"It Is Our Choices, Harry, That Show What We Truly Are, Far More Than Our Abilities"

Harry Potter and Values

By Riley Leonhardt

As a newborn, Harry Potter's future was foretold by Sybil Trelawny, "The
one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches [...] he will
have power the Dark Lord knows not." 1 In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
Dumbledore reveals Voldemort's dark secret; he split his soul in seven
pieces and hid them in inanimate objects. When Harry, daunted by the
task of defeating Voldemort, seeks Dumbledore's help he refers back to
the prophecy: "'You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can..." "I know!" said Harry impatiently, "I can love.'" 2
Dumbledore reiterated his belief that the greatest value of all,
magically and emotionally, is love. Harry finds this simplistic answer
frustrating, but demonstrates his belief in love as an important value:
he consistently breaks the rules to save loved ones from Ginny Weasley
to Sirius Black. Everyone from Dumbledore to dutiful Hermione breaks the
rules to assist loved ones in the novels. While the ethical conduct of
characters in the Harry Potter series may falter as the series
progresses, ultimately Love remains the moral backbone for ethical
conduct.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
Harry asks Dumbledore why his touch caused Voldemort so much pain.
Dumbledore's response is that "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot
understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your
mother's for you leaves its own mark." 3 This very
concept of love as a powerful magical force of good, and Lily Potter's
act alone, sets the stage for Harry's moral behavior throughout the
series. Remarkably, Harry only learns of his mother's powerful sacrifice
nearly ten years after it occurs, yet he has abided by the moral code
of it from the very beginning. Harry loves his friends and more
importantly his newfound world of magic, enough to consider sacrificing
himself to save them. Even more amazingly, Harry remains so
whole-heartedly willing to do so after years of mistreatment at the
hands of the Dursleys. Harry is raised by the Dursleys at a status worse
than neglected child: an unwanted burden. Harry offers the Dursleys no
monetary incentive and certainly no emotional benefit either. In fact,
Harry states his one genetic tie to his mother, his Aunt Petunia,
"doesn't love me [...] She doesn't give a damn." 4
Harry feels no love at home, yet he shows full trust in the first form
of love that comes to him: Ron's friendship. Harry's acceptance of love
and quickness to reciprocate is likely the result of such a lack of it
at home. Curiously, through the progression of the series we do see the
Dursleys' guardianship of Harry as a form of love. Petunia Dursley takes
her nephew despite the threat that it puts on her own family, the
financial burden and the constant reminder that Harry serves as a member
of a forbidden world she wishes to join. She loved her sister just
enough to allow her sister's son to live in her home, no more, no less.
Harry himself comes to recognize and repay this love by saving the one
thing Petunia loves most, Dudley, from dementors.

Love serves as the basis of moral behavior for more than just Harry in the
series. We see each of the Weasleys demonstrate the same kind of
sacrificial love Harry does. Ron consistently follows Harry on every
mission to help defeat Voldemort without any provocation. Raised to fear
Voldemort, and despite hesitancy, Ron won't even let Harry comprehend
facing Voldemort alone. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also demonstrate love
almost immediately by fulfilling the role of emotional parental support
to Harry. From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets onward
Harry never spends a summer without the Weasleys, even if doing so puts
the family at great risk. Fred and George Weasley consistently get into
fights in Harry's name throughout the series. Even Bill Weasley protects
Harry through refuge at the height of Voldemort's power in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ginny Weasley serves an interesting point to the sacrificial love: she is willing to die for Harry, but ultimately Harry's love for her is a deciding factor in his replication of his mother's act in Deathly Hallows.

The ethical concept of utilitarianism presents itself in the series.
Utilitarianism follows the Principle of Utility which was defined by
Jeremy Bentham in 1781 as the belief that "Of the course of action
available, choose the one that produces the greatest aggregate well
being."
5

Both good and bad characters utilize the concept. Albus Dumbledore,
seen by Harry and many others as the moral compass of right and wrong,
best summarizes utilitarian beliefs in the series in saying, "It is our
choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our
abilities."
6 Harry certainly follows Dumbledore's belief because he so often places himself directly against Voldemort despite the availability of others who wish to fight for him. We also see it in the formation of Dumbledore's Army (D.A.) in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry and many other Hogwarts students refuse to accept harmful
censorship and militant control in a time of crisis and make the choice
to learn how to stand against Voldemort rather than to ignore hidden
danger in order to feel safe. Ultimately the same students in D.A. fight
against Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts in
Deathly Hallows,
despite the fact that their abilities do not match their opponents'.
Remarkably, utilitarianism beliefs cause the formation of D.A. and serve
as the same belief behind Dolores Umbridge's agenda in
Order of the Phoenix.

Dolores Umbridge believes that following the Ministry of Magic's plan
to disregard the return of Voldemort benefits most people. The kind of
mass panic and hysteria the return of a dark wizard would cause would be damaging to the established institutions which help ensure the greater welfare of the nation.

Deathly Hallows unveils Dumbledore's consistent use of utilitarian principles for both extremes of the moral spectrum. His friendship with Gellert Grindelwald gives birth to a warped version of utilitarianism, in which suppressing Muggles protects them from wizards. Grindelwald even goes so far as to use a utilitarian phrase that Dumbledore coined, "For the Greater Good' during his deadly campaign for a pureblood society later in life. Dumbledore never acts upon this distorted belief thanks to his love for his sister Ariana, whose torture at the hand of Muggles factored into in the formation of the belief, and his guilt over her death.

Dumbledore's painful example of utilitarianism throughout the series comes to
fruition in the final book. On the day of the Potters' murders,
Dumbledore sets in motion a plan to save the world from Voldemort.
Dumbledore leaves Harry with the Dursleys, despite his knowledge that
Harry's life there will be miserable, because Harry needs the connection
to his mother's blood. He allows Harry to believe that Sirius Black
betrayed his parents with the knowledge of Peter Pettigrew's guilt,
shielding Harry from the one chance of being consistently reminded of
his parents' love for him. It even appears that Dumbledore allows Peter
Pettigrew to return to Voldemort so he can buy time to further look into
Voldemort's past for the source of Voldemort's invincibility. Time and
time again Dumbledore withholds the truth from Harry about his
relationship with Voldemort because ultimately he sets Harry up to
defeat Voldemort by giving him the deadly quest to destroy Horcruxes
since Harry must die to defeat Voldemort. Through his own
involvement in and knowledge about Harry's life, Dumbledore acts for the
greater good; he sets one boy up for death so many others could live.
Even in death Dumbledore continues his utilitarian plan by withholding
the information from Snape that Harry would likely live through another
killing curse at the hands of Voldemort, so Harry will believe his
sacrifice causes everyone else to live. Although Dumbledore's plan
appears morally sound by utilitarian ethical standards, setting up a boy
who had to die to ultimately defeat an evil so that others could live
seems morally questionable. Harry's survival, its likelihood only
guessed by Dumbledore, happens because of a coincidence and no plan on
his own part; it seems an added benefit, not a necessity, to save a boy
he loves. This added benefit makes Dumbledore stand apart from all
others in the series; his actions truly benefit the group and not
because of any specific person or persons.

Harry once described himself as being "Dumbledore's man through and through." 7 Harry undoubtedly trusted Dumbledore with his life: "[He] believed him to be the embodiment of goodness and wisdom." 8
Harry does frequently become angry and frustrated over Dumbledore's
withholding of information and lies throughout the series. By Deathly Hallows Harry's
confidence in Dumbledore is shaken: "Look what he asked from me .Risk
your life, Harry! And again! And again! And don't expect me to explain
everything, just trust me blindly, trust that I know what I'm doing,
trust me even though I don't trust you! Never with the whole truth!
Never!" 9 Dumbledore's utilitarian plan requires Harry
to remain unaware of certain aspects of the plan until the last minute.
Dumbledore justifies leaving Harry in the dark on several occasions:
"Harry must not know, not until the last moment, otherwise how could
he have the strength to do what must be done" 10 and
"I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more
for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed." 11
Harry's reaction to the full revelation of Dumbledore's plan displays
his willingness to sacrifice his own life: "How neat, how elegant, not
to waste any more lives, but to give the dangerous task to the boy who
had already been marked for slaughter." 12 Harry fears
Death, but his anger towards Dumbledore dissipates: "Dumbledore's
betrayal was almost nothing. He had never questioned his own
assumption that Dumbledore wanted him alive." 13 Harry
never considers not sacrificing himself; from the start of the series,
Harry puts his life on the line again and again. Is Harry's willingness
to sacrifice himself also a part of Dumbledore's plan?

Upon learning about Harry's path towards death, Snape replies "I thought all
these years that we were protecting him for her. For Lily." 14
Dumbledore replies, "We have protected him because it has been
essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength." 15
Harry learns of his fate in Sybil Trelawney's prophecy long before
Dumbledore's plan reveals itself, he just interprets it incorrectly:
"and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live
while the other survives." 16 Harry's immediate reaction parallels his reaction to his planned death, "dredging up the
words from what felt like a deep well of despair inside him; "so does
that mean that that one of us has got to kill the other one in the
end?'" 17 He incorrectly assumes it means he must kill Voldemort
to live. Harry's decision to sacrifice himself is best viewed from a
Soft-Determinist perspective: "Free will consists of the ability to do
as you choose. If you can do as you wish, if no person, force, or thing
is forcing you to do something against your will, then your act is
free." 18 Throughout the books, Harry's constant defiance of Voldemort isn't Dumbledore testing his willingness to sacrifice. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry faces Voldemort in a graveyard moments after the death of Cedric
Diggory, knowing death will likely follow. This proves that Harry's
willingness to sacrifice does not come from Dumbledore's teachings, but
from Harry's nature. Harry remains alive not as "a pig for slaughter",19 but to die as "but another blow against Voldemort." 20

As Dumbledore reveals an alignment with utilitarianism in the series,
Voldemort's path towards evil exposes a representation of
Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism is a personality type that "
concerns
the willingness and ability to apply skills of deceit, manipulation,
and exploitation of others so as to acquire, use, and maintain power."
21 In Half-Blood Prince
Voldemort displays all characteristics of a Machiavellian (Mach) even
as a youth. Considered a charming, intelligent and handsome boy in his
days at Hogwarts, Voldemort manipulates Professor Slughorn into
revealing what a Horcrux is and how to make one. Voldemort eventually
drops the charisma most Machs display and becomes "a leader [who is]
calculating and... operate[s] with a minimal degree of shame or guilt."
22
Voldemort's followers also display Machiavellian traits. Lucius Malfoy
represents villainy in Harry's eyes, while the Minister of Magic finds
him a charming upstanding citizen. Bellatrix Lestrange was a high
society beauty before going to Azkaban for torturing Frank and Alice
Longbottom to insanity with the Cruciatus curse. Voldemort and his
followers effectively perform the Unforgivable Curses because of their
"desire to dominate in the way characteristic of these curses."
23 Curiously, Harry performs two of the three Unforgivable Curses in Deathly Hallows.

In OotP, Harry attempts the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix Lestrange but cannot
perform it effectively because "You need to mean [it]. You need to really
want to cause pain ” to enjoy it ” righteous anger won't hurt me for
long." 24 Harry must "become corrupt to master this or any of the Unforgiveable Curses." 25
Harry first performs the Imperius curse on several people in a matter
of minutes while breaking into Gringotts. Harry displays no regret in
performing the curse but says "I don't think I did it strongly enough, I
don't know." 26 Ron and Hermione don't admonish
Harry, adding to the question of Harry's potential corruption for
performing this curse. The circumstance in which Harry performed the
curse must be considered to find the answer. Harry was on a vital
mission to destroy a Horcrux, and had to remain undetected. Harry cursed
a known Death Eater and a Gringotts Goblin but caused them no harm, in
fact Harry orders the Imperiused man to hide from harm. Harry only
controlled their speech to avoid detection and subsequently ordered them
to hide from harm, he cannot be considered corrupted. Later in Deathly Hallows,
Harry attempts to perform the Cruciatus curse once more, this time
successfully: "The Death Eater was lifted off his feet. He writhed
though the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain." 27
Harry's actions have little justification this time. When asked why he
performed the curse by Professor McGonagall, he responds, "He spat at
you." 28 Harry displays no hesitation or regret, in
fact after performing the curse he says, "'I see what Bellatrix meant," the blood thundering through his brain, "you need to really mean it.'" 29 Corruption seems an inappropriate means to
measure Harry's performance of this curse: he continues the same
mission, and still believes in love above all else. Lipscomb and Stewart
offer another reason to perform an Unforgivable Curse: "a spirit [must
be] eager to dominate, eager to reduce all creatures susceptible to its
influence to the status of tools, of things." 30 The desire to dominate better explains Harry's action. Harry brushed with improper punishment under Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix and
was angry over it, Alecto Carrow used the Cruciatus curse on students
as punishment. Harry continuously stands for righteousness, as can be
seen from saving the life of Peter Pettrigrew to his continuing
intolerance for Ministry practices. Harry experienced continued failed
attempts to bring forth righteous justice throughout the series. It is
understandable then that Harry for once would take the matter of justice
into his own hands and dole out punishment as he saw fit. Harry's
action thus isn't justifiable but understandable.

In Order of the Phoenix Sirius Black says, "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters." 31 The Harry Potter
series contains terrible evil; Voldemort˜s quest for domination kills
many, but it also contains powerful love. As Sirius points out gray
areas exist, even characters like Dumbledore behave in a morally
questionable manner. Love proves more powerful though than any other
action in the series through Harry's trials and tribulations. It seems
then that Dumbledore's true meaning behind saying "It is our choices" 32 is that the choice of behaving out of love will defeat any other obstacles that arise.

Notes:

1. Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 841.

2. Ibid., Half-Blood Prince, 509.

3. Ibid., Sorcerer's Stone, 299.

4. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 836.

5. Furrow, 45.

6. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, 333.

7. Ibid., Half-Blood Prince, 649.

8. Ibid., Deathly Hallows, 360.

9. Ibid., 362.

10. Ibid., 685.

11. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 838.

12. Ibid., Deathly Hallows, 693.

13. Ibid., 692.

14. Ibid., 686.

15. Ibid., 687.

16. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 841.

17. Ibid., 844.

18. Bassham, "Prophecy-Driven Life", 216.

19. Rowling, Deathly Hallows, 687.

20. Ibid., 693.

21. Mayer, "Presidential Personality", par 4.

22. Ibid., par 5.

23. Lipscomb and Stewart, "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology", 84.

24. Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 810.

25. Lipscomb and Stewart, "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology", 84.

26. Rowling, Deathly Hallows, 533.

27. Ibid., 593.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid.

30. Lipscomb and Stewart, "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology", 86.

31. Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 302.

32. Ibid., Chamber of Secrets, 333.

Bibliography:

Bassham, G. "The Prophecy-Driven Life: Fate and Freedom at Hogwarts." Harry Potter and Philosophy. Ed. David Baggett and Shawn Klein. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2008.

Bruxvoort Lipscomb, B.J. and Stewart W.C. "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology." Harry Potter and Philosophy. Ed. David Baggett and Shawn Klein. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2008.

Furrow, Dwight. Ethics: Key Concepts in Philosophy. New York: Continuum, 2005.

Mayer, J.D. "Presidential Personality: Part 4 Charisma and Machiavellianism." Psychology Today. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-personality-analyst/200810/presidential-personality-part-4-charisma-and-machiavellianism (Accessed April 2010).

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets size="1">. New York: Scholastic Press, Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999.

 ”””. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic Press, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007

 ”””. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic Press, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005.

 ”””. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic Press, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2003.

 ”””. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic Press, Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998.

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