The Dark Side of English

Pinni B4078Friday 11 December 2015

02/05/2023

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Presentation structure

1. Objective of this presentation2. Definition of morality 3. Concept of Morality in Horus Rising:

The seeds of heresy are sown4. Example from Horus Rising5. Real life example6. Organisational responsibility vs. individual responsibility7. Moral accountability8. References

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Objective of this presentation

What is your current perception of morality?

Consider throughout this presentation howthe comparison between events in the text,Horus Rising and real life examples affect yourunderstanding of morality.

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Definition of morality

For the purpose of this presentation, morality will be defined as a set of principles that discern between the perception of right and wrong or good and bad behaviour.

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Concept of Morality in Horus Rising:The seeds of heresy are sown

The protagonists of the text are super humanwarriors, known as Astartes. The Astartes roam the galaxy conquering allhuman settlements they come across andamalgamating them into their empire.

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Example from Horus RisingYou are a weapon Garviel, an example of the finestinstrument of destruction mankind has ever wrought. Theremust be no place inside you for doubt or question. You’reright. Weapons should not think, they should only allowthemselves to be employed, for the decision to use them isnot theirs to make (Abnett 2006, 64–5).

Does this extract alter your perception of morality in anyway? If so, how?

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Real life exampleThe following is a court transcript of William Calley and the jury on February 23, 1971:

Q: What were the nature of the -- what were you informed was the principles involved in that field?

A: That all orders were to be assumed legal, that the soldier's job was to carry out any order given him to the best of his ability.

Q: Did you tell your doctor or inform him anything about what might occur if you disobeyed an order by a senior officer?

A: You could be court-martialed for refusing an order and refusing an order in the face of the enemy, you could be sent to death, sir.

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/myl_Calltest.html

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Organisational responsibility vs. individual responsibility

Calley claimed that his orders were to be deemed legal and also that he would be punished for disobeying orders.

Principle IV of the Nüremberg Law states that:The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him. It is clear that Calley attempted to shift the blame onto the military structure and chain of command. According to the principle above, Calley’s actions do not absolve him of personal responsibility and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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What happened next?QUESTION: Do you agree or disagree with the decision of the military court which found (Lt. William) Calley guilty (in connection with the My Lai incident) and gave him a life sentence?

Agree 7% Disagree 78% No opinion 15%

From a telephone survey of 1,090 adults from across the United States conducted for President Nixon on April 1,

1971. QUESTION: Do you think President Nixon should free Lt. William Calley, substantially reduce his sentence, or uphold his life imprisonment sentence (in connection with the My Lai incident)?

Free Lt. William Calley 51% Substantially reduce his sentence 28% Uphold his life imprisonment sentence 9% No opinion 12%

From a telephone survey of 973 adults from across the United States conducted by Opinion Reasearch Corporation for President Nixon on April 5-6, 1971.

A day after Calley was sentenced, President Richard Nixon had his sentence reduced to house arrest. After serving only 3 and a half years, Calley was issued with a limited presidential pardon.

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Moral accountabilityIndividual responsibility

- The individual is responsible for their actions.

Organisational responsibility-Individuals work within a chain of command where they are responsible both up the chain to their superiors, including their civilian commanders, and down the chain to their subordinates.

State responsibility - States may bear direct responsibility for intentional atrocity or the state may bear indirect moral responsibility as bystander to atrocity.

Political/public responsibility - At the political or public level, collective moral responsibility depends on thepublic having certain roles and obligations in democratic states. At this level, thecitizens who pay taxes and otherwise consent to or perhaps even demand war aremorally responsible for atrocities because it is their role in a democracy to preventthose atrocities, or at least try to halt them.

Has your perception of morality undergone any changes? If so, how?

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ReferencesAbnett, Dan. 2006 Horus Rising: the seeds of Heresy are sown. Nottingham: Black Library.

Crawford, Neta C. 2007. “Individual and Collective Moral Responsibility forSystemic Military Atrocity”. The Journal of Political Philosophy 15, 2: 187–212.

International Law Commission, 1950. Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, 1950.

Linder, Douglas. 1999. My Lai: An Account. [Internet]. Available from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/Myl_intro.html [Accessed 4 October 2015]