Daredevil - Season 1
t seems that for a man to operate outside the established laws to bring about a just end is not praiseworthy. For, as has been established, law is a dictate of reason, promulgated by one who has care of the community, for the common good. To act against this is to act against reason itself. Furthermore, the Apostle says, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Romans 13:1). Therefore, to subvert the governing authorities, even with good intentions, is to act contrary to the divine order. For these reasons, it would seem that the actions of the one called "the Devil of Hell's Kitchen" are not to be lauded.
On the contrary, St. Thomas Aquinas himself posits that a human law that deviates from the natural law is no law at all, but a perversion of law. In the city of New York, and specifically in the precinct of Hell's Kitchen, we observe a systemic corruption that has rendered the legal and political structures impotent. Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, has, through intimidation and bribery, bent the law to his own malevolent will, thereby creating a state of affairs where the law no longer serves the common good, but rather his own private avarice. In such a circumstance, to appeal to the corrupted law is to appeal to an empty vessel.
I answer that the actions of the vigilante known as Daredevil, while existing outside the sanction of public authority, are indeed worthy of praise, for he acts as a necessary corrective to a profoundly disordered system. His actions are ordered toward the restoration of the common good, which is the ultimate aim of all just law. When the law of the state fails to reflect the natural law—that is, the innate understanding of good and evil inscribed on the human heart—it falls to individuals of right reason and sound moral character to act in its stead.
The character of Matthew Murdock is a man uniquely suited to this task. His deep-seated Catholic faith informs his understanding of justice and mercy, and his rigorous legal training provides him with a profound respect for the very laws he is forced to circumvent. This is not a man who delights in anarchy, but one who suffers from the necessity of his actions. He does not seek to overthrow the law in its entirety, but rather to prune the corruption that has choked it from within. His nightly sojourns are not a rejection of justice, but a desperate and violent prayer for its return.
Furthermore, Murdock's actions are governed by a strict moral code. He does not kill, for he recognizes that the ultimate judgment of a man's soul belongs to God alone. This adherence to a self-imposed limitation, grounded in the natural law's prohibition against the taking of innocent life, elevates his actions beyond mere vengeance. He seeks not to destroy his enemies, but to bring them to a state of justice where they can be judged by a law that has been cleansed of their influence.
Thus, while on the surface it may appear that the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is a lawless renegade, a more considered examination reveals him to be a servant of a higher law. He is a man who, faced with the privation of good in his community, chooses to act in accordance with right reason and the eternal law, even at great personal cost. His actions are a testament to the enduring power of the natural law and the responsibility of the virtuous man to act in its defense when all other avenues have been exhausted.
On the contrary, St. Thomas Aquinas himself posits that a human law that deviates from the natural law is no law at all, but a perversion of law. In the city of New York, and specifically in the precinct of Hell's Kitchen, we observe a systemic corruption that has rendered the legal and political structures impotent. Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, has, through intimidation and bribery, bent the law to his own malevolent will, thereby creating a state of affairs where the law no longer serves the common good, but rather his own private avarice. In such a circumstance, to appeal to the corrupted law is to appeal to an empty vessel.
I answer that the actions of the vigilante known as Daredevil, while existing outside the sanction of public authority, are indeed worthy of praise, for he acts as a necessary corrective to a profoundly disordered system. His actions are ordered toward the restoration of the common good, which is the ultimate aim of all just law. When the law of the state fails to reflect the natural law—that is, the innate understanding of good and evil inscribed on the human heart—it falls to individuals of right reason and sound moral character to act in its stead.
The character of Matthew Murdock is a man uniquely suited to this task. His deep-seated Catholic faith informs his understanding of justice and mercy, and his rigorous legal training provides him with a profound respect for the very laws he is forced to circumvent. This is not a man who delights in anarchy, but one who suffers from the necessity of his actions. He does not seek to overthrow the law in its entirety, but rather to prune the corruption that has choked it from within. His nightly sojourns are not a rejection of justice, but a desperate and violent prayer for its return.
Furthermore, Murdock's actions are governed by a strict moral code. He does not kill, for he recognizes that the ultimate judgment of a man's soul belongs to God alone. This adherence to a self-imposed limitation, grounded in the natural law's prohibition against the taking of innocent life, elevates his actions beyond mere vengeance. He seeks not to destroy his enemies, but to bring them to a state of justice where they can be judged by a law that has been cleansed of their influence.
Thus, while on the surface it may appear that the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is a lawless renegade, a more considered examination reveals him to be a servant of a higher law. He is a man who, faced with the privation of good in his community, chooses to act in accordance with right reason and the eternal law, even at great personal cost. His actions are a testament to the enduring power of the natural law and the responsibility of the virtuous man to act in its defense when all other avenues have been exhausted.
Mini Review: Whether it is praiseworthy for one to act outside the law for justice? It seems not, for law is from authority. On the contrary, when human law is a perversion, as with Fisk's corruption of Hell's Kitchen, it is no law at all. Thus, Daredevil's actions are praised. Guided by a higher, natural law, he acts as a corrective to a disordered system. His refusal to kill demonstrates he seeks not to overthrow the law, but to restore true justice, making his work a virtuous, if necessary, endeavor.