Virtue at Hogwarts: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Through The Lens of J.K. Rowling's Sorting System
Exploring how Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is reflected and developed through the Sorting System of J.K. Rowling’s magical school of Hogwarts in her Harry Potter series, this paper considers each house and its characteristic virtues individually. Alongside a comparison of a particular virtue as presented in Rowling’s work to Aristotle’s account, each chapter includes a dissection of the students who represent and problematize these accounts. This format allows an exploration of how the literary text converses with an ancient account of moral virtue. The first chapter considers Gryffindor House and its virtue of courage, the first virtue that Aristotle himself considers in the Nicomachean Ethics. The willingness of Gryffindor students to fight and die is placed alongside Peter Pettigrew’s apparent cowardliness in order to consider Aristotle’s various accounts of courage and apparent courage. Ravenclaw’s virtue of intelligence is considered second, and Helena Ravenclaw’s immoral actions are explored in the context of Aristotle’s work on lack of self-restraint. The third chapter sets out the discussion of Aristotle’s elitism next to Slytherin House’s requirement of not only ambition but pure-blood as well. The problematic characters of Horace Slughorn and Regulus Black, within this context, present a positive turn away from the flawed requirements of Slytherin and towards virtue found in complete friendships. The thesis’ final chapter focuses on Hufflepuff House, whose virtues, focussing on inclusion and hard work, are not easily matched with Aristotle. Rowling’s decision not to present a Hufflepuff character who reflects poorly on these virtues presents a more positive account of virtue available to everyone. The full thesis concludes with the recognition that, while Hufflepuff is presented as the most inclusive and well rounded of the houses, it too fails to bring all the virtues together. For the best and fullest moral lives, one must work hard to improve all of one’s virtues, no matter one’s social standing, material goods, or aims for the future. Individual virtue should be used to help improve society as a whole, and failure to see beyond one’s self, as the Harry Potter series shows, leads to destruction.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina