Moral Saints

In my ethics class recently we've been discussing the concept of a moral saint and whether their lifestyle necessarily means they are lacking in non-moral virtues. (Did you know that Gandhi was completely celibate despite being married? And he never used any spices because he believed that food is meant for nourishment only!)

Then we read a paper suggesting that a faith in a god is necessary for these people to be able to struggle against the odds. One student suggested that this is less admirable, ie without the possibility of failure one hasn't really done anything that significant. I took it a little further by suggesting that even with the possibility of failure the possibility of a reward can make the motivations associated with some religions seem quite mercenary. I once hear an interesting description of the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarök, as the victory of evil over good. Despite this, the Norse believed that people should be good despite this inevitable failure, just because it's the right thing to do. (I now think that was an inaccurate description but that doesn't matter for the argument.)

The professor then tried to use Gallipoli as an example of complete futility, not really understanding the extent to which Anzacs are worshipped in Oz. Nor did she realise that they did retreat eventually. But then I thought of an even better example, Leonidas and the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae. This is the email I sent my professor:

I didn't mention in class that Turkey hadn't actually entered the war when they were attacked, they just happened to be allied with Germany et al. and in a bad position. Of course it seems ridiculous (to non-antipodeans) to celebrate a defeat that shouldn't have been fought. Yes, it's a pointless waste of life and, as I recall, that's the point of the movie.

It's been years since I've seen the movie but I remember some sort of charge at the end, which must be what you meant. (I guess it's not just dramatic licence you saw, a huge portion of the troops were lost before the eventual retreat.) My mention of the 300 Spartans at Themopylae was meant as a throw-away line but walking home I remembered that Leonidas' Spartans were worshipped in the ancient world as Anzacs are in Australia and NZ. A monument was erected at Thermopylae with an interesting epitaph:

Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

Even if we don't like the martial nature of Spartan society, I think we can still see something admirable in an unwavering commitment to moral law.

Obviously I don't think it's a sensible approach to take in battle (or even that we should admire warriors) but there's something a little romantic about self-sacrifice. Maybe it's just my dislike of consequentialism that makes me veer to the other extreme.