Moral Dilemma: Culture vs. Heroism - Essay Example

The scope of this paper is to choose a moral dilemma from literature and apply both Mill's and Kant's ethical philosophies to the character in question, and then draw some conclusions on that application. For these purposes, I have chosen to examine the moral conflict confronting J.R.R. Tolkien's character Bilbo Baggins as he is forced to choose between cultural correctness and heroism. In Tolkien's book The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is confronted with the opportunity to accompany other characters on a quest to defeat a dragon (Smaug) and gain safety for an entire race of people (the Dwarves).

The idea of leaving his home to travel for any reason, much less to risk his own life and engage in dangerous activities, violates the tenets and very foundations of his culture and is met with stern disapproval from all but the most intrepid members of his community; he himself having serious doubts about the matter at first. The opportunity to contribute to the worthy and heroic effort that ultimately rescues his friends, their families, and their society from an oppressive enemy is nevertheless presented, and he must choose between the two actions.

For Bilbo Baggins, the moral conflict is between his loyalty to his culture's tradition of safety and isolation versus the principle of helping those in desperate need. At stake for him are his life, his property, and his conscience. For John Stuart Mill and the utilitarian approach to morality, there is little to seriously consider in this instance and Mr. Baggins should be packing his bags. Using the "greatest happiness principle.that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, [and] wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill, 1901, p.9), there are two levels of consideration.

First is the issue of proportion, followed by the degree of happiness. Bilbo Baggins is caught between maintaining the traditions and culture of a very small group and taking a heroic individual action to save the lives and resources of many others. On scale alone, the greater good is accomplished by saving the Dwarves from the evil of the dragon. In terms of quality or degree, there can be no comparison between the happiness of preserving cultural tradition and that of saving lives. Mill would focus on the balance of hardships and conclude that the social disapproval of the other Hobbits is a level of unhappiness that pales in comparison to the happiness obtained by helping the Dwarves.

The moral significance for Mill would be that a successful journey would result in the preservation of life; the refusal to take such a journey would result in the preservation of a social expectation. Under this analysis, Bilbo Baggins' choice to preserve his lifestyle and gain the approval of his culture would be immoral in the face of the evil that would certainly result. His decision to forego the comforts of home and approval of his peers would be the moral choice because the greater degree of happiness would be achieved as the enemy of the Dwarves was defeated and their culture restored.

Thus Mill would propose that Mr.