The Philosophy of Batman
By: Eduardo A. Llano
Tags: Culutre, Philosophy, Morality, Life Lessons, Life

Batman’s Morality

Batman has been questioned several times due to the methods he uses to obtain information and battle crime. Some people say that, even though he has a code that makes it impossible for him to kill, Batman does worse than killing you; he will break every bone in your body. Batman is brutal, and criminals are scared not to get killed but of getting injured the way Batman hurts the people he fights.

Plus, Batman sometimes acts outside of the law to accomplish his purpose. Even all said before is true, Batman, as a stoic character, understands that acts have no way to be judged, but the person’s intentions to commit it. Therefore, if he has to leave you in wheelchairs to save lives, he will do it, but he will not kill you. He breaks the law, but he does not break his morale.

The Joker, his biggest villain, once told a “joke,” which explains his theory about why Batman acts the way he does. The joke goes like this:

“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum… and one night, one night they decide they don’t like living in an asylum any more. They decide they’re going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight… stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend, didn’t dare make the leap. Y’ see… Y’ see, he’s afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea… He says, “Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I’ll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!” B-but, the second guy, just shakes his head. He suh-says… He says, “Wh-what, do you think I am? Crazy? You’d turn it off when I was halfway across!”

What this joke means is that both, Batman and the Joker, are equally insane but in different extremes. Batman has a vision of his philosophy that makes him go to an extreme that affects his family and romantic relationships and sometimes puts his life in so much danger, which is a flaw in the performance of his philosophy. Also, in the way of doing what he believes is correct, he does lots of things that might be questionable for most people.

Plus, his no-killing code has been distrusted because, meanwhile, some say that criminals keep killing innocent people and destroying the city.

Batman understands that there is a fine line between good and evil and, if he kills criminals, he is going to save himself and Gotham a lot of trouble, and life. But if he kills them, he will act as a “god,” which he is not and does not want to become. “No life is nothing,” Batman says, so he knows he does not have the right to contemplate human lives, not even the criminals’ ones.

All the information we have studied so far are just some examples that highlight how Batman represents a philosophy as deep as is Stoicism. However, many other details show us the complexity of this character from pop-culture on a larger scale. Seeing the background of pop-culture characters can teach us many things about life and philosophy, such as Wonder Woman and Kantianism, or Superman and Confucianism, and some others I am going to publish about later.

Batman’s moral code, courage, sense of justice, temperance, and code of ethics, not only do they make him the perfect representation of Stoicism in the pop-culture but also sets an example for all his fans and readers.

Batman teaches us that no matter how hard we fall, we should always take the step to rise again. That we should always stay true to our principles; to have the determination to do what is right, even if it does not make you happy. Sometimes doing what is right is more important than doing what feels good. Batman represents everything that humankind should stand for.