This document outlines a presentation on the concept of morality. It discusses morality in the context of the book "Horus Rising" and the real-life example of Lieutenant William Calley and the My Lai massacre. It explores the tensions between individual responsibility, organizational responsibility, and state responsibility for moral actions. While Calley claimed to just be following orders, principles of international law state that individuals cannot use following orders as an excuse and are still responsible for their actions. The document aims to analyze how examples from fiction and reality can influence understandings of morality.

1. The Dark Side of English
Pinni B4078
Friday 11 December 2015
31/03/2016

2. Presentation structure
1. Objective of this presentation
2. Definition of morality
3. Concept of Morality in Horus Rising:
The seeds of heresy are sown
4. Example from Horus Rising
5. Real life example
6. Organisational responsibility vs. individual
responsibility
7. Moral accountability
8. References
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3. Objective of this presentation
What is your current perception of morality?
Consider throughout this presentation how
the comparison between events in the text,
Horus Rising and real life examples affect your
understanding of morality.
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4. Definition of morality
For the purpose of this presentation, morality
will be defined as a set of principles that
discern between the perception of right and
wrong or good and bad behaviour.
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5. Concept of Morality in Horus Rising:
The seeds of heresy are sown
The protagonists of the text are super human
warriors, known as Astartes.
The Astartes roam the galaxy conquering all
human settlements they come across and
amalgamating them into their empire.
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6. Example from Horus Rising
You are a weapon Garviel, an example of the finest
instrument of destruction mankind has ever wrought. There
must be no place inside you for doubt or question. You’re
right. Weapons should not think, they should only allow
themselves to be employed, for the decision to use them is
not theirs to make (Abnett 2006, 64–5).
Does this extract alter your perception of
morality in anyway? If so, how?
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7. Real life example
The following is a court transcript of William Calley and the jury on February 23, 1971:
Q: What were the nature of the -- what were you informed was the principles involved
in that field?
A: That all orders were to be assumed legal, that the soldier's job was to carry out any
order given him to the best of his ability.
Q: Did you tell your doctor or inform him anything about what might occur if you
disobeyed an order by a senior officer?
A: You could be court-martialed for refusing an order and refusing an order in the face
of the enemy, you could be sent to death, sir.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/myl_Calltest.html
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8. Organisational responsibility vs.
individual responsibility
Calley claimed that his orders were to be deemed legal and
also that he would be punished for disobeying orders.
Principle IV of the Nüremberg Law states that:
The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his
Government or of a superior does not relieve him from
responsibility under international law, provided a moral
choice was in fact possible to him.
It is clear that Calley attempted to shift the blame onto
the military structure and chain of command. According to
the principle above, Calley’s actions do not absolve him of
personal responsibility and he was sentenced to life
imprisonment.
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9. What happened next?
QUESTION: Do you agree or disagree with the decision of the military court which found (Lt.
William) Calley guilty (in connection with the My Lai incident) and gave him a life sentence?
Agree 7%
Disagree 78%
No opinion 15%
From a telephone survey of 1,090 adults from across the United States conducted for President
Nixon on April 1, 1971.
QUESTION: Do you think President Nixon should free Lt. William Calley, substantially reduce his
sentence, or uphold his life imprisonment sentence (in connection with the My Lai incident)?
Free Lt. William Calley 51%
Substantially reduce his sentence 28%
Uphold his life imprisonment sentence 9%
No opinion 12%
From a telephone survey of 973 adults from across the United States conducted by Opinion
Reasearch Corporation for President Nixon on April 5-6, 1971.
A day after Calley was sentenced, President Richard Nixon had his sentence reduced to house
arrest. After serving only 3 and a half years, Calley was issued with a limited presidential pardon.
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10. Moral accountability
Individual responsibility
- The individual is responsible for their actions.
Organisational responsibility
-Individuals work within a chain of command where they are responsible both up the chain to their
superiors, including their civilian commanders, and down the chain to their subordinates.
State responsibility
- States may bear direct responsibility for intentional atrocity or the state may bear indirect moral
responsibility as bystander to atrocity.
Political/public responsibility
- At the political or public level, collective moral responsibility depends on the
public having certain roles and obligations in democratic states. At this level, the
citizens who pay taxes and otherwise consent to or perhaps even demand war are
morally responsible for atrocities because it is their role in a democracy to prevent
those atrocities, or at least try to halt them.
Has your perception of morality undergone any changes? If so, how?
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11. References
Abnett, Dan. 2006 Horus Rising: the seeds of Heresy are sown. Nottingham: Black
Library.
Crawford, Neta C. 2007. “Individual and Collective Moral Responsibility for
Systemic Military Atrocity”. The Journal of Political Philosophy 15, 2: 187–212.
International Law Commission, 1950. Principles of International Law Recognized in
the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, 1950.
Linder, Douglas. 1999. My Lai: An Account. [Internet]. Available from
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/Myl_intro.html [Accessed 4
October 2015]
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