The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy_ I Link Therefore I Am - Luke Cuddy [103]
An outsider wouldn’t know your true intentions and could therefore assume that you may not be acting with a good will, because you aren’t acting from a sense of duty. Instead, you’re acting from self interest. For Kant, a good will can never be construed as a bad thing. This means that although we haven’t seen it yet in the hands of Link and Zelda, they could use the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom just as negatively as Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power. Because courage, wisdom, and power could all be used for good or bad purposes, they are neutral.
We shouldn’t take this idea lightly. I by no means want to give the impression that this concept is simple. On the contrary, this is sometimes considered the beginning point of thought for the ethics of a brilliant philosopher. What exactly does it mean to have a good will anyway? For Kant, it means that we act from a sense of duty. We should act from a sense of duty so that we are sure that we are being moral. We should do it for its own sake, not for anything else. Link never rescues Zelda because he wants a reward. Zelda doesn’t lead Hyrule with grace and wisdom because she wants recognition. Instead, they act from a sense of duty and are following their good will. As a result, Kant’s concept of the good will gives us conclusive evidence that all three pieces of the Triforce are neutral and as a result, equal.
The Ring of Gyges
Now that we’ve established that power is equal and neutral with respect to courage and wisdom, it would be a rewarding venture to ask whether or not power should have been replaced with another quality. After all, Ganondorf has effectively turned Hyrule into a dark civilization on more than one occasion and even led to its flooding under the Great Sea. So, why did Din not choose to leave behind something else to nurture Hyrule? Why not love, patience, faith, ambition, or any number of other qualities? Perhaps with a look at a part of ancient philosophy, we may be able to see that power isn’t nearly as bad as Ganondorf makes it seem.
In Book II of Plato’s Republic, we find the legend of the “Ring of Gyges.” The ring in this myth is very similar to the one ring from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. The ring makes its wearer invisible and the effect is corruption of the soul. The story begins with Gyges finding the ring in a cave and realizing that while he wears the ring and becomes invisible, he can do anything and get away with it. He takes this opportunity to seduce the queen, kill the king, and rule the kingdom of Lydia.
With this story, Plato makes us question whether power will eventually corrupt any soul. More importantly, why should we be just? There are two fundamental responses for why people should be just. First, people should be just only because they are afraid of punishment and second, people should be just because it is good for its own sake. So, does power corrupt and absolute power corrupt absolutely, as the saying goes? If the answer is yes, then power does have a separate place from courage and wisdom in the Triforce. If it corrupts any heart, then Ganondorf never had a chance against resisting the Triforce of Power and we shouldn’t hate him, but pity him for not having a choice in the matter.
The truth, though, is that Ganondorf did have a choice. He chose to steal the Triforce to rid the desert of the harsh winds hurting his people, the Gerudo. It was this choice to lust after power that affected the Triforce in the way that it did, not the idea that power was somehow different than courage and wisdom. The goddesses created the parts equal and, as such, have a neutral status.
The story of Gyges can also tell us more about Ganondorf—namely, what happened to him as a result of taking the Triforce of Power. In this part of the dialogue, Plato uses Glaucon and Adiemantus