on Economics, while the second addressed Batman’s moral code.
His first lecture, held in Burgett 115, was given primarily to students of Dr. Errol Katayama’s Metaphysics class and faculty. White claimed that economics as practiced today is built on the philosophy of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the moral philosophy that states that the most important part of a moral action is the consequences of that action and that one ought to maximize the happiness generated by their actions. This is because economics, like Utilitarianism, concerns the consequences of actions, rather than the motivations behind those actions. Economists also assume a certain view of human nature known as “Homo Economicus,” which assumes–falsely in White’s view–that humans are motivated only by self-interest. Dr. White emphasized that Kant’s Deontological approach to ethics focused more on motivations and the morality of an action itself, and would make projections and calculations with different moral principles and ideas in mind.
The Burgett Chapel hosted White’s second lecture, on Batman’s moral code. Observers of this lecture ranged from students across the university both coming from recommendations from their Philosophy professors or because of their passion for Batman. One student came to the event in a full Batman costume and even asked a question in character. Some students came prepared with detailed questions about the deep lore of Batman and Batman’s adaptations in other mediums, such as film or video games.
This presentation not only brought in students interested in Batman to learn more about philosophy but also astounded the philosophers in the room with a new appreciation for the moral depth of comic book characters.
White had three main questions: “What is he trying to do? What won’t he do? What will he do (although maybe he shouldn’t)[?]” These questions probe the limits of what Batman deems acceptable. In answering these three questions, White incorporates parts of three major philosophical ideas: Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics. White creates his view of Batman’s ethics from reading the 40 years of Batman comics. He says that Batman’s primary motivation is Utilitarian. Batman’s mission, however, is to prioritize minimizing pain, without necessarily creating additional happiness.
In trying to achieve his goal of minimizing pain for the citizens of Gotham City, Batman holds himself to one major rule: he will not kill. Batman holds this view for a deontological reason, that he believes killing would violate human sanctity. This rules-based approach is often in direct contrast to the idea of maximizing happiness. After all, if the Joker was dead, he could not murder more of the people of Gotham, but Batman is not willing to stoop so low to kill the Joker.
Virtue Ethics was a point of intrigue for Dr. Darrin Belousek, Dr. Robert Hartman, and Dr. Jonathan Spelman, who discussed the lecture with students shortly after the event. Virtue Ethics is a philosophy that focuses on the character of actors performing moral actions. White characterizes Batman’s commitment to moral purity as a “perversion of true virtue ethics” as Batman neglects his mission of minimizing the pain of the people of Gotham in favor of maintaining his integrity.
Dr. White emphasizes that the struggle and conflict of Batman between these opposing ideas make him a compelling character. Zachary Boni who asked a question in the Q&A period after the lecture said “It was interesting examining the different pulls of Batman’s different moral codes and seeing how our lives can be similarly pulled in different ways”.
Dr. Mark White’s primary lesson that he wanted students to take away from it was encapsulated by the following quote from his PowerPoint:
The lesson is: We don’t need to strive for moral perfection, but we should always be trying for moral improvement.
Mark White, PhD
This message resonated with David Flores, who said “The presenter made an interesting connection between Batman’s moral perfectionism and how we should strive to be moral incrementalists, it fascinates me that there are other ways besides productivity that I can improve in such as morality.”
Dr. Belousek said, regarding the moral complexity of the characters, “Not being a superhero/comic fan, I underestimated that heroes can have complicated lives.”