If someone intentionally carries out a horrendous deed in an attempt to create a beneficial result, does that make it right? It's one of those questions that people have pondered over for ages. Some say that it would depend on what the action and result were, though others would argue the means can not simply be forgotten because of the way things happened to turn out. If the goal was the ultimate good imaginable, would it matter what was done to obtain it? This question is deeply examined in the manga, Death Note, which is written by Tsugumi Ohba, and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

The character of Light Yagami tries to create a perfect world free from crime by cleansing the world of evil. He plans to use the Death Note, a book owned by a god of death, to murder criminals and other people he deems as evil by writing their names into the Death Note. Light might have had good intentions, especially at first, but a utopian society founded on homicide is unattainable. Regardless of the good that he intended to do, the unthinkable acts that Light commits eradicate the possibility of a perfect world, or any positive outcome for that matter. In other words, it is impossible to meet a noble end by employing such horrific means.

Light's actions are considered immoral by the standards of deontological ethics, namely Kantian ethics. Immanuel Kant believed that a person's duty was central to morality, and was more important than simply cultivating pleasure. Kant's main idea was his 'Categorical Imperative,' which states: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." ¹ In layman's terms, Kant is saying you should only do something if you would want everybody else to start doing it too. More accurately, you should not act on a general rule (maxim) you would not want everyone else to follow as if it were a law of nature (universal law).The Categorical Imperative can be employed with ease to prove that Light's conduct is deplorable.

If everybody acted on the general rule that Light is acting on, (If someone judges a person as evil, it is all right to kill that person) the world would not be able to function for very long, and even if it did last, it is exceedingly unlikely that someone could ever want to live in such a world. If everyone acted on the maxim stated above, then all the people would start killing each other and the world would become a bloodbath. People would start killing others that they considered to be evil, and then others still would kill the previously mentioned murderers, since most people believe murder to be wrong. It would proceed in this fashion, until no one was left alive.

The problem with human judgement is that a person may not know all the facts. If someone deems a person to be evil, but that person was framed or the information was false or otherwise incomplete, then an innocent person would be killed, simply because he was incorrectly deemed evil by someone else. Since it is inconceivable to will the world to be that way, judging people as Light does is immoral.

Kant's Categorical imperative can be reworded in order for it to apply to more situations. The second formulation states that we are to "[a]ct in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end." ² Basically, Kant is saying that people should never be used or manipulated by others. It is morally unacceptable to exploit other people, no matter what ends you are attempting to achieve. Light does this frequently in his doomed quest for a perfect world. The most obvious example is how he uses Misa Amane.

Misa is a young model who idolizes Kira (who is really Light), since he killed the murderer of her parents.* She actually gets a death note of her own, and becomes instrumental to Kira's plans. That's just it, though, she becomes an instrument. Misa develops a great infatuation for Light, and although he feels nothing for her, he tells her that he loves her. He does this in order to manipulate her, because she will do anything for him. The example that is the most irrefutably horrible thing that he ever does to her occurs when he manipulates her into taking the Shinigami eye deal a second time. † Making Misa halve her remaining lifespan a second time, just so she will continue being useful to him, is truly despicable, since he only planned to discard her afterwards when she ceased to be useful. Light manipulated Takada, a second female character, in a similar manner later on, though he actually did discard her when she became slightly inconvenient. ‡ He could have easily thought of another way to kill Mello, since he is extremely intelligent. Instead he chooses most convenient way, even if it means using a woman and then sending her to her death. He used these women simply as a means to create a perfect world, though they should have been treated as ends in themselves.

Something else that Light constantly does that Kant deems as immoral is lying. He discussed being untruthful in the following passage:

But communication of one's thoughts to someone through words that yet (intentionally) contain the contrary of what the speaker thinks on the subject is an end that is directly opposed to the natural purposiveness of the speaker's capacity to communicate his thoughts, and is thus a renunciation by the speaker of his personality and such a speaker is a mere deceptive appearance of a man, not a man himself. ³

According to the Categorical Imperative, lying is wrong because if everyone, as a general rule, simply lied when they felt like it, then language would break down since nobody could ever know what people are saying. This is why Kant explained lying as "directly opposed" to the purpose of speaking. Light lies to his friends and family about being Kira, for a total of six years and additionally, he lies to women about the magnitude of his emotions so he can use them as means to an end. Lying so gravely for such a large period of time is extremely immoral, no matter what his intentions were.

The last point in the Kantian section regards Light's self-proclaimed right to punish criminals. Kant believed that it is immoral to take vengeance into one's own hands. These actions should be left to those who actually have the right to do so, namely the court of law, and the real God, not the fabricated god that Light became deluded enough to believe he was:

But punishment is not an act that the injured part can undertake on his private authority, but rather an act of a court distinct from him, which gives effect to the law of a supreme authority over all those subject to it…and He alone (namely God) can say "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." ⁴

It is not up to the person who feels the world is rotten to judge the sins of the world. As stated before, the judgment of a single person is flawed. This is why the wronged should not take vengeance into their own hands, but they should leave such decisions to the more qualified. It is disturbing that Light is so incredibly selfish that he assumes that his opinion is always right, and even righteous. He is immeasurably egotistical if he believes that he is worthy of becoming a god. Light can never become a god, at least not a righteous god, because of the evil he commits in a futile attempt to accomplish his goal.

The final non-consequentialist theory is known as virtue ethics, and it shows how Light's character decays as he continuously acts wickedly. Virtue ethics focuses not on what we should do in a situation, but who we should be. The idea is that if a person is virtuous they will know how to act in time of moral conflict. It is more concerned with the character of a person rather than outcomes or duty. As one develops skills performing them often, a person develops virtues performing good actions often. A virtue, simply defined, is a positive character trait.

Aristotle, who made virtue ethics the basis of his philosophy, explains that "[b]y what we do in our interactions with others we will develop into just persons or unjust ones; ...in short, acts of one kind produce character traits of the same kind."⁶ Therefore, in addition to developing virtues, one can also develop negative character traits, known as vices. Light, over time, has obtained many vices and lost the virtues he had. By habitually performing evil actions, regardless of the greater purpose they were meant to serve, it became increasingly easier for Light to do more and more deplorable things. He develops vices because of the constant murders, lies and other immoral actions he commits on a regular basis. His character becomes sullied, which means his actions were wicked.

A second quotation regarding virtue ethics was said by Jesus. According to the book of Matthew, He said, "For what has a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? For what shall a man give for exchange for his soul?"⁷ Light wanted to rule over his perfect world as a god. If he were to obtain this goal through the more than questionable means he planned, it wouldn't matter, because he would have lost his soul. He would rule over the new world, but he would have totally lost himself through his actions. This trade-off is not worth it in the end.

To do so much evil (even for a 'good' cause), without it affecting his character is impossible. Light becomes an unrecognisable shell of who he used to be. No one would deny that he is more evil at the end than he was in the beginning. For example, the scene near the beginning where Light is visually disturbed because he killed someone contrasts greatly with the scene in which he effortlessly uses Takada as a tool, and then has her killed, even though the situation could have been avoided. ^§ Since they develop vices in Light's character, the deeds that he failed to use to create a perfect world are, in fact, immoral.

In summary, whether we are looking at duty or virtues to judge Light Yagami's method for building his "perfect world," the same conclusion is reached; it is erroneous and ill-founded. Such a truly abhorrent plan can never yield a flawless world that is free from crime, and a person can never become a god.

FOOTNOTES Primary source quotes:

* [Book 4, chapter 29, page 93] Here, Misa explains how her parents were killed and how Kira had killed the criminal.

† [Book 7, chapter 56 page 80] Misa asks Ryuk to take the Shinigami eye deal a second time. On page 82, Light admits through his thoughts he knew Misa would take the eye deal again, because of the love letter he sent her.
For those of you who have forgotten or never read "Death Note," the Sinigami eye deal can be made between a human death note owner and the Shinigami (god of death) who used to own the notebook. The human trades half of their remaining life span in exchange for the ability to see the names and lifespan of anyone they look at, like a god of death has. This helps them to use the notebook to a greater extent. However, if a person ever gives up possession of the death note that person will lose the special eyes, but their lifespan remains diminished. If they ever got the note book back, they would have to make the eye trade a second time to get the eyes back.

‡ [Book 12, chapter 99, page 25] Earlier in this chapter, we start to realize that Takada is part of the plan to kill Mello, but it is not until this point (pg 25) that we know he has killed her and that was the true plan all along.

§ See above entry (‡)

Secondary source quotes:

1. Kant, Immanuel; translated by James W. Ellington [1785] (1993). Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 3rd ed.. Hackett, p30.
2. Kant, Immanuel; translated by James W. Ellington [1785] (1993). Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 3rd ed.. Hackett, p36.
3. Kant, Immanuel. The Metaphysics of Morals. Ed. Mary Gregor, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, p226.
4. Kant, Immanuel. The Metaphysics of Morals. Ed. Mary Gregor, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, p253
5. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, bk. 2, ch. 2.
6. "Matthew 16:26". International Children's Bible, New Century Version. 1983.