Why Faramir 's Decision to Release the Hobbits Saved Middle Earth Essay

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Assessment of the Morality of Faramir’s Actions in The Lord of the RingsOne of the lesser known but vitally important characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is a noble captain, Faramir, younger brother of Boromir and son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Although this character only plays a minor role in the entire storyline, his fateful actions in trusting Frodo and Sam and releasing them against royal orders to continue their journey to Mordor make it clear that Faramir was a moral man whose natural character shown through despite the exigencies of the battlefield and the implications of his decision. To learn more about this action, the purpose of this paper is to provide an examination of Faramir’s actions through the lens of Kant’s categorical imperative and utilitarianism’s “greatest happiness principle” to determine the extent to which Faramir’s decision can be regarded as moral. Although fictional, the moral dilemma faced by Faramir is all-too-familiar to many people today who are confronted with a steady stream of moral dilemmas of their own.Overview of the Fictional Moral Dilemma and ResponseIn Book IV of The Two Towers, after capturing the hobbits, Frodo and Sam in Ithilien, Faramir brings them to Henneth Annûn where he learns through his hasty conversations with Frodo of the importance of the quest and resists the temptation of taking the Ring of Power for himself. Further, Faramir even provides them two companions with provisions and allows them to depart and continue their journey into Mordor to fulfill their mission of destroying Sauron’s Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. This action was especially noteworthy given the dangerous circumstances in which the rushed decision was made, the standing royal orders to detain any trespassers in the realm and the overwhelming lure of the Ring of Power to mere mortal men. Taken together, it is reasonable…

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…but like an alien attack on Earth, when it comes to choosing between the good guys and the bad guys, I’m choosing the latter and so will most of humankind.

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Because it was impossible for Faramir to predict the outcome of his decision to release the hobbits and even help them on their way to Mordor, it is reasonable to characterize his action as conforming to Kant’s categorical imperative.In sum, according to utilitarianism\'s greatest happiness principle, Faramir’s action of releasing Frodo and Sam would be considered unethical, as it potentially brought unhappiness to a greater number of evil beings in service of Sauron. By very sharp contrast, according to Kant\'s categorical imperative, Faramir’s decision can be viewed as ethical since he acted according to the moral maxim of treating rational beings as ends in themselves and not merely as means, respecting the hobbits’ quest rather than using them to pursue his own mortal desires or just follow….....

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