Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis
In this paper, I explore a tension between the Law in the novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, by H. G. Wells, and Kant’s reciprocity thesis. The Law is a series of prohibitions that Moreau has his beasts recite. Moreau devotes his time to transforming animals through a painful surgery into beings tha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Alfredo Mac Laughlin
2018-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jsfphil.org/vol-1/moreaus-law/ |
| _version_ | 1818986901475950592 |
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| author | Dan Paul Dal Monte |
| author_facet | Dan Paul Dal Monte |
| author_sort | Dan Paul Dal Monte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, I explore a tension between the Law in the novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, by H. G. Wells, and Kant’s reciprocity thesis. The Law is a series of prohibitions that Moreau has his beasts recite. Moreau devotes his time to transforming animals through a painful surgery into beings that resemble humans, but the humanized beasts are constantly slipping back into animalistic habits, and so Moreau promulgates the Law to maintain decorum. Kant’s reciprocity thesis states that free will is the necessary and sufficient condition of moral practical laws. That is, in order for a moral practical law to be applicable, there must be free will, and, if free will is present, then there will be a moral practical law that sets a standard for the free will. However, in Wells’s novel, the humanized beasts seem to lack free will. So, how can a law be applicable to them? By delving deeper into the mystery of Moreau’s strange island, I will shed light on the otherwise cumbersome concepts of free will, natural impulses, and practical laws, as well as their interrelationships. The upshot will be a deeper understanding of personhood through an exploration of the instinctual nature of animals, moral law, and free will. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:58:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abc99a66659440058fe82c86ef17a216 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2573-881X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:58:09Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Alfredo Mac Laughlin |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-abc99a66659440058fe82c86ef17a2162022-12-21T19:29:28ZengAlfredo Mac LaughlinJournal of Science Fiction and Philosophy2573-881X2018-06-011112Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity ThesisDan Paul Dal Monte0Temple UniversityIn this paper, I explore a tension between the Law in the novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, by H. G. Wells, and Kant’s reciprocity thesis. The Law is a series of prohibitions that Moreau has his beasts recite. Moreau devotes his time to transforming animals through a painful surgery into beings that resemble humans, but the humanized beasts are constantly slipping back into animalistic habits, and so Moreau promulgates the Law to maintain decorum. Kant’s reciprocity thesis states that free will is the necessary and sufficient condition of moral practical laws. That is, in order for a moral practical law to be applicable, there must be free will, and, if free will is present, then there will be a moral practical law that sets a standard for the free will. However, in Wells’s novel, the humanized beasts seem to lack free will. So, how can a law be applicable to them? By delving deeper into the mystery of Moreau’s strange island, I will shed light on the otherwise cumbersome concepts of free will, natural impulses, and practical laws, as well as their interrelationships. The upshot will be a deeper understanding of personhood through an exploration of the instinctual nature of animals, moral law, and free will.https://jsfphil.org/vol-1/moreaus-law/free willkantwellsmoreaureciprocity thesislaw |
| spellingShingle | Dan Paul Dal Monte Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy free will kant wells moreau reciprocity thesis law |
| title | Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis |
| title_full | Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis |
| title_fullStr | Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis |
| title_short | Moreau's Law in "The Island of Doctor Moreau" in Light of Kant's Reciprocity Thesis |
| title_sort | moreau s law in the island of doctor moreau in light of kant s reciprocity thesis |
| topic | free will kant wells moreau reciprocity thesis law |
| url | https://jsfphil.org/vol-1/moreaus-law/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT danpauldalmonte moreauslawintheislandofdoctormoreauinlightofkantsreciprocitythesis |