The Mandarin paradox is an
ethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
parable
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whe ...
used to illustrate the difficulty of fulfilling
moral obligation
An obligation is a course of action which someone is required to take, be it a legal obligation or a moral obligation. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. ...
s when
moral punishment is unlikely or impossible, leading to
moral disengagement
Moral disengagement is a term from developmental psychology, educational psychology and social psychology for the process of convincing the self that ethical standards do not apply to oneself in a particular context. This is done by separating mor ...
.
It has been used to underscore the fragility of ethical standards when
moral agent
Moral agency is an individual's ability to make moral choices based on some notion of right and wrong and to be held accountable for these actions. A moral agent is "a being who is capable of acting with reference to right and wrong."
Development ...
s are separated by physical, cultural, or other distance, especially as facilitated by
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.
It was first posed by French writer
Chateaubriand in ''"
The Genius of Christianity"'' (1802):
I ask my own heart, I put to myself this question: "If thou couldst by a mere wish kill a fellow-creature in China, and inherit his fortune in Europe, with the supernatural conviction that the fact would never be known, wouldst thou consent to form such a wish?"
The paradox is famously used to foreshadow the character development of the ''
arriviste''
Eugène de Rastignac in
Balzac's novel ''
Père Goriot
''Le Père Goriot'' (, ''"Old Goriot"'' or ''"Father Goriot"'') is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), included in the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie huma ...
''.
Rastignac asks Bianchon if he recalls the paradox, to which Bianchon first replies that he is "at
isthirty-third mandarin," but then states that he would refuse to take an unknown man's life regardless of circumstance.
Rastignac wrongly attributes the quote to
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
, which propagated to later writings.
In fiction
*
The Mandarin (novel)
''The Mandarin'' ( Portuguese: ''O Mandarim'') is a novella on the sin of avarice by José Maria de Eça de Queirós (1845 - 1900), also known as Eça de Queiroz. It was first published in Portuguese in 1880. The first English version, t ...
by José Maria de Eça de Queirós
*
Button, Button by
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...
(plus movie
The Box (2009 film)
''The Box'' is a 2009 American science fiction film, science fiction thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly (filmmaker), Richard Kelly, who also serves as a co-producer. It is based on the 1970 short story "Button, Button (Matheson ...
)
*
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
by
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
See also
*
Ring of Gyges
The Ring of Gyges (, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', ) is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the philosopher Plato in Book 2 of his ''Republic'' (2:359a–2:360d). It grants its owner the power to become invisible at will. Using the ring as an exam ...
References
Bibliography
* ''Champsaur F.,'' Le Mandarin, Paris, P. Ollendorff, 1895‐1896 (réimprimé sous le nom ''L’Arriviste'', Paris, Albin Michel, 1902)
* ''Schneider L.'' Tuer le Mandarin // ''Le Gaulois'', 18 juillet 1926, no 17818
* ''Paul Ronal.'' Tuer le mandarin // Revue de littirature comparee 10, no. 3 (1930): 520–23.
* ''E. Latham'' // Une citaon de Rousseau // Mercure de France, 1er juin 1947, no 1006, p. 393.
* Barbey B. «Tuer le Mandarin» // ''Mercure de France'', 1er septembre 1947, no 1009
* ''Laurence W. Keates''. Mysterious Miraculous Mandarin: Origins, Literary Paternity, Implications in Ethics // Revue de littirature comparee 40, no. 4 (1966): 497–525,
* ''Antonio Coimbra Martins.'' O mandarim assassinado // Ensaios Queirosianos: «0 mandarim assassinado». "0 incesto d"os maias,' imitagdo capital". (Lisbon, 1967), pp. 27–28.
* ''Eric Hayot.'' The Hypothetical Mandarin: Sympathy, Modernity, and Chinese Pain. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009
Thought experiments in ethics
Decision-making paradoxes
{{Ethics-stub