August 23, 2010

Contributor Christopher Robichaud on Spider-Man and moral responsibility

Does Peter Parker Have a Moral Responsibility to Be Spider-Man? Series contributor Christopher Robichaud answers:

Often, Peter wonders whether he should remain Spider-Man. The role taxes him significantly, hurting his studies and his personal life. Is Peter morally permitted to throw in his costume?

I believe that he is. Taking up the role of a superhero is a supererogatory act—an act that’s good to do, but not wrong not to do. If we were consequentialists and thought that the rightness and wrongness of actions depends entirely on the good or bad outcomes produced, we would believe that Peter is morally obligated to be Spider-Man, at least on the assumption that being a superhero produces more overall good than being a good scientist, boyfriend, etc. As appealing as consequentialism might seem at first blush, it’s riddled with problems.

Read the whole answer at Heather Wax’s blog.

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