As a strong female character who wins the Hunger Games, Katniss seems to be the farthest thing from a caring individual. Yes, she does care about her family and friends. But, she seems to not be someone characterized by being caring. She wants to drown the cat her little sister takes home, kills other kids to win the Hunger Games and fails to truly care for Peeta as much as he has interest in her in the first novel. Because of these actions and many more, Averill’s argument that Katniss operates under an ethic of care seemed incorrect to me.
Many philosophers believe that there probably isn’t one ethical system that we each follow, but that individuals utilize a mixture of multiple in our decision-making process. Sometimes an individual can act like a utilitarian, and sometimes a deontologist. Even though Katniss does act under an ethic of care in some instances, I believe that she acts as a utilitarian majority of the time in the Hunger Games.
Utilitarianism is one of the most common ethical theories. It simply states that we should minimize pain and maximize pleasure. It claims that individuals should make moral decisions in a manner similar to cost-benefit analysis, where we weigh the good between two options to decide which is better. For example, in a scenario when we can choose to kill 1 or kill 5, a utilitarian would choose to kill 1 since that would minimize the amount of harm because 1 is less than 5.
Most of the decisions Katniss makes throughout the Hunger Games use a utilitarian mindset. One example of this is when she volunteers as tribute in place of her sister. She makes up her mind that it would be better for her mother if her sister stayed behind instead of her. This seems to follow a utilitarian mindset, as she thinks that her mom will suffer less if she goes to the games in place of her sister. This decision also follows the ethical system since Katniss realizes that she has a better chance at winning the games and getting extra food and grain for the people of her district. Because of this realization, she chooses to participate in the games since it increases the probability of a net good occurring to all of the individuals and has a larger probability of minimizing the suffering of the people of district 12. Overall, it seems that a majority of the important decisions that Katniss makes throughout the novel follow a utilitarian ethical system, disproving Averill's argument that she utilizes a partial normative system like the ethic of care.
Many philosophers believe that there probably isn’t one ethical system that we each follow, but that individuals utilize a mixture of multiple in our decision-making process. Sometimes an individual can act like a utilitarian, and sometimes a deontologist. Even though Katniss does act under an ethic of care in some instances, I believe that she acts as a utilitarian majority of the time in the Hunger Games.
Utilitarianism is one of the most common ethical theories. It simply states that we should minimize pain and maximize pleasure. It claims that individuals should make moral decisions in a manner similar to cost-benefit analysis, where we weigh the good between two options to decide which is better. For example, in a scenario when we can choose to kill 1 or kill 5, a utilitarian would choose to kill 1 since that would minimize the amount of harm because 1 is less than 5.
Most of the decisions Katniss makes throughout the Hunger Games use a utilitarian mindset. One example of this is when she volunteers as tribute in place of her sister. She makes up her mind that it would be better for her mother if her sister stayed behind instead of her. This seems to follow a utilitarian mindset, as she thinks that her mom will suffer less if she goes to the games in place of her sister. This decision also follows the ethical system since Katniss realizes that she has a better chance at winning the games and getting extra food and grain for the people of her district. Because of this realization, she chooses to participate in the games since it increases the probability of a net good occurring to all of the individuals and has a larger probability of minimizing the suffering of the people of district 12. Overall, it seems that a majority of the important decisions that Katniss makes throughout the novel follow a utilitarian ethical system, disproving Averill's argument that she utilizes a partial normative system like the ethic of care.