The Ethics of Batman

Swooping in silent that caped crusader appears in times of need.

Catalyzing destruction he leaves a trail of wreckage in his wake.

Buildings get detonated and cars get crushed. Bystanders panic and crowds flee for their lives.

Racing ahead in plane or car or on foot, that vigilante superhero rushes on heedless of the damage.

But the criminal he eventually apprehends. The villain he inevitably surmounts.

But what of the wreckage of leaves behind? What of the pain he causes en route towards glory?

Regardless the cost unto property damage or personal injury, that world's greatest detective never gives up until he captures his nemesis. He never rests until his objective he completes.

Batman has but one rule--a prohibition against taking life. That alone remains the unyielding foundation of his moral code. But gladly he'll cause no end of pain and agonies unto those he encounters along that path towards greatness.

Culpable henchmen suffer broken bones and serious concussions. Innocent civilians endure collateral damage unto possessions and self.

Yet Batman continues onward along that lonely quest towards his target. Those losses are inevitable consequences of his actions.

And that suffering he deems okay.

Operating under the implied creedo of "For the Greater Good," he justifies those atrocities under the auspices of benefits conferred.

But is that true cosmic justice?

Those ethics I analyzed whilst playing the latest Batman game at the house of a friend. Then those premises I took and applied upon a metaphysical scale.

What if you discovered you were the celestial equivalent of Batman? What if you found out you incarnated in places of great need and accomplished things of immense worth--only to wrack up a massive tally of collateral damage along those quests?

What if in your wake you left good people harmed and not-so-great people hurt worse?

What if the inhabitants of that world lauded your name--but a sizable minority amongst them would inevitably hate your guts?

How many people could you justify injuring (either physically or emotionally) to accomplish something of lasting worth?

How much damage could you ethically cause before the harm outweighed the good?

The old saying goes: You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

But what happens when those "eggs" are other lives?

What happens when they're other people's feelings?

Congratulations--you're now the cosmic equivalent of Batman. So riddle me this:

How much harm unto others will you willingly accept before you abandon your quest for righteousness?

How much damage will you intentionally (or negligently) trigger before you forgo your mission?

This is a material world with physical consequences. It's impossible to achieve any substantial aim without stepping on a few toes.

And it's impossible to prevent any great evil without offending or injuring others along the path.

So where should the line be drawn?

How far will you go in the name of justice?

How many need suffer before you hang up your cowl?

a reply to: Trachel

Lol until justice is served.

We are all subject to the truth...it won't matter the meme's.

I live a life devoid of fantasy, that is my fantasy.

Riddle me the truth.

I'm groot.

Cheers

Batman doesn't shoot people in the face for moving violations.

Batman saves lives and discounts the material costs.

Batman's ethics are in the right place.

Batman embodies fear, reverse-perpetrated on those who inspire fear.
He's not really about justice, despite his self professed motivation. He's about scaring civilization into behaving itself.
I think that he's on the side of justice is incidental.
Reference: Kingdom Come.

Property damage and the implication that he'll go so much further than normal law enforcement is scary, in case the message that a guy dressed like a bat will beat you up for being bad gets missed.

originally posted by: Trachel
Swooping in silent that caped crusader appears in times of need.

Catalyzing destruction he leaves a trail of wreckage in his wake.

Buildings get detonated and cars get crushed. Bystanders panic and crowds flee for their lives.

Racing ahead in plane or car or on foot, that vigilante superhero rushes on heedless of the damage.

But the criminal he eventually apprehends. The villain he inevitably surmounts.

But what of the wreckage of leaves behind? What of the pain he causes en route towards glory?

Regardless the cost unto property damage or personal injury, that world's greatest detective never gives up until he captures his nemesis. He never rests until his objective he completes.

Batman has but one rule--a prohibition against taking life. That alone remains the unyielding foundation of his moral code. But gladly he'll cause no end of pain and agonies unto those he encounters along that path towards greatness.

Culpable henchmen suffer broken bones and serious concussions. Innocent civilians endure collateral damage unto possessions and self.

Yet Batman continues onward along that lonely quest towards his target. Those losses are inevitable consequences of his actions.

And that suffering he deems okay.

Operating under the implied creedo of "For the Greater Good," he justifies those atrocities under the auspices of benefits conferred.

But is that true cosmic justice?

Those ethics I analyzed whilst playing the latest Batman game at the house of a friend. Then those premises I took and applied upon a metaphysical scale.

What if you discovered you were the celestial equivalent of Batman? What if you found out you incarnated in places of great need and accomplished things of immense worth--only to wrack up a massive tally of collateral damage along those quests?

What if in your wake you left good people harmed and not-so-great people hurt worse?

What if the inhabitants of that world lauded your name--but a sizable minority amongst them would inevitably hate your guts?

How many people could you justify injuring (either physically or emotionally) to accomplish something of lasting worth?

How much damage could you ethically cause before the harm outweighed the good?

The old saying goes: You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

But what happens when those "eggs" are other lives?

What happens when they're other people's feelings?

Congratulations--you're now the cosmic equivalent of Batman. So riddle me this:

How much harm unto others will you willingly accept before you abandon your quest for righteousness?

How much damage will you intentionally (or negligently) trigger before you forgo your mission?

This is a material world with physical consequences. It's impossible to achieve any substantial aim without stepping on a few toes.

And it's impossible to prevent any great evil without offending or injuring others along the path.

So where should the line be drawn?

How far will you go in the name of justice?

How many need suffer before you hang up your cowl?

Good thing he is a billionaire and can afford the restitution then aye...

Batman seemed like a really sad, mentally damaged figure to me.
It's like he uses Gotham's criminal element to work out a serious
case of PTSD from seeing his parents murdered, he still
carries it into what seems like his thirties, it seems
to consume him. And effect his relationships, the only women he seems to
relate to are criminals he should by his own code be locking up,
so they can escape again, so they can kill more people, so he can
lock them up. He's stuck in a cycle of bad relationships with everyone
he knows.

I think the people of Gotham would be better served arming up
and learning to defend themselves than relying on a person that
obviously needs mass amounts of counselling. I think in the Batman
universe by not giving the people of Gotham an opportunity to defend themselves,
he's a cause for more bad than good. Not because people's feelings got hurt

Im not well versed on batman, but it seems that this thread is implying that batman is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I think the point of his ethics is to put enough fear into criminals that wouldn't think twice about what they're doing. But I do think he does go onto the gray area when it comes to ethnics. You do gotta remember he has no powers, just money and intelligence. He will eventually get old and die an there's the possibility he could be killed. With that in mind I believe the reason he works in the gray area is because without a foundation of that fear, after his death criminals wouldn't be afraid to commit crimes ( he's creating a boogie man for the criminals) or better yet, its like walking through a bad neighborhood except reversed, criminals wouldn't want to do business cause of the fear of batman watching and reprimanding. Due to recent events I definitely see how and why batman would use this tactic. But that's just my opinion.