The Arkham Sessions, hosted by Dr. Andrea Letamendi and Brian Ward, is a weekly podcast dedicated to the psychological analysis of pop culture, including Batman: The Animated Series and Doom Patrol. Nostalgic, humorous, and even a little educational, each episode promises to lend some insight into the heroes, villains, and classic stories of the Dark Knight!
The Arkham Sessions, Ep. 140 – “Doom Patrol – Paw Patrol”
Our dark heroes are struggling to save the world, now that the apocalypse they were warned about begins to emerge as a real threat. One by one, people are turning to ash and disappearing. Still determined to protect “the boy” who has caused such mayhem, the team takes on compassionate roles as caregivers and defenders. Rita takes a very personal interest in the young man, while Cyborg, as righteous as ever, refuses to let harm come to him, despite knowing that if he is destroyed, the apocalypse is prevented and all living creatures are safe once again.
In this case, do the needs of the many truly outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)? This consideration is a reflection of utilitarianism, the ethical theory that whether an action is morally wrong or right depends entirely on how beneficial or harmful it is to the greater society. In illustrating our ideas, we discuss the trolley problem, a classic thought experiment about ethical decision-making. Hypothetically, of course, if you could save five people from being killed by a trolley by pulling a lever to reroute the trolley, would you? If that lever directed the trolley onto a side track where it would kill one person, would you still make the same decision? Working out a few outlandish scenarios together, Drea and Brian finally agree on something!
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