Dr. Seuss and Philosophy - Jacob M. Held [90]
and the consumers of the Thneeds: the more Thneeds, the more happiness, and the Truffula Trees are the means to that. But what the story shows, of course, is that the Once-ler is not really thinking about the long-range consequences for everybody—for the whole ecosystem. The original environment supported a diversity of species: Brown-Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans, and Humming-Fish. The quality of the air and water are affected. Although the Lorax is also thinking about consequences, he is thinking about the complexity of the world and the meaning of our actions in it. He is not motivated by “maximizing happiness” but by the ideal of acting responsibly for the sake of the whole environment. A utilitarian might argue that the Lorax is in fact just a better utilitarian than the Once-ler: the Lorax sees the long-range consequences better and is concerned for the happiness of other species. But the fact is that utilitarianism did promote rather narrow, materialistic values and supported the growth of capitalism with its vague ideas of promoting general happiness. A utilitarian would have calculated the maximum outcome of “happiness” rather than being genuinely concerned with the Bar-ba-loots and others. The Lorax is the voice of this general concern that overrides our desires. The Lorax, I contend, is actually a Deweyan ethicist, not least for his constant warning to “stop and think.” He is concerned for consequences, but not in the utilitarian sense at all. He engages in what Dewey calls “reflective morality.” He is concerned to show the meaning of the Once-ler’s actions. Consequences are used to reveal the meaning of the present situation. The utilitarian, in fact, subjects the present to an imagined future that never really comes—it recedes as he approaches. And often in practice this means that immediate, shortsighted ends are pursued in the dim belief that they will automatically create happiness for everyone. John Stuart Mill defended the value of maximum individual liberty in the belief that personal self-determination was what made most people happiest. The standard creed of capitalism is, by allowing everyone to pursue his own self-interest, the market will grow indefinitely, creating more goods at cheaper prices and leading to the happiness of all. It’s the “Once-ler philosophy.” On the other hand, Dewey says we must try to understand the possibilities of the present and act in a way that a meaningful future grows from it, one that sustains a variety of values.
We can contrast the deontologist with the Deweyan by briefly examining the stories of Horton Hears a Who! and Horton Hatches the Egg. A deontologist acts for the sake of duty pure and simple—“deontology” itself comes from the Greek for “duty,” deon. This was a central value in the ancient school of Stoicism and the Roman moralists. But the major representative is Immanuel Kant, whom we have already met. Evaluating consequences, Kant argues, are no guarantee one is doing what is right, nor are feelings of happiness or pleasure what gives worth to moral action or to a human life. Kant was concerned that an act, however noble it may seem outwardly, could ultimately be traced to self-love and seeking one’s own satisfaction. I may be generous, but do I not love myself in my act of generosity? Ought I give a needy person money simply because it makes me happy? A mother may feel happy caring for her child—but what if she does not? She may be like Mayzie. Mayzie is a lazy bird tired of hatching her egg. She gets Horton to sit on her egg because she needs a rest, and off she goes to Palm Beach. She doesn’t do her duty. So Kant is unimpressed by determining the ethical value of an action on the basis of what makes someone happy or not. It is the rule expressing the duty that determines if an act is moral. I must treat persons as beings of “infinite worth” and as “ends in themselves,” says Kant; that is, as having intrinsic value and being endowed with rights. Kant believes that we should look to moral or “practical” reason: determine what the rule you are thinking of following