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An encyclopedic website based on ABC TV show LOST
 
Category: Island Triage
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The Greater Good
The Greater Good (Utilitarianism)
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Utilitarianism (from the Latin utilis, useful) is a theory of ethics based on quantitative maximization of some good for society or humanity . . . This good is often happiness or pleasure, though some utilitarian theories might seek to produce other consequences or theories of the good. Utilitarianism is sometimes summarized as "The greatest happiness for the greatest number. . .
Utilitarianism was originally proposed in 18th century England by Jeremy Bentham and others, although it can be traced back to ancient Greek philosophers such as Parmenides . . . From the principle of utility, [Bentham] found pain and pleasure to be the only absolutes in the world: "nature has put man under the governance of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain." From this he derived the rule of utility: that the good is whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people . . .
John Stuart Mill wrote a famous (and short) book called Utilitarianism. Mill differs from many current utilitarians in that he considered cultural and spiritual happiness to be of greater value than mere physical pleasure.
From Wikipedia |
Relevance to LOST:
"The Greater Good" is the title of the 21st episode of LOST. In this Sayid-centric episode, Sayid is pressured into infiltrating a terrorist cell to find the whereabouts of his former love, Nadia. He is chosen for this mission because a former friend of his, Essam, is part of that cell. Essam expresses doubts about a future terrorist act which he was recruited to perpetrate, stating that innocent people will lose their lives. Sayid, knowing that Nadia's safety is in jeopardy unless his friend is caught in the act, tries to persuade him to go through with it, stating, "It's true, innocent lives will be lost -- in service of a greater good." While trying to convince Essam the 'greater good' would be to go through with the plan, he is actually working toward his own idea of a greater good -- exposing the terrorists for the safety of Nadia.
The idea of the greater good in this episode is paralleled in the storyline on the island between Sayid and Locke. While Sayid forces him to show where the plane is that caused Boone's death, Locke admits that HE was the one that hit Sayid over the head just before he found the location of the transmission. Locke's justification for this otherwise unreasonable act, was that he was serving a greater good:
Locke: I did what was in everyone's best interest.
Sayid: You ruined my chance to find the source.
Locke: The source of a distress call that kept saying they're dead, it killed them all, over and over? Is that a place you really want to lead people to?
Locke later claims the same defense in his secrecy about the hatch.
"I know I have been hard on you, but that is how you make a soft metal into steel. That is why you are the most gifted young surgeon in this city. And this, this is a career that is all about the greater good. I've had to sacrifice certain aspects of my relationship with you so that hundreds and thousands of patients will live because of your extraordinary skills. I know it's a long time coming. What happened yesterday, I promise you, will never happen again. And after all, what I've given -- this is not just about my career, Jack. It's my life."
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