Make a reflection paper in line with the different Theories in Ethics.

Describe a situation/scene
where topics on KANTIAN DEONTOLOGICAL Ethics, ARISTOTLE'S VIRTUE ETHICS,
AQUINAS' NATURAL LAW THEORY, AND JOHN RAWLS THEORY OF JUSTICE are
depicted.

Reflection on the movie Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds

The Korean movie entitled Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is all about 3 grim
reapers in need of someone who have lived a good life be able to reincarnate. Then a said good
man had died and these 3 grim reapers are making their best for the man to pass the 7 trials of
afterlife.

The movie tackles the life of someone who is good however also have committed sin in
his life. And based in this, different reflections can be made based on the different views of ethics
by Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, and John Rawls.

Kantian Deontological Ethics (The act itself is good, no matter who did)

The Kantian Deontological Ethics was formulated by Immanuel Kant that revolves
around the duty or obligation of a person. According to Kant, good will is the only true and
indisputable good. In the movie, Kim Ja Hong (the star) was put into trial in the Hell of Murder
for indirect murder of his colleague during a fire.

The colleague of Ja Hong was trapped and cannot get out of the burning building. In the
other side, there is a survivor that needs to be saved. Ja Hong was torn, but in the end saved the
survivor however the colleague died because the building collapse.

In Kant’s ethics, this is considered to be a good will following his obligation or duty as a
firefighter even though a person died. It is moral because he only acted based on his obligation
which is to save a life. Albeit he could have saved his colleague before the collapse however, he
cannot be said immoral without being able to save his colleague because he had to save another
life that is also in need that time.

Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics (everything is good, as long as a person is good)

Kim Ja Hong was called to be a paragon, a model for perfection. He had saved many
lives and poured his life working every single day that the only day off he had was the day he
died. The life of Kim Ja Hong was considered to be virtues in Aristotle’s virtue ethics, a life that
was lived doing good.

Aristotle’s virtue of ethics is about what kind of person a man should be. This embodies
the person’s habit and be able to practice his good behaviors in order to have virtues. It was
shown how he risked every minute of being a firefighter and how he battled the fatigue just to

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 earn. In his duration of earning, he had practice already to do it thus everything he does
constitutes to result of making good. He had the virtue of courage and never was a coward and
reckless in those times he had saved a life. Ja Hong died by jumping to a building to save a little
girl. Even that, he was welcomed and is expected to reincarnate for living a good life.

However, at the almost end of the movie, the reason behind everything he did is the
constant guilt he felt for attempting of killing his mute mother due to poverty. According to
Aristotle, Ja Hong had a reason that is called the “apparent good”. At that time, it was the only
rational solution a young Ja Hong could think to their continuous suffering. To sum it up, we can
never deny that the way Ja Hong as a worker and Ja Hong as a son is of man of virtue. In
general, the life of the star governs to that of definition of virtue ethics of Aristotle.

Aquina’s Natural Law Theory

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Natural Law Theory says that humans have intrinsic values in them
that govern their reasoning and the way they behave. Further, Aquinas believed that everything
has a purpose and that this follows the natural law.

In the Hell of deceit, Ja Hong was put into trial for forging letters and giving them for the
family of the victims that weren’t saved in his missions. In a sense, this is an act of deceitfulness
towards the family of the victims giving them fake emotions and hope.

However, this is said to follow the natural law based on St. Aquinas because Ja Hong has
a reason in doing so. The victims were in grieved in losing a family member. In thinking so, Ja
Hong did it to console the families in that time. The prosecutors point out how the letters results
the families to become broken further. However, they have overlooked the acceptance and at ease
the letters gave to the families. Thus, the act because of reason is said to follow only the intrinsic
value Ja Hong has.

John Rawls Theory of Justice

The theory of John Rawls defines justice as fairness. He positioned that people in the
original position will tolerate inequalities only if … isn’t assigned unfairly (Davies, 2018). That
being said, we can reflect that the whole essence of the movie itself projects justice. Rawl’s
theory can be easily seen on the society, albeit it is difficult to give example from the movie, we
can still reflect using it in this movie.

In the movie, there were people who were waiting for reincarnation, being prioritized for
reincarnation and those that were thrown in different hells. If we see John Rawls theory as
absolute, then we can say that no one from those 3 groups can say that they were convicted

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 unfairly. This is because everyone were given the chance to do things that will pay them back
into the afterlife.

How we lived our life on earth will equate how we will be in the afterlife, thus depicting
justice as fairness. We were never given a situation we can never get out or find solution, so I
believe we aren’t assigned unfairly but we do things that put us into situation that pull us down.
From the movie, we are all in original position, no one is higher than the other so when faced
with trials we can never say that other’s sin is greater than yours. We are judged fairly by how we
act in our situation that’s why others are put into hell and others were given life, depicting the
justice itself.

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