Jay,
Re your comment below:
> The discussion was not about whether Marlowe was
an
> amoral person--its frigging obvious that he
cares
> about right and wrong. My original point was
that,
> given who and what he was dealing with, he had
to
> make amoral decisions at times. And I think he
does
> not like himself for doing so.Like when--out
of
> necessity--he does not come out of his hiding
place
> when Lash Canino confronts and kills little
Harry
> Jones.
A hard choice is NOT, by definition, an amoral choice.
An actor who makes a choice without reference to the
moral ramifications of his actions is making an amoral
choice. An actor who considers the moral ramifications, or
who at least knows what the moral ramifications are, and
then, deliberately and willfully, acts in a way he knows to
be wrong, is making an immoral choice.
Marlowe does neither of these. Faced with a difficult
dilemma, he always considers the moral ramifications, then
tries to take the most moral course available to him. That
harm sometimes comes because of his chosen course is what
makes it a dilemma. He HAS to make a decision, knowing that
harm will come about whatever he does, and he does his best,
with the knowledge he has at hand, in the circumstances in
which he finds himself, given the obligations he is ethically
bound to live up to, to make the most moral choice. His
agonizing over the consequences of his decisions is what
makes him a moral man. His considering, almost by reflex, the
moral ramifications of his choices and trying to choose the
morally correct course is what makes them moral
choices.
JIM DOHERTY
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