Original Alear Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I surely hope the poll works this time. A real man - real in all the ways that we recognize as real - finds himself suddenly abstracted from the world and deposited in a physical situation which could not possibly exist: sounds have aromas, smells have color and depth, sights have texture, touches have pitch and timbre. There he is informed by a disembodied voice that he has been brought to that place as a champion for his world. He must fight to the death in single combat against a champion from another world. If he is defeated, he will die, and his world - the real world - will be destroyed because it lacks the inner strength to survive.The man refuses to believe that what he is told is true. He asserts that he is either dreaming or hallucinating, and declines to be put in the false position of fighting to the death where no "real" danger exists. He is implacable in his determination to disbelieve his apparent situation, and does not defend himself when he is attacked by the champion of the other world. Question: is the man's behavior courageous or cowardly? This is the fundamental question of ethics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleph Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Severian he's not brave or cowardly. He's a fucking idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcerzak Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I loved that series. I need to read Last Chronicles at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Severian he's not brave or cowardly. He's a fucking idiot. Idiocy does not preclude bravery or cowardice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 It sounds like they just switched the senses around. Wouldn't that just mean everything is exactly the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ϲharlie Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I was going to vote "fuck you" for the second option, but I decided not to. There is only one person on this forum who I have ever directed those two words toward, and I would like to keep it than way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 It sounds like they just switched the senses around. Wouldn't that just mean everything is exactly the same? I believe that what is being described is synesthesia - when a stimulus that should "properly" assail only one sense instead affects multiple senses. I was going to vote "fuck you" for the second option, but I decided not to. There is only one person on this forum who I have ever directed those two words toward, and I would like to keep it than way. It's a trap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttmuncher.ops Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Severian he's not brave or cowardly. He's a fucking idiot. I thought he was high on acid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HongLei Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 This isn't really a question of ethics, if he consciously chose to spare the other and his planet at the cost of his own and his life then it would be a question of ethics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 This isn't really a question of ethics, if he consciously chose to spare the other and his planet at the cost of his own and his life then it would be a question of ethics. I disagree. Ethics is not only the choice between different actions, but also the choice of whether to take action, and it might rather feasibly be argued that there is such thing as taking no action - your body, for which you are (perhaps arbitrarily) given responsibility continues to act upon its divided self and upon the world in fundamental ways even as you stand "dormant." By taking no action, the man effectively side with the champion of the other world, because vested in your his is the fate of his world. Not that I really expected to actually be discussing this. You surprise me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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