His first encounter with a manga was Naruto. The professor admits in his new book, Manga Philo, the ninja allowed him to question questions relating to morality, ethics, epistemology and justice. The Japanese comic book enthusiast is convinced: manga can be a fun gateway to understanding philosophy.
Even if they should not be cited in essays in favor of references like Plato, they allow students to understand and integrate complex concepts. Happiness, morality, religion… This year, the final year students will be questioned on one of the 17 concepts on the program. Gatsu Sensei was asked to decipher and analyze that of justice with his favorite heroes.
Death Note and the opposition of two justices
For the professor, L and Light represent the radical opposition of two concepts: a supersensible and ideal justice, against a human and institutional justice. “Light has a biased view of the world”, explains Gatsu Sensei. Considered the most intelligent student in Japan, he has great analytical skills and realizes that “this world is rotten”because many criminals go unpunished, causing great injustice to the victims.
“When he finds the Death Note, he sees it as a means to achieve an end that affects all of humanity, namely: reestablishing greater justice on Earth through this notebook which can be compared to a form of punishment divine. » Indeed, when Light writes the name of a person in these pages, the latter dies. “The concept that it embodies is therefore that of a supersensible justice. It belongs to an ideal world, it is not concrete, and would be perfect. » Light could therefore be considered a Platonist, because “he thinks that this justice must be a model for those which are applied in society, and that men must become intransigent towards evil”.
Conversely, L is the representative of institutional and human justice. He did not steal his status as “greatest detective in the world” and understands very quickly that a natural person thinks he is a god and kills all these people, one way or another. “He believes in the power of human justice, despite the fact that it seems imperfect, with its institutions, its courts, its judges and its police officers. »
Death Note therefore presents us with two models of justice: one which aims to be perfect, which dominates the world, which men cannot understand, but must follow a metaphysical justice and a justice of the human world which is accessible to men and which can re-establish a more great justice by the power of its institutions, by judging the one who considers himself a supersensible judge.
One Piece and the relativity of human justice
Gatsu Sensei claims it: “ One Piece is a political work. » Indeed, the reader follows pirates, therefore outlaws, who oppose the Navy, the main military force of the World Government. The question of justice is therefore central, both in the manga and in the anime, particularly when the characters arrive on a new island – which is governed by its own laws. “Among the whole gallery of protagonists, Doflamingo is particularly interesting. Unlike the heroes of Death Note, he thinks that justice does not exist. »
As a reminder, Don Quijote Doflamingo is a celestial dragon, a kind of aristocrat. “He was part of a nobility who ruled the world, before his father decided to return with the “lower people”. He knows how the world works and who pulls the strings. » He therefore chose to become a great corsair, a pirate in the pay of the government. In exchange for his immunity, he can only plunder other pirate ships and must pay a small part of his loot to the powerful.
And when we ask him if what he does is just, he responds by evoking the relativity of justice. For him, it does not exist. “A child who has always known war and famine will have a totally different concept of justice than a child who has lived with a golden spoon in his mouth. They cannot understand each other. Justice is therefore relative, in the sense that it depends on each person’s experience. A decision that is fair to one will be fundamentally unfair to the other. »
For the privateer, justice belongs only to the victor and is always linked to the personal interests of each person. Just like Light, he denounces the fact that the idea of justice does not exist, that L’s human justice is not a unified justice for all humanity. “Doflamingo is aware that power games are changing and that the notion of justice is being redefined by the strongest. »
The three things to remember
A caring and passionate teacher, Gatsu Sensei is not stingy with advice. His first suggestion is to put oneself in the place of a philosopher, whose work “often comes down to distinguishing two concepts”. We must therefore be able to distinguish between the concepts of equality and equity, but also of ideal and institutional justice.
Second recommendation: question the figure of the legalist, who is a person who considers that the law is always just. “The notion of law is no longer on the program, but it is still intrinsically linked to that of justice and that can make an interesting subject. » In One Piecea legalist would say that the Navy is always within its rights and that we should never go against what it says, even if its decision seems unfair.
“It can lead to abuses, as we saw in history with the Eichmann trial. He claimed that he had only followed orders, that he was very good at his job and that he was asked to do so. However, he knew it was deeply unfair. » Notice to future high school graduates: distinguish between legality and justice.
“Which brings us to an interesting figure: that of the Rebellious Man. » In One Piecethe latter is represented by Kobby, who revolts against the justice of the Navy, because he considers that his actions have become unjust. “We cannot say what justice is, but we can say what it is not. When we see men killing each other for personal interests, we know it is unfair. »
An element found in The Stranger by Albert Camus, who lets us understand that sacrifice is the only act that proves that a person is fighting for a concept of justice that goes beyond their personal interests. “When you sacrifice yourself, you have no personal interest. It is not a justice driven by interests, but by the desire to achieve a greater form of justice that affects humanity. »
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This revision sheet is the start of a series of articles which will allow you to approach the philosophy baccalaureate more calmly. The next episodes will focus on the notion of morality, happiness, but also Gatsu Sensei’s advice to shine during the test.
