Assignment 3 - Claire Thompson

Human morality is a social construct. It isn’t actually real outside of the minds of human beings. And while it is an important and vital aspect to the way humans coexist not just with each other, but with the world around them, morality is 100% subjective. There is not any real right and wrong. That being said, myself, just like most people, have very strong convictions as to what is right and wrong in our own minds. Regardless, moral codes don’t apply to wild animals or fungi or fault lines or the weather or the ever-present tides. In nature, good vs. evil doesn’t really come into play. A lion kills a baby antelope, brain-consuming fungi will take out an entire colony of ants in an afternoon, a fault will cause an earthquake no matter how bad your day is, and even your pet guinea pig may eat its own young if you don’t stop it. And no matter what, the tide rises, and the tide falls. The sun rises and sets; beloved family members die. That’s the way it goes. It’s not good or evil, it just is.

The elderly woman stealing food from Walmart isn’t evil; after all, she just can barely afford to feed herself. But perhaps there are those who believe that stealing is always bad no matter the circumstance. Robin Hood is a hero, correct? He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. He’s one of the most popular and widely liked vigilantes. And yet, someone out there might argue that Robin Hood is no hero at all—he’s just a thief.

Was Prometheus a hero or a villain? He gave fire and knowledge to mankind (we would probably say that this was goodness), but he was punished by the gods for his wickedness—that act being evil and traitorous in their eyes. If one believes in Greek creation myths, then Prometheus may as well be an ultimate hero—he is the reason for human civilization. But regardless of what humans think, Prometheus will forever be chained to the boulder in Hades, and the crows will peck out his liver every day for all eternity. The Promethean curse prevails whether humans like it or not, no matter how tragic or seemingly unjust.