Ethics [Thursday, February 21]

[sith_happened]

Anakin leaned a little uncomfortably against his desk as he waited for the students to take their seats.

"Today we talk about diligence, temperance, and forgiveness," he said quietly, "and we're going to use examples from last week's exercise to do so."

He flipped the hologram to life, focusing on a shot of Palpatine's face. "The goal was to save this man, the democratically chosen leader of your galaxy, at the cost--if necessary--of your own lives. After the first dozen or so droids shooting at you, you certainly had the option of retreating and leaving the mission for someone else to complete. So when does diligence turn to foolhardiness?"

The holocam switched to footage of two Jedi, blue blades flashing, taking on an older man wielding a red lightsaber. The older Jedi went ricocheting into a wall, then the second one, fire in his eyes, closed in on their opponent who dropped to his knees moments later with two lightsabers held to his throat.

The Jedi wielding the lightsabers looked an awful lot like their teacher.

"Temperance," Anakin said softly. "Do you kill him now? He's dangerous. He held the head of a galaxy-wide government hostage. He injured your partner. He certainly tried to kill you first. Or do you capture him and leave him to the whims of the courts?"

He shook his head. "Finally, forgiveness. You save the chancellor, at great personal expense, only to discover he's not the kind of man you thought he was. Your act of heroism has managed to make the situation at home much, much worse. How do you forgive yourself for it? Can you forgive the others who put you into that position?"

Comments

Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

The man was old, definitely evil, and pissing you off. Kill him?

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

This one was harder, Karal had once been in a similar position, but he had no doubt as to what was right. "No, you do not kill him. It is not your duty to do so, it is your duty to give him over to those with the authority to judge his fitness to continue living. If he had been killed during the attempt to capture him, that would be one thing; to slay him now would make you a murderer."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

"What if the chancellor tells you to?" Anakin asked.

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[raspberryturk]

Reno crossed his arms, once again, not thinking too hard on the answer. "Lettin' him live wouldn't have done anyone any good, would it? There were lines, he crossed 'em. So off him and save everyone else the trouble in the future, sure."

It was entirely possible that Reno had issues in the temperance department.

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

"So you get to serve as judge, jury and executioner?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. "What gives you the right?"

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana was shaking her head. "No. Turn him over to the proper authorities and let them decide. Especially if you're still fresh from the heat of battle. You might not always make the best decisions then."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "Thank you."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"That old guy was pretty nasty and the whole situation was pretty bad," Mel said with a shrug. "If it means getting me and the prisoner out safely, then I'd kill him."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

"What if the prisoner told you to kill him?"

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[withoutverona]

Romeo didn't like this question, and it took him a long moment to answer.

"If he had hurt my partner and tried to kill me, and that was the least of his crimes, it would do little good for me to let him live," he finally answered, reluctantly. "I would try to spare him and talk him into submission and repentance, but if I could not do that without further risk, I might need to take his life."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

"He wasn't going to repent," Anakin said. "He started a galactic war that cost the lives of millions."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[blessed_twice]

"Evil has to be vanquished," Wyatt said. "If it's certain he's guilty of the crimes, then he should be executed."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

"But do you have to be the executioner?" Anakin asked.

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"I couldn't do it," he said simply. Though that didn't mean he wouldn't encourage someone else to go through with it, or summon something that would be a lot less squeamish.

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[sith_happened]

Anakin smiled. "Fair enough. Most of the students around here's bluster to contrary, being able to kill people in cold blood is hardly a positive attribute."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

"My partner is down, and I still have to get the other old dude out?" Anemone was clearly confused. "Why wouldn't I kill him?"

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"If I couldn't talk to him, negotiate with him in anyway, and my partner was down... I would do what I had to do, even if that meant killing him." Amber didn't like the thought of killing anyone. But talking about it now, and being in the actual situation, they were two different things. She would do it if she had to.

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[ecirpnellehada.livejournal.com]

Adah's eyes, still dull, shifted slightly, and then settled back on their indisclosed area in the far distance.

"Kill him. If you have the chance and the ability and can get away with it, why the hell not?"

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[the_merriest]

"Can you injure him instead, leave him there while you escape?" Rikku said, shaking her head. "If ... if killing him is the only way ... and you're sure it is ... then do it quickly and don't look back. But if it isn't ... it's better not to have to replay that in your head and question and wonder if there was another way."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[itsjustlanguage.livejournal.com]

"No," said Hoshi emphatically. "It's not enough to justify killing him under those circumstances. Now, maybe if he turned out to be a chronic escape artist, I'd consider killing him."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[blackmagic-eve.livejournal.com]

"Can I just magically kick his ass?" Eve asked. "And is there any chance of his redemption or is he no-turning-back evil?"

What? These were factors she needed to know!

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[absolutesnark]

"I don't think I could do it," Summer said. "But I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone else from doing so. I can see how killing the guy would be the best option."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[remember5th.livejournal.com]

"Do you know he's evil?" she asked quietly. "That he's done so many terrible things? Then yes. It's your obligation, before more harm is done."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[ashockingbitch]

"Are the courts going to do what's right? Because if they are, then he goes to jail. If not, he tried to kill me, he's dead. Fair's fair."

Re: Answer the discussion question: temperance

[harrydresden.livejournal.com]

Harry didn't much like this line of questioning.

"I figure killing people's an absolute last resort. Don't wanna do it. And killing somebody, doesn't matter how good a reason I had, is almost definitely just going to end up getting me killed too."