In the 2004 version of the “Dawn of the Dead”,
there is a zombie outbreak which strands a small group of people in a mall
somewhere in Wisconsin. These people become friends during the days they spend
hiding in the mall. One of the characters, Steve, says to Ann: “Hey,
sweetheart. Let me tell you something. You, uh, you have my permission. I ever
turn into one of those things? Do me a favor, blow my fucking head off.” In
response she replies, “Oh, yeah, you can count on that.” Later in the movie, the
zombies get into the mall and force the survivors to flee. They make their run
in reinforced shuttle busses to a marina to set sail for an island. On their
way, one of the busses flips over and everyone must hurry and seek refuge in
the single bus. Meanwhile, Steve becomes infected and becomes a threat to the
group and as a result, Ann shoots Steve in the head and takes the boat keys
from him. In the end, the majority of the group make it to the boat and sail
off. Their fate is never determined due the end of the movie shortly after the
boat leaves the dock.
The big question present here is whether or not Ann’s actions are morally right. Two philosophical views can be applied to this situation: Utilitarianism and Kantianism. Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy based on the formula that an action should be taken if and only if it creates the “greatest happiness of the greatest number” (Blackburn 86). By killing the undead Steve, Ann is protecting the rest of the group from getting attacked thus increasing their chances of survival. Steve also requested that if he ever became a zombie, that Ann shoot him in the head. In addition, if Ann did not shoot Steve, she would not have had the opportunity to take the keys to their escape boat from him. All these pieces of evidence justify Ann’s action from a utilitarian stand point. Each of the three pieces of evidence increases the well-being or happiness of the majority. With Steve “dead,” he could no longer pose a threat of infecting others, Steve would be happy because he never wanted to become a zombie and Ann acquires the boat keys which facilitate their escape. From the utilitarian stand point, it can be concluded that Ann made the best decision.
Ann’s decision whether to shoot and kill the undead Steve can also be analyzed using a Kantian approach. Kantian ethics, “emphasizes acting with respect toward all autonomous beings” and that “we all have duties toward one another that depend on our relationships with one another” (Salazar 3). Ann’s action to kill Steve is definitely not respecting him in his current state. However the second part of the statement nullifies the first part because zombified Steve is not an “autonomous being” (Salazar 30). Steve’s actions are technically being controlled by the virus that has infected him and he has no control over his actions. Steve, as an autonomous being, was when he was alive and not infected. Therefore, Ann did not disrespect Steve by blowing his head off. Furthermore, Ann told Steve earlier on that she would end his undead life if that was his fate and held true on her promise. It was her moral obligation and her duty to destroy Steve.
Kant’s Formula of Universal Law and his Formula of
Humanity under his Categorical Imperative also justify Ann’s actions. The
Categorical Imperative is the “ ‘law of rationality that does not depend on
[ones] desires, but depends only on pure rationality’ ” ( Kant, quoted in Salazar
6). When Ann’s actions are tested under the Formula of Universal Law, whether
or not she should shoot Steve in the head so she can take his boat keys and
reach her and the group’s goal of survival, it can be seen that she made the
most rational decision. The Formula of Universal Law states that, one should “ ‘act
only according to that maxim whereby [one] can at the same time will that it
should become a universal law’ ” (Kant, quoted in Salazar) 7). Practically
anyone in her situation would act in the same way therefore there are not any inconsistencies
in her reasoning and she made the most rational judgment. Kant’s Formula of Humanity
states that one should “ ‘act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in
your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end
and never simply as a means’ ” (Kant, quoted in Salazar 9). Kant believes in
his Formula of Humanity that humanity is the main source of rationality in any
individual and that their rationality is the only thing “that is valuable
in-itself” (Salazar 9). Being so, when Steve told Ann to blow his head off if
he ever became a zombie, he gave her a rational request. Once he was a zombie,
whether or not he wanted his head to be blown off, he would not have any
rational thought because he would no longer be human. Therefore, by Ann, who is
human herself and has her own rationalizing power, fulfilling human Steve’s
rational request, her actions should not be questioned and are justified.
I feel that both the utilitarian argument and the
Kantian argument both explain the situation very well. It is true that if Ann
did not kill Steve, the group including herself would have been doomed at the
marina because they would not have had the keys to the escape boat. Her actions
were definitely for the benefit of the majority. The Kantian argument also fits
the situation well. Ann made a rational decision that can be universalized and
was driven by her duty to uphold Steve’s request.
In my own opinion, I feel that Ann had to do what
she had to do. She wanted to increase her chances of survival and by killing
Steve, she did just that. If I were in
her situation, I don’t care who became a zombie, I would blow their head off. I
think of the situation from a Darwinist view point: Survival of the fittest. If
I am more apt to survive a zombie apocalypse than someone else, and that
someone else becomes a zombie, I am not going to let them get in my way or in
the way of other survivors. In the end though, it doesn’t really matter. Even
if I am the last survivor, I would be outnumbered by a factor of billions and would
not survive too much longer. It’s a good thing that this ethical dilemma is
only hypothetical and that zombies don’t really exist. Wait, what’s that nois
Blackburn, Simon. Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Salazar, Heather.“Kantian Business
Ethics,” in Business in Ethical Focus, ed. Fritz Allhoff and Anand J.
Vaidya. Broadview Press, 2008
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