Twilight and Philosophy

Edward’s gifts place him in a unique position. While most vampires at least fear that being discovered could force them to leave an area, Edward’s mind-reading abilities allow him to do whatever he wishes with near impunity. Edward describes some of the advantages that mind reading allows: “I knew how to be charming when I wanted to be. It was easy, since I was able to know instantly how any tone or gesture was taken.”² Knowing someone’s thoughts gives access to the most useful and privileged kinds of information. Such information can enable all sorts of manipulation, deception, and other morally troubling activities. With his gift, Edward could do just about anything.

Along similar lines, the great philosopher Plato (428-348 BCE) wrote about the moral implications of possessing supernatural powers so great that they allow one to do absolutely anything. Plato claimed that such powers reveal one’s “truest self.” In Plato’s story of the Ring of Gyges, a magic ring grants the power of invisibility, which would enable a person to do whatever he wishes without fearing consequences from being caught. Such abilities provide an ultimate test of character.

Plato rejected the idea that, as we might say today, “power corrupts.” Instead he believed that power reveals a person’s true character. While an unjust person would do evil, a truly just person would continue to do good despite the temptations of the ring. Like the ring of Gyges, Edward’s mind-reading ability combined with his other powers enables him to do virtually whatever he wants. Not only can Edward kill or overpower others, but his mind-reading would enable him to conceal his actions, know others’ secrets, and know if others even suspect him. His ability provides a test of character similar to the test provided by the Ring of Gyges.

Carlisle Cullen is quite aware of the moral implications of supernatural gifts. He speaks with moral clarity concerning the ethical implications of his own vampiric powers. Explaining his own attitude toward his abilities, he says, “Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given.”⁴ Serving as the “voice of morality” in the Twilight novels, Carlisle identifies a person’s overarching goals as the central ethical question.

Accordingly, the first ethical question we should ask concerning mind reading focuses upon the overarching purposes Edward pursues with his gift. What distinguishes moral goals from immoral pursuits? One common principle claims that ethical actions are those intended to help others. Rather than focusing on our own happiness, the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) argued, we have a central moral duty to seek the happiness of others: “When it comes to my promoting happiness as an end that is also a duty, this must therefore be the happiness of other human beings.”⁵ The common preoccupation with one’s own happiness is a frequent source of moral failure. Kant described the condition of a person who fully embraces the pursuit of his own desires over the demands of morality as one of “radical evil.”

While Kant believed that morality requires that people pursue the happiness of others, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) went even further by making the morality of actions depend completely on the effects they have on people’s happiness. If he is correct, then the morality of mind reading rests solely on the consequences it has on the happiness of everyone it affects. As he explained his central moral principle, “[The] ‘greatest happiness principle’ holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.”⁶ Mill viewed the morality of actions as entirely contingent on their effects on the lives they touch. Actions that advance the happiness of all are moral, while actions that undermine overall happiness are immoral.

Isabella Swan expresses a moral principle similar to Kant’s and Mill’s. She doesn’t care whether her friends are vampires, werewolves, or humans, but she is greatly concerned about the effects their actions have on other people. For example, she assures her werewolf friend Jacob Black that she is not bothered by his shape-shifting; she is only concerned when his actions harm other people. As she explains, “No, Jake, no. It’s not that you’re a . . . wolf. That’s fine. . . . If you could just find a way not to hurt people . . . that’s all that upsets me.”⁷ Bella repeatedly demonstrates that she is undisturbed by her friends’ powers whether they be strength, shape-shifting, or mind reading, but she is concerned when those abilities are used to harm others.

How benevolent is Edward’s use of mind reading? Does he use it to advance everyone’s happiness or only his own? In many cases, Edward clearly demonstrates benevolence toward others. Even before he abandoned the traditional vampire diet of human blood, he used mind reading to ensure that he harmed only truly evil humans and thereby advanced the overall good. He explains, “Because I knew the thoughts of my prey, I could pass over the innocent and pursue only the evil. If I followed a murderer down a dark alley where he stalked a young girl—if I saved her, then surely I wasn’t so terrible. . . . But as time went on, I began to see the monster in my eyes. I couldn’t escape the debt of so much human life taken, no matter how justified.”⁸ While Edward once saw some merit in directing his monstrous appetite toward violent criminals and thereby contributing to the overall happiness of society, he ultimately admits that taking a human life is inherently a serious matter and vigilante justice is morally dubious at best—especially when one desires to feed off the blood of the guilty. Such actions are hardly those of a morally ideal person.

Edward admirably uses his gifts to benefit his family, Bella, and others close to him, while hiding his vampiric identity for his family’s sake. He uses his mind reading to protect Bella from potential rapists in Port Angeles, to protect her from hostile vampires like James and the Volturi, and to protect Bella’s father, Charlie. Edward also uses his abilities to help protect other students from his brother Jasper Cullen’s limited self-control. While Edward aids those close to him, however, morality requires more than benevolent concern for only close friends and family. Both Kant and Mill emphasized that we have moral obligations toward everyone, not just friends and family. So Edward’s benevolence should extend to everyone in Forks and beyond. Instead, though, he regularly uses his abilities in manipulative ways with little care for how he affects others. For example, he frequently reads Charlie’s mind in order to deceive him about aspects of his relationship with Bella, such as his frequent midnight visits to her room.

Unlike Carlisle, who actively serves others in Forks as a doctor, Edward does not seek to benefit others in general, but only those closest to him. He is content to focus his benevolence exclusively on his friends and family. His broader indifference toward others is morally troubling, though surely preferable to the predatory attitude that most vampires have toward humans.

While the benevolence of one’s actions is an important moral test, there are additional principles to consider when examining the morality of mind reading. One important principle is the need to respect the autonomy and privacy of others.¹⁰ Consider Charlie’s violation of Bella’s privacy as he opens her package from the University of Alaska Southeast.¹¹ Bella describes her negative reaction: “I flipped the envelope over and then glared up at him. ‘It’s open . . . I’m shocked, Sheriff. That’s a federal crime.’” Why is she so offended? The problem is not that Charlie’s motives are malicious. After all, he is driven by a genuine concern for Bella’s welfare and even wants to pay her college tuition. Yet, the casual violation of her privacy demonstrates disrespect for Bella’s autonomy. Mere curiosity is an insufficient reason for such an invasion of privacy, even with the best of intentions.

Yet, there are circumstances where someone might have an overriding moral justification for violating a moral principle. For example, Alice Cullen and Bella are morally justified in committing grand theft auto in order to save Edward’s life in Italy. Similarly, sometimes an invasion of privacy can be morally justified. Charlie might have reasons of overwhelming importance that would justify an invasion of privacy. Suppose that he reads Bella’s diary, not because he’s worried about her in some vague sense, but because she is missing and he believes that reading her diary might help him find her. Such an overwhelming need for the information, combined with genuine benevolent concern for Bella, would justify an invasion of privacy.

What is so harmful about lack of privacy? Privacy and autonomy are directly connected to human well-being. Our secrets are among our most treasured possessions. Consider Bella’s feelings of betrayal when Jacob reveals her motorcycling to Charlie. She explains, “The sting of betrayal washed through me. I had trusted Jacob implicitly—trusted him with every single secret I had.”¹² Intimate knowledge of our selves, including our secrets, is like a kind of property to which others are not usually entitled. Accessing secrets or revealing them to others without an adequate reason is a kind of theft or betrayal.

Furthermore, it is simply embarrassing to have every thought involuntarily subject to the scrutiny of others. For example, Jacob shares some of the everyday pain caused by his telepathic link with the other werewolves. He explains that “we can hear . . . thoughts—each other’s anyway—no matter how far away from each other we are. . . . It’s embarrassing having no secrets like that.”¹³ Such harms are morally significant. The use of mind reading, then, needs an overriding moral justification.

One way to avoid a morally unacceptable invasion of privacy is to get consent before mind reading. For example, Aro asks permission before he attempts to read Bella’s mind.¹⁴ Yet, his “request” is not genuine because Bella has no real opportunity to reject his request. As she says, “My eyes flashed up to Edward’s face in terror. Despite Aro’s overt politeness, I didn’t believe I really had a choice.”¹⁵ Aro’s example demonstrates that “going through the motions” of asking permission is not enough to get real consent. Consent requires a genuine opportunity to reject such a request.

Moral mind reading requires both benevolent goals and either the genuine consent of the people whose minds are read or an overriding concern of very serious importance. Self-interest or curiosity is a morally inadequate justification for such an extreme invasion of privacy. These standards are easy for the mind reader to violate, however, since there is much one could gain from immoral mind reading and little danger of getting caught.

Does Edward limit his mind reading appropriately or does he ignore the boundaries of privacy? Edward claims that he typically avoids reading other people’s minds. He tells Bella, “ ‘Most of the time, I tune it all out—it can be very distracting. And then it’s easier to seem normal ’—he frowned as he said the word—‘when I’m not answering someone’s thoughts rather than their words.’”¹⁶ While it is praiseworthy that Edward does not constantly use his abilities out of mere curiosity, his reasons are fairly self-interested. He is motivated by the personal inconveniences that come from mind reading rather than a concern for others’ privacy. Edward himself admits, “Only four voices did I block out of courtesy rather than distaste: my family. . . . I gave them what privacy I could. I tried not to listen if I could help it.”¹⁷ As with most of his other benevolent actions, Edward respects the privacy of his close friends and family as a matter of principle, but is indifferent toward other people more generally.

Furthermore, there are plenty of times when Edward is willing to violate others’ privacy. For example, although he cannot read Bella’s mind, he actively spies on her, even in her sleep.¹⁸ He reads her friends’ minds simply to keep track of her;¹⁹ he reads her friends’ minds to see if she keeps her promise not to tell anyone about his unusual speed and strength; he seems to have used his ability to confirm Mike Newton’s negative feelings about him; and he desires to read Bella’s thoughts for his own comfort.²⁰ Of course, some of these invasions of privacy are justifiable. He keeps track of Bella in Port Angeles to protect her, and it enables him to save her life.²¹ His mind reading allows him to anticipate Jasper’s reflexive attack on Bella when he smells her blood.²² He reads the minds of the Volturi in order to protect the lives of Alice, Bella, and himself.²³ But some of his mind reading is not ultimately justifiable.

Let’s raise one final consideration concerning Edward’s mind reading. Unlike many invasions of privacy, such as reading another person’s diary, mind reading isn’t completely voluntary. As with any other sense, Edward can try to avoid using it or ignore it, but he cannot simply turn it off. This fact is important because only voluntary actions have moral implications. For example, Kant famously claimed that “ought implies can.”²⁴ Any genuine moral obligation must be within a person’s ability to carry out. Similarly, Aristotle acknowledged that choice “is felt to be very closely related to moral goodness, and to be a better test of character than actions are.”²⁵ Aristotle believed that actions that are not truly chosen are not a good test of character. Therefore, to the degree that Edward’s mind reading is involuntary, he cannot be obligated to avoid using it. While this factor mitigates some of his responsibility, it is clear that there are many times when his invasion of others’ privacy is both deliberate and unjustified.

Edward’s relationship with Bella is largely shaped by his inability to read her mind, allowing for a greater equality between them. While Bella is still “merely human” throughout much of their relationship, the inequality between them is not as great as it would have been if he constantly invaded her privacy through mind reading. Furthermore, love is strengthened by an element of mystery, and much of Bella’s mystery would be lost through mind reading.

Similarly, Aristotle claimed that the best relationships require a type of equality and that radical inequalities undermine relationships. “This becomes evident if a wide gap develops between the parties in respect of virtue or vice, or of affluence or anything else; because they no longer remain friends, and do not even expect to do so.”²⁷ Accordingly, Bella is aware that vast inequalities within a relationship create obstacles that are difficult to overcome. She describes the nature of her love for Edward and the tension between her appreciation of his best qualities and the challenge created by the inequalities, saying, “I love him. Not because he’s beautiful or because he’s rich. . . . I’d much rather he weren’t either one. It would even out the gap between us just a little bit—because he’d still be the most loving and unselfish and brilliant and decent person I’ve ever met.”²⁸

Bella echoes two Aristotelian themes. First, that the best types of relationships are founded upon the mutual appreciation of shared virtue. Bella’s love is based on her admiration of Edward’s character, not his wealth or beauty. Second, she recognizes that inequalities in a relationship can create a “gap” that can be difficult to overcome. Since Edward’s money and beauty are additional sources of inequality in their relationship, Bella views them as obstacles for their relationship, rather than the source of her love. If Edward could read her mind and further add to the inequalities in the relationship, his ability would create an even more serious distance between them. Bella’s immunity to mind reading makes her more equal to him and therefore a better candidate for the best kind of relationship.

An overarching religious motif runs throughout the Twilight series, beginning on the page before the start of the first book, as it cites the warning of Genesis 2:17: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

What is it about religious faith that drives some of the most admirable people in their actions? Obviously, there is a kind of religious faith that is destructive and immoral, as exemplified by Carlisle’s father, who was driven to violence by his imbalanced faith. Yet, despite the negative aspects of his religious upbringing, Carlisle’s rejection of the typical vampire lifestyle and desire for moral enlightenment are ultimately driven by his faith in God.³⁰

Similarly, religious faith plays an important role in the moral lives of many people. Kant went so far as to suggest that faith in the existence of God, the soul, and the afterlife were prerequisites for a successful moral life. He claimed that the successful moral life requires that one must believe in the possibility of “happiness proportioned to [one’s degree of virtue] . . . it must lead to the supposition of the existence of a cause adequate to this effect; in other words, it must postulate the existence of God.”³¹ Kant claimed that rationality itself demands that humanity pursue the greatest good, which includes happiness distributed throughout the world in proportion to moral worth. Yet, he argued that pursuing the greatest good requires believing that the greatest good is really possible. Therefore, the successful moral life demands belief in the existence of everything necessary for accomplishing the greatest good, such as God. Kant concluded that “it is not merely allowable, but is a necessity connected with duty as a requisite. . . . [I]t is morally necessary to assume the existence of God.”³²

Although Edward seems to reject Carlisle’s faith, some of his actions suggest that his rejection is halfhearted. Most notably, his repeated refusal to transform Bella into a vampire is driven by a concern that doing so would destroy her soul.³³ Similarly, when he sees Bella after he thinks she has died, he responds with a religious interpretation when he says in surprise, “Carlisle was right.”³⁴ While Edward’s use of mind reading and his other vampiric powers falls short of ideal, he repeatedly demonstrates a desire to overcome his own violent nature and to help those close to himself. Perhaps it is this latent faith that helps him exercise restraint with mind reading and his other vampiric abilities.

Does Power Corrupt or Reveal Moral Character?

Benevolence and Mind Reading

Privacy and Mind Reading

Love and the Inequality of Mind Reading

God and Morality

One Last Thought before Dawn

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