Violence and the Creation of Virtues
Violence is defined as “behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something” (Definition, Violence). Violence can come in multiple forms such as physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and cultural violence, verbal and financial abuse, and neglect. Violence, abuse, and neglect each have an aspect of intended damage, whether it be physical or emotional. Whether someone interprets their actions as nonviolent, or as a necessary violence, depends on personal views and morals. Further, virtue is defined as “behavior showing high moral standards” (Definition, Virtue). Virtues also come in a variety of forms: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, prudence, …show more content…
Overall, a virtue is reliant on communal agreement on a given action or belief, where the community can be as large as the world or as small as two people in a relationship. In his novels and essays, Kurt Vonnegut shows how violence can highlight different types of virtues in humans.
Based on a novel by Alan Fiske and Tage Shakti Rai titled ‘Virtuous Violence: Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End and Honor Social Relationships’, journalist, Dana Goldstein, points to topics such as how “the vast majority of those who commit violence around the world are using brutality to make relationships right”, and that “when you’re the victim of violence or you see other people do violence, it violates your morals” (Goldstein). When people begin to believe that other’s actions are wrong based off their own beliefs, we begin to misjudge others and build up our own anger. For example, when aggressive driving takes place, this can lead to speeding, swerving, and ultimately losing control of the vehicle. “The root of the problem, however, is that the assailant experiences a strong emotion of anger and seemingly loses the ability to control it” (Fieser). While someone may become angry at a slow, elderly driver or at a middle-aged driver …show more content…
For example, in Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut portrays prisoners of war during World War Two amid violence, but Roland Weary, a fellow POW, presents a short-lived virtuous side of himself by standing up to save Billy’s life even if it means his own will be taken. On the other hand, Howard W Campbell, Jr., a recent US solider turned into a Nazi, shows a sort of violence that is not physical, but rather mental. Campbell turns against his fellow men to save himself, which portrays greed and even a sense of verbal abuse as he attempts to persuade the POWs to join forces with the Nazis. In the novel’s present day, Billy continuously visits extraterrestrials called Tralfamadorians who begin questioning Billy about free will and why “Earthlings” are so obsessed with it by stating, “If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by ‘free will.’ I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will” (Vonnegut, page 402). With free will in question, and the Tralfamadorians’ insight to time, one can argue that violent deeds may be inevitable and never have stood a chance to be changed by the perpetrator. However, it may also be safe to argue that Tralfamadorians only see what they believe to be the future, but they also accurately predicted
Violence is defined as “behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something” (Definition, Violence). Violence can come in multiple forms such as physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and cultural violence, verbal and financial abuse, and neglect. Violence, abuse, and neglect each have an aspect of intended damage, whether it be physical or emotional. Whether someone interprets their actions as nonviolent, or as a necessary violence, depends on personal views and morals. Further, virtue is defined as “behavior showing high moral standards” (Definition, Virtue). Virtues also come in a variety of forms: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, prudence, …show more content…
Overall, a virtue is reliant on communal agreement on a given action or belief, where the community can be as large as the world or as small as two people in a relationship. In his novels and essays, Kurt Vonnegut shows how violence can highlight different types of virtues in humans.
Based on a novel by Alan Fiske and Tage Shakti Rai titled ‘Virtuous Violence: Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End and Honor Social Relationships’, journalist, Dana Goldstein, points to topics such as how “the vast majority of those who commit violence around the world are using brutality to make relationships right”, and that “when you’re the victim of violence or you see other people do violence, it violates your morals” (Goldstein). When people begin to believe that other’s actions are wrong based off their own beliefs, we begin to misjudge others and build up our own anger. For example, when aggressive driving takes place, this can lead to speeding, swerving, and ultimately losing control of the vehicle. “The root of the problem, however, is that the assailant experiences a strong emotion of anger and seemingly loses the ability to control it” (Fieser). While someone may become angry at a slow, elderly driver or at a middle-aged driver …show more content…
For example, in Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut portrays prisoners of war during World War Two amid violence, but Roland Weary, a fellow POW, presents a short-lived virtuous side of himself by standing up to save Billy’s life even if it means his own will be taken. On the other hand, Howard W Campbell, Jr., a recent US solider turned into a Nazi, shows a sort of violence that is not physical, but rather mental. Campbell turns against his fellow men to save himself, which portrays greed and even a sense of verbal abuse as he attempts to persuade the POWs to join forces with the Nazis. In the novel’s present day, Billy continuously visits extraterrestrials called Tralfamadorians who begin questioning Billy about free will and why “Earthlings” are so obsessed with it by stating, “If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by ‘free will.’ I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will” (Vonnegut, page 402). With free will in question, and the Tralfamadorians’ insight to time, one can argue that violent deeds may be inevitable and never have stood a chance to be changed by the perpetrator. However, it may also be safe to argue that Tralfamadorians only see what they believe to be the future, but they also accurately predicted