Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 01:45:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michal Klincewicz <michal-AT-priest.com>
Subject: dilemmas and pale criminals and all that


how about this for an interpretation...
The choice that the prisoner faces in that particular situation is not
whether to act altruistically or egotistically and choose the most
reasonable outcome.  The real problem is whether the prisoner is going to
submit to the herd morality of self-pity that rewards fear and weakness. 
The weakling would submit and confess, thus going against all notions of
integrity and self-respect.  The Nietzschean would, on the other hand, act
like a free spirit.  Without reference to any moral or ‘altruistic’
principles, he would act selflessly—but only because the ideal human being
would not have such vulgar inclinations as self-interest.  An acceptable
line of reasoning from the perspective of Nietzschean ethics would run
something like this: “Whether the other prisoner confesses or not does not
matter.  If I am going to determine what I do with myself on account of what
the other prisoner does or because I am afraid of prison, then I am not
acting of my will.  My will is of utmost importance.  The only reason why
life is at all meaningful is the fact that I can assert my will and my “will
to power.”  Refusing to betray the other is an act of my will and it is a
decision that has repercussions on my spirit.  Why should I care whether I
spend time in jail?  As long as I am true to my principles I am rising above
the herd.  The real issue is whether I will choose on my own or whether I
will submit to the construction of the dilemma.  Whether I will loose myself
in the petty machinations of the interrogation and statistics.  Should I lie
down at its feet while I calculate on my abacus the good and the evil beads
one onto the other?  No!  My decision is determined by my will to power and
my master morality.  I will do what my will dictates and not what my reason
suggests.”  If the prisoner reasons this way, then the decision is
determined egoistically—without any concern for the other—but the resulting
action is identical to an altruistically motivated one.


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