Villainy and Philosophy II: The Ends and The Means

by Gabriel Ang

In this day and age, few people have not heard of the saying "The ends justify the means". Popularized by Machiavelli in his book "The Prince", this saying signifies that the the goals of a man are worth the ways in which he uses to achieve them. This concept has been debated much over the last few hundred years as it sometimes go head-to-head with many moral teachings. Undeniably, this belief springs up in many of the major people and events throughout history. People such as Hitler and Napopleon, though they might not have believed it, have proved how man may practise this beleief. This philosophical concept is very much found within RPGs.

The concept of "The ends justify the means" is very much an extension of the questions posed in the first part of this editorial series. The first part asked if great men truly had the right to commit acts deemed by society as illegal and immoral, if the goals are really for the benefit of humanity. If we were to link Machiavelli's philosophy with Dostoevsky's, then a new question follows: Is the end goal, then, truly worth the means of which to achieve it?

Villains in many RPGs, no doubt, claim that their actions are for the benefit of the world. However, many people will question the validity of this due to the fact that the villain"s actions are questionable. In the process of his quest, the villain would undoubtedly cause mayhem and destruction as s/he progresses with his plans. Even with this, the villain still claims it is for the good of the world. The player's would still ask themselves: Is all this mayhem and destruction worth the "saving" that the planet gets at the end? Some would not agree, because many believe that the true road to happiness is not one litttered with dead bodies and the rubble of fallen cities. However, can there truly be a road to happiness without some sacrifices? Is it right for some people and/or things to be sacrificed, if it is for the good of everyone else? Some would argue no, some would argue yes. It is still up to the viewpoint of the player whether sacrifices are needed or not.

But there is one thing many players fail to see: In many occasions, the heroes fall into this philosophy as well.

Most people would never put the heroes in the same category as the villain they are trying to defeat. However in majority of RPGs, the lead characters themselves will be doing the same things the villains do, perhaps in a lighter sense. It is almost undeniable that during the course of the game, the heroes will have their share of killing and property destruction. In that sense, they are almost the same as the villains: People doing questionable acts to achive a goal that is supposed to be for the greater good. Are the heroes, then, no different from villains?

One familiar example of this is the AVALANCHE group in FFVII. At the beginning of the game, the group takes out Mako reactors in an effort to bring down the Shinra company. Surely it is for the sake of the world, but in the process many workers and soldeirs who may be oblivious to the Shinra's destructive ways die in the fighting and destruction. At one point in the game itself a main character points out to ask how many innocent people died in the explosions.

Game writers are clear to point out who the heroes and villains are, but if we were to see how similar their actions and plans are, than doesn't that just blur the line between heroism and villainy. If their philosophies are the same, though perhaps subconscious, then who is the real villain and who are the real heroes?

The biggest argument for this type of thinking is the concept of 'right' and 'wrong'. Most would argue that the heroes are in the 'right' and the villain/s are in the 'wrong'. However, the line between 'right' and 'wrong' is still blurred as heroes between villains are. It still falls down as a subjective belief. Though it may be a common perception that the heroes are right because they're trying to stop murderous villain, chances are in the process they'll be subjecting themselves to acts that are similar to the villain: killing and some desctruction.

In the end, perhaps, it simply becomes a battle of principles.