Ballon, Karen Nicole G.

Ethics [W3D2]
3AD1 Sir Marc Aldous Baccay

Kantian Ethics: HORTON HEARS A WHO! Reflection Paper

1.
Jane Kangaroo or also known as The Sour Kangaroo, is the main
antagonist of the film. The animals of the jungle describe her as the creator
of the laws, a “Ms. Know It All” and a busybody. She is also the mother of
Rudy Kangaroo, who thinks of her as embarrassing to everybody. When
Horton said to Jane Kangaroo that he can hear a faint noise coming from the
small speck of dust, she insisted to him, “If you can’t see, hear or feel
something, it doesn’t exist!” Jane Kangaroo is the type of people in our
society who refuses to listen to others’ opinions. She is the type of person
who only cares about their pride until it interferes with their judgment.
Personally, she reminds of most of the leaders in our world. They want to
trap us in a small box and limit our creativities, imaginations and knowledge
because they’re afraid that we will be out of their control.

Later on in the film, Horton said, “Even though you can’t see them or
hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.” Horton is an
example of someone who has “The Good” within them. According to
Kantian Ethics, a person is only good if they do the right thing because they
believe it’s the right thing to do, and for no other reason. Horton is the
perfect example of a moral agent. He raises questions about responsibility,
knowledge and respecting people. He followed his intuition by choosing to
save the people in the speck of dust even if he cannot see or hear them. He
risked his life in order to protect the “small” people because he believes it’s
the right thing to do.

2.
In the film, Ned McDodd is introduced as the fun-loving and eccentric
mayor of Whoville who has a wife named Sally and 96 daughters and 1 son
named Jojo. He talks to his children every morning, 12 seconds each, while
eating their breakfast. His children adore him and he seems to be a
 responsible and loving father. But if we’re going to talk about having plenty
of children in the real world, this will be a controversial topic. Having a
child is one of the biggest responsibilities a person could have. Children are
human beings and the need to take care of them is demanding. The last thing
our society wants is deeply unwanted children to be in this world.
Personally, I think it depends whether or not it’s morally objectionable to
have too many children. Family planning is a human right. It will make no
sense to say something is immoral if that person doesn’t have control over
their choices. But the thing is, having kids is environmentally expensive.
Our planet is close to the limit of what our atmosphere can handle when it
comes to carbon pollution. And it can’t support an infinitely growing
population. So if a person decides they want to have children, they should
highly value this responsibility and be aware of the risks, stakes and costs.
Because how children are raised will reflect on how our world will be
shaped.

3.
There was a funny scene in the film where Horton can’t take it
anymore to keep his secret. He then tells his students his secret and they are
allowed to keep it and tell one other person about it. Personally, I don’t
agree with Horton’s rule. To keep a secret is to seal information from others
and to protect your privacy and relationships. It won’t be a secret anymore if
the person you said it to tells it another person. It will be considered as
spreading rumors. If someone spreads your secret and they assured you the
person they said it to won’t spread it to others, then what’s the point of
keeping a secret? Doing this will ruin relationships and trust. I think the
reason why most people find it hard to keep secrets is because they have to
live with them, lock them in their subconscious mind and think about them,
alone in their thoughts. So telling them to other people is comforting
because at least they’re not alone anymore to keep the information.
Concealing secrets require extreme effort and commitment. We have to
choose carefully who we can trust and share our secret with. It can help us
receive emotional support and useful advices in order to cope better.

4.
Jane Kangaroo said in the film that teaching the children about worlds
beyond the jungle, Morton teaches them defiance, which only leads to
anarchy. In my observation, Jane Kangaroo/Sour Kangaroo is the type of
 “leader” who does not accept the perception and opinions of others. She uses
the power of fear and intimidation to control the animals around her the way
she wants them to. She belittles children and believes that they shouldn’t
know any better and they are powerless against the influences of the adults
around them. She will do whatever it takes, even conspiring an evil plan, in
order to make the animals in the jungle close minded to keep them following
her laws and regulations. She represents the people in our society who are in
authority and want their people to be as close minded as possible because
it’s easier to control them that way. The more people know things and are
able to expand their horizon, the more it will be harder for Jane Kangaroo to
answer their questions. Thus, making it difficult for her to gain authority and
have an ordered society.

5.

Horton was put in a situation wherein he has to protect the

speck of dust, that contains a planet, home to a city called Whoville
and is inhabited by micro people called Whos. At one part of the film,
Horton is finding it difficult to protect the people of Whoville. He
was advised to leave the Whos to fend for themselves. Yet, Horton
lived up to his promise for them stating, “I meant what I said, and I
said what I meant, an elephant is faithful 100 percent.” Legal promises
are different. It should not be broken at all cost unless supported by
moral grounds. According to Immanuel Kant, “Act only in accordance
with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it
become a universal law.” For him, it is always wrong to create a false
promise to someone. When you make a promise you can’t keep, you are
acting on a particular principle that could not be adopted by everyone in
our society. Although, personally, I think it depends whether or not it’s
morally permissible to not keep your promises. Especially when the
consequences of promise violate ethics and morals. A promise could be
broken if it’s under false pretense, deception or under the basis of lies. In
conclusion, I believe there has to be a good solid reason to justify
breaking a promise.