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Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes
Open accessAbstract
The characters Ozymandias and Rorschach from Watchmen seem to represent opposite sides in the debate in philosophical ethics between consequentialists, who believe that the ends sometimes justify the means, and deontologists, who want us not to think in terms of ends and means at all. This chapter shows that the attitude of both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons toward both consequentialism and deontology in Watchmen is profoundly negative. The ultimate target of the comic's critique is authoritarianism, the idea that anyone should set themselves up as a guardian of society. Superheroes serve as the images of power and authority in Watchmen ; the ideologies that the heroes pretend to follow are rationalizations of that power; and the corruption of the superheroes serves as a critique of both power and its rationalizations. Utilitarianism gets its motivation from the basic instinct that pain is bad and pleasure is good.
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TL;DR
This chapter argues that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's *Watchmen* uses its two central antagonists—Ozymandias and Rorschach—to discredit consequentialism and deontology as thin rationalizations for power, with the comic's real target being authoritarianism. Neither character is faithful to the ethical theory he claims: Ozymandias is a parody of utilitarianism, and Rorschach's "deontology" is a mask for fascist thuggery.
Key findings
- Ozymandias presents himself as a consequentialist/utilitarian, but the chapter argues he fails the doctrine's core commitments: utilitarianism is "the least selfish doctrine around," whereas Veidt's scheme serves his own glory ("I did it!"), and he ignores the rights of New Yorkers, whom he uses as mere tools to end the Cold War.
- Rorschach claims deontology ("in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise"), but the chapter identifies three failures: hypocrisy (admiring the Comedian, who attempted to rape the first Silk Spectre, and Truman's Hiroshima/Nagasaki trade-off), dichotomous black-and-white thinking that is not part of Kantian deontology, and failure to respect persons (denying rights such as fair trial).
- The chapter's stated deeper critique comes from Dr. Manhattan, not Veidt: "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends." Because the future is infinite, utilitarian calculation cannot sum consequences—"you can't crunch the numbers when every one of them turns to infinity."
- The ultimate target is authoritarianism: superheroes in *Watchmen* are "images of power and authority," and their ideologies are rationalizations of that power. The most moral characters, the two Nite Owls, are "basically nonideological," and the lesson is that "no one, no matter what his or her ideology, should be entrusted with too much power."
Methods
- Design: a philosophical/textual analysis (a book chapter in *Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture*), not an empirical study.
- Data: close reading of *Watchmen* (with chapter/page citations), Shelley's "Ozymandias," Juvenal's *Satires*, the Tower Commission Report, and works by Bentham, Mill, and Kant.
- Analysis: pairs each character with an ethical theory (Ozymandias–consequentialism/utilitarianism; Rorschach–deontology), tests fidelity to that theory, then reads both as symptoms of the comic's critique of power.
Limitations
- Not stated in the paper: the chapter offers no explicit limitations section.
- Evident from the text: the argument is interpretive rather than empirical, resting on the author's reading of *Watchmen* and of canonical ethical theories; the author himself notes that "Moore and Gibbons don't address these nuances" of utilitarian doctrine, so the critique of utilitarianism is attributed to the author's analysis rather than to the comic's explicit content.
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Claims the paper makes
46 Own interpretation · 3 Sources not found · 1 Own result · 1 No basis given
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Earlier, we said that Veidt's worldview fell short of being moral because he failed to recognize rights, the moral rules that prevent us from sacrificing an individual for the greater good.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“But dichotomous thinking is not at all a part of deontology.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“This shows that his real worldview is simply fascist.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“In each case, Rorschach slips into consequentialist reasoning in order to justify a hypermasculine display of power and violence.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“He did this by using the tools of rule utilitarianism: to make decisions effectively, individuals and societies must adopt rules for themselves.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Mill
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Rorschach, on the other hand, appears to be a deontologist.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“Rorschach likewise fails to recognize the rights we typically grant people -for example, the right to a fair trial.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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A result the paper states — it cites no source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Watchmen depicts an alternate universe in which the Watergate scandal never takes place, a man with superhuman powers allows the United States to win the Vietnam War, and Nixon is now in his sixth term in office, thanks to a new constitutional amendment.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Closer examination, however, reveals that neither character is really true to their stated philosophies.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“According to deontologist Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804), morality begins with the good will.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Immanuel Kant
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Superheroes serve as the images of power and authority in Watchmen.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“Deontology goes beyond saying that the ends never justify the means.It actually says that at least in moral decisions, you shouldn't think in terms of ends and means, or consequences, at all.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“So Ozymandias is a tragic villain, a man whose overwhelming ego and failure to appreciate the dark nature of life led him to think the end can sometimes justify the means.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“One of the most common criticisms of consequentialist doctrines such as utilitarianism is that they are unable to embrace a doctrine of universal human rights.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“But critiquing consequentialism and deontology is not the main goal for Moore and Gibbons.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
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In the paper
“Moore and Gibbons don't address these nuances -as we shall see in the last section of this chapter, they are primarily interested in showing ethical theories as ways of rationalizing power.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“Utilitarianism is built from consequentialism by adding elements, as one adds ingredients to a soup.The first new ingredient is hedonism: the good that one is trying to maximize in the world is happiness.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“Thus, the version of utilitarianism that is appropriately called rule utilitarianism says that one should live by the rules that would maximize happiness for everyone if they were followed consistently.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“It certainly looks as if consequentialism contributed to his corruption by allowing him to rationalize self-serving ends and blinding him to the profound injustice of what he has done.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“The deeper harm that consequentialism seems to have brought, though, is letting Veidt believe that he can force people to sacrifice their well-being -indeed, their lives -for the greater good.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“And in Watchmen, we certainly see the consequences of failing to take the rights of New Yorkers seriously.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“This is a great Veidt moment in a couple of ways: it shows his willingness to make big sacrifices for even bigger ends, and to gamble on probabilities.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“It is important to note that the critique doesn't come from the alleged consequentialist Veidt but from Dr. Manhattan.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“Ozymandias appears to be what philosophers call a consequentialist: he believes that all actions should be judged by their consequences, implying that the ends will sometimes justify the means.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“Utilitarianism has had many critics over the years, and it looks like Moore and Gibbons are among them.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
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In the paper
“But if we keep going with this impulse to objectivity, everything loses its meaning.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“When Veidt destroys New York, he is using the city's inhabitants as tools for ending the Cold War, thus violating their basic rights as persons.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“Rorschach is not only a flat-out hypocrite, but his hypocrisy reveals his real commitments.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
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In the paper
“The problem here isn't just that we can't know the future, but that there is too much of it.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“This is a defect in Ozymandias's worldview.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“So, neither consequentialism nor deontology comes off well in Watchmen.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
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In the paper
“Utilitarianism asks us to look to the future and sum up the consequences of our actions, but the future is infinite, and you can't crunch the numbers when every one of them turns to infinity.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Rests on an assumption: The future is infinite.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As we saw earlier, Rorschach often uses deontology to rationalize his actions.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“If Veidt had been a real utilitarian, he would have recognized this and adopted stricter rules about killing people.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“Unlike other characters -Rorschach or the Comedian -Ozymandias has never really confronted the question of the meaning of life or the possibility that life is meaningless.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“The ultimate target of the comic's critique is authoritarianism, the idea that anyone should set himself or herself up as a guardian of society.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“But he never questions the nature of evil and good itself.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
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In the paper
“Ultimately, this is all intended as a warning about how a free society can collapse into authoritarianism, something Moore had previously depicted in V for Vendetta.18”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [18]
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In the paper
“The ideologies that the heroes pretend to follow are rationalizations of that power”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
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In the paper
“Veidt thus fails to consider basic justice or fairness.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“and the corruption of the superheroes serves as a critique of both power and its rationalizations.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > Abstract
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
A statement the paper makes itself — it cites no source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The version of utilitarianism called virtue utilitarianism asks you to develop the personal characteristics that are likely to maximize happiness for all if you really made them a part of you.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian, nothing ever ends."
plainstates a possible cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The characters use the ideas as thin rationalizations for corrupt behavior, and, at least in the case of utilitarianism, the ideas themselves are shown to be flawed.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Dr. Manhattan's warning is borne out four pages later, when we see Seymour, the inept assistant at the New Frontiersman, reaching toward Rorschach's journal looking for something to fill up space in the next issue.If he grabs it, Veidt's scheme could be ruined, and all that suffering would be for nothing.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > The Utilitarians Strike Back
hedgedstates a possible cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“But Rorschach is not a hero, and his deontology is not Kant's.It is a shadow of deontology that is used to rationalize fascist thuggery.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The biggest reason Rorschach is not a real deontologist is that he fails to show respect for persons.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The real lesson behind the entire comic is that no one, no matter what his or her ideology, should be entrusted with too much power.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Rorschach and Ozymandias are important because we see in them that anyone can be corrupted.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Consequentialism and deontology are merely further rationalizations of these ruling ideologies.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Leftist or rightist political views are really of little consequence, because they are merely ways that the powerful rationalize what they are doing.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Notice also that the most moral characters in the comic, the two Nite Owls, are basically nonideological.”
§ Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes > "Who watches the watchmen?"
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
The paper relies on this without support.
The future is infinite.
“the future is infinite”
The paper relies on this without support.
Pain is bad and pleasure is good.
“Utilitarianism gets its motivation from the basic instinct that pain is bad and pleasure is good.”
Citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Watchmen: critical criminology and biopolitical semantics
Koros, D. (2022) · Journal of Graphic Novels & Comics · doi:10.1080/21504857.2022.2128843 · Cited by 1
Ramírez, M. A. (2019) · Ética & cine/Ética & cine · doi:10.31056/2250.5415.v9.n2.25087
Metadata
- Authors
- Loftis, J. R.
- Corresponding author
- Loftis, J. Robert
- Venue
- Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2022-03-04
- Pages
- 183-190
- OpenAlex
- W4391624956
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2022: 1
- Type
- other
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- philarchive.org
- Locations
- PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Visual Arts and Performing Arts › Comics and Graphic Narratives
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Ethics, Aesthetics, and Art
- Keywords
- Watchmen, consequentialism, deontology, means and ends, superheroes, authoritarianism, power and authority, utilitarianism, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, critique of power
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-23, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-23 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
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