a clockwork virtue
by sydney brun-ozuna
The life and actions of young Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange leading up to his arrest can easily be characterised as amoral: he takes pleasure in hurting others, he enjoys stealing, raping, and assaulting innocent people for sport, and he famously murders an old cat-lady with a large statue of a penis. It is through his inexcusable actions that he is chosen as a test subject for a controversial form of rehabilitation known as the Ludovico Technique in which he is adversely conditioned to feel physically ill at even the thought of sex and violence, forcibly turning him into a helpless member of society. While this too may be seen by many as amoral, it may as well have been taken straight from Aristotle’s essay on ethical virtue
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asserts that in order to attain ethical virtue, that is, for the soul to act in accordance with reason, one must simply practice. Much like how a musician becomes a good musician by practicing his/her instrument, so does a person become a good person. As such, the Ludovico Technique used in A Clockwork Orange may seem to be an effective way to reform violent criminals. In making them unable to commit acts of sex and violence, they are forced to act in accordance with ethical virtue, thus, over time, they become good. The flaw in this, however, is that, though Alex could not act upon his desired impulses, he still had them. Being forced to act as though he were a good person did not make him become one, it only stopped him from carrying out his desires. In fact, once the effects of the technique wore off, he went straight back to his old ways.
Alex DeLarge’s actions reveal either an inherent flaw or a missing puzzle piece in Aristotle’s views on ethics. One might say that the book disproves his entire theory on the ways in which ethical virtue is acquired, due to Alex’s vehement opposition to goodness even after being forced to practice ethical virtue for an extended period of time. Though, in contrast, one may say that it begs the question: does one have to want to have ethical virtue in order to properly practice it? While Alex did act in accordance with virtue, he did not want to, he was forced to. Is the person’s desire crucial to his/her ability to truly have virtue? If so, then Aristotle’s reasoning stands, however it means that having ethical virtue is much more difficult than may have been previously thought. One must, in this case, not only act in accordance with a well ordered soul, but also have to want to act in accordance with a well ordered soul. In Alex’s case, it is by constantly doing bad things that he realises how empty he feels, and this is when he makes the decision to become a virtuous human being.
While, at first glance, A Clockwork Orange seems to be a story devoid of all morality, it is in fact a story in which the very basis of Aristotle’s views on morality is tested. The idea that it is by doing good things that one becomes good is destroyed by Alex’s continuous brutality, but it causes one to wonder if Aristotle’s views would reign true if he had wished to become good. Perhaps it is not by acting good that one becomes good, but by first having the desire to become good, and then acting upon those desires.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asserts that in order to attain ethical virtue, that is, for the soul to act in accordance with reason, one must simply practice. Much like how a musician becomes a good musician by practicing his/her instrument, so does a person become a good person. As such, the Ludovico Technique used in A Clockwork Orange may seem to be an effective way to reform violent criminals. In making them unable to commit acts of sex and violence, they are forced to act in accordance with ethical virtue, thus, over time, they become good. The flaw in this, however, is that, though Alex could not act upon his desired impulses, he still had them. Being forced to act as though he were a good person did not make him become one, it only stopped him from carrying out his desires. In fact, once the effects of the technique wore off, he went straight back to his old ways.
Alex DeLarge’s actions reveal either an inherent flaw or a missing puzzle piece in Aristotle’s views on ethics. One might say that the book disproves his entire theory on the ways in which ethical virtue is acquired, due to Alex’s vehement opposition to goodness even after being forced to practice ethical virtue for an extended period of time. Though, in contrast, one may say that it begs the question: does one have to want to have ethical virtue in order to properly practice it? While Alex did act in accordance with virtue, he did not want to, he was forced to. Is the person’s desire crucial to his/her ability to truly have virtue? If so, then Aristotle’s reasoning stands, however it means that having ethical virtue is much more difficult than may have been previously thought. One must, in this case, not only act in accordance with a well ordered soul, but also have to want to act in accordance with a well ordered soul. In Alex’s case, it is by constantly doing bad things that he realises how empty he feels, and this is when he makes the decision to become a virtuous human being.
While, at first glance, A Clockwork Orange seems to be a story devoid of all morality, it is in fact a story in which the very basis of Aristotle’s views on morality is tested. The idea that it is by doing good things that one becomes good is destroyed by Alex’s continuous brutality, but it causes one to wonder if Aristotle’s views would reign true if he had wished to become good. Perhaps it is not by acting good that one becomes good, but by first having the desire to become good, and then acting upon those desires.