Ethics of Gladiator
Ethics in Gladiator: an Honorable Death
According to Aristotle the moral principles of which ethics are derived from are based on an individual’s use of justice, courage, and temperance in social situations. However, one cannot gain this moral conduct by solely learning a list of generalized rules, but rather they must experience it and understand the consequences of this practical wisdom. In addition, a person’s upbringing plays a huge role in their overall moral development and can either influence them positively or incredibly negatively. In Ridleys Scott’s film Gladiator, a comparison of ethical codes is established between the protagonist Maximus and the antagonist Commodus which undoubtedly supports Aristotle’s science of morals.
The practical wisdom, that Aristotle suggests evokes a moral code within an individual, is displayed through the different upbringings of the two contrasting main characters. Maximus’s childhood isn’t super detailed within the film, however the viewers are aware that he had experienced struggles that could have ruined or aided his ethical code. With this in mind, his character proves to have gained an enormous amount of practical wisdom that caused him to ultimately die honorably. Maximus’s character displays courage and justice in the battle scenes, but more impressively he exhibits these same traits in his relationships. In comparison, the antagonist Commodus had an upbringing that constantly stressed to him the importance of power and the need to gain it regardless of the consequences. It is inevitable that Commodus’s moral values were going to be skewed; however his experiences throughout his life should have provoked some sort of conscience. But rather, Commodus’s continuous gain of power allowed him to disregard moral values and associate negative decisions with positive outcomes. Hence, he never actually experiences the consequences of his actions until he dies without any form of honor.
Just before Commodus kills his
According to Aristotle the moral principles of which ethics are derived from are based on an individual’s use of justice, courage, and temperance in social situations. However, one cannot gain this moral conduct by solely learning a list of generalized rules, but rather they must experience it and understand the consequences of this practical wisdom. In addition, a person’s upbringing plays a huge role in their overall moral development and can either influence them positively or incredibly negatively. In Ridleys Scott’s film Gladiator, a comparison of ethical codes is established between the protagonist Maximus and the antagonist Commodus which undoubtedly supports Aristotle’s science of morals.
The practical wisdom, that Aristotle suggests evokes a moral code within an individual, is displayed through the different upbringings of the two contrasting main characters. Maximus’s childhood isn’t super detailed within the film, however the viewers are aware that he had experienced struggles that could have ruined or aided his ethical code. With this in mind, his character proves to have gained an enormous amount of practical wisdom that caused him to ultimately die honorably. Maximus’s character displays courage and justice in the battle scenes, but more impressively he exhibits these same traits in his relationships. In comparison, the antagonist Commodus had an upbringing that constantly stressed to him the importance of power and the need to gain it regardless of the consequences. It is inevitable that Commodus’s moral values were going to be skewed; however his experiences throughout his life should have provoked some sort of conscience. But rather, Commodus’s continuous gain of power allowed him to disregard moral values and associate negative decisions with positive outcomes. Hence, he never actually experiences the consequences of his actions until he dies without any form of honor.
Just before Commodus kills his