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By Root 459 0

forest and to live in harmony with the other living things there, and those of the Empire may be to level the trees to create a base that will better protect the construction of the second Death Star. But the conflict that results isn’t a logical contradiction. Each can still maintain that what they are doing is morally correct. It is, however, a practical contradiction since they can’t both do what they want. Dedicated egoists argue we each have an interest in living in an ordered society where conflicts about trees do not lead to either violence or to ongoing hostility, and so we need to think about the interests of others to some degree if we want to promote our own interests in the long run. Indeed, an enlightened egoism that takes seriously what is needed to make society work will make a place for loyalty, dedication, and even charity. Egoists can also recognize that people’s interests are directed not only towards themselves, but also towards their loved ones, their country, and even towards the environment. An enlightened egoism can, then, include much of what is usually considered moral.

Han, unlike Jango, shows the necessary dispositions for this better form of egoism: he shows, for example, genuine loyalty from the very beginning. His affection for Chewbacca is obvious from our first encounter with him, and he quickly develops an older brother’s affection for Luke. Even more importantly, Han shows a capacity for something more. When Leia rebukes him, “If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive” and then turns to Luke to add, “I wonder if he really cares about anything or anyone,” Han is clearly hurt. When Luke chides him for refusing to join the Rebel attack on the Death Star, Han looks obviously guilty, and Chewie reproaches him as only he can. So while Han claims that he rescues Luke from Darth Vader in the Death Star trench because “I wasn’t going to let you [Luke] get all the credit and take all the reward,” we know that he does it for Luke. Han demonstrates that loyalty once again on the ice planet Hoth. When no one is able to find Luke in the base, Han sets off to find him over the objections of the other rebels. By the time he rescues Luke against the odds (725 to 1 against, Artoo calculates), we have little doubt where his affections lie. Later, he delays his own escape from the planet to ensure that Leia can get off too, and when he’s captured by Darth Vader on Bespin, he tells Chewie not to resist the Imperial forces because he needs him to take care of Leia. Unlike the narrowly-egoistic Jango, Han is capable of true and deep friendships. He is willing to risk all for both Luke and Leia.

Yet even on Hoth and Bespin, his own affairs still take precedence: despite the Rebellion’s need for his skills and his leadership, he tries to leave the rebels so that he can pay off Jabba. To think a bounty hunter will be able to capture him in the Rebellion’s secret hideout surrounded by loyal troops is simply implausible. When Leia argues truthfully (albeit to hide her own feelings, even from herself) that “We need you,” Han’s only interested in whether she needs him. And when they finally escape to Bespin, he’s still set on abandoning the Alliance. Despite the overwhelming needs of others, Han still feels that he has to look after his own affairs, no matter what the cost to others. He still has no loyalty to the Rebellion or to the greater good, and he’s still quick to look after himself and his own affairs rather than the interests of others.

At this point, then, Han is still an egoist, albeit an enlightened one. He cares for others, and so their welfare counts as part of Han’s own self-interest. What they need is part of what he considers when he thinks about what he wants, and so he can then sometimes act for the sake of others. Moreover, Han’s egoism has its limits; we could never imagine Han taking money to assassinate a political leader. With a broadened self-interest, Han is certainly better morally than he seemed when we first met him, but more is needed before he can acknowledge the