MORALITY IN A MOVIE

By

MUHAMMAD BAQAR ZAIDI

Department of Sociology,

University of Karachi

Submitted to

Mr. Hassan Ali

Department of Philosophy,

University of Karachi

Date: 27/01/2021
For the assignment, I want to consider a particular action from Netflix latest sci-fi
thriller "The Old Guard". The movie revolves around for immortal people trying to
make the world a better place for all. They are contacted by a CIA operative who
deceived them into a trap. The CIA operative wanted to capture the team for a
Pharmaceutical company's executive who wanted to make a fortune by studying
the team’s secret to immortality and mass- replicating the effect to eliminate death
in the world. The team was captured and studied but managed to get free with the
help of their new immortal ally. The executive falls to his death.[ CITATION
IMD21 \l 1033 ]

The action I want to discuss is the narcissist executive's imprisonment and research
on the immortal warriors for removing all disease on Earth. For the discussion, we
will assume that the CEO is not a narcissist but sincere man who wants to
eliminate all diseases. So the moral dilemma that will be discussed in the light of
different ethical theories is:

"Is it morally right to imprison a person, if that person's imprisonment will lead to
immortality in all human population?"

Kantian ethics will term such action wrong on two principles it stands on. Surely,
this action is not universal law as no immortal will want to get imprisoned for
decades so that others might become like them. Immortality itself due to its
complication isn't universal. Kant also states that no person should be used as a
mean in themselves and the immortal person are used as a mean for others
immortality. Thus, Kant will consider such action as a moral based on both his
laws.

Utilitarian will get about to calculate the pleasure and pain associated with the
action. If we remove the pains of immortality from the pain-pleasure equation, act
utilitarian will come to conclusions that the action is morally right as the pain
experienced by the immortal individuals for few decades will be far less than the
pleasure humanity will experience from prolonged life. However, problems
associated with immortality such as prolonged life, life and death being controlled,
etc. are taken into consideration, the pain will certainly out weight the pleasure of
immortality, therefore, this whole activity will be deemed immoral.

Rule utilitarians can decide the matter much more easily. Imprisonment of any
innocent individual has more vices than virtues; he is unacceptable to rule
utilitarian. So, rule utilitarian will state the action as immoral.

Religious ethics will find this dilemma hard to decipher. All major religions won't
allow imprisonment of innocent but also want to eliminate diseases from Earth. On
the other hand acquiring for striving to acquire immortality, one of the attributes
used usually associated with God, may be seen as an attack on religion itself; thus,
wrong and Immoral to religious ethics.

In conclusion, for all moral theories, the action of imprisoning to acquire

immortality will be a moral and wrong; however, at utilitarian might accept the
idea of improvement as moral only if it leads to the end of all human diseases but
not as far as immortality.

Reference
IMDb. (n.d.). The Old Guard (2020). Retrieved January 26, 2021, from IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7556122/