1. Why did Captain Vere take the stance he did against Billy? Was he concerned with the deterrent effect an execution would have at a time when mutiny was a serious problem, or did he think he was bound to carry out the letter of the law? What should he have done? Why?
2. Explain Hallie’s notion of power relations and how they bear on the reality of cruelty.
3. Outline the four stages in Taylor’s thought process, from a universe with no conscious beings to his final stage. Where do good and evil enter in? Where do right and wrong enter in? How are the two categories related to each other? Do you agree with Taylor’s analysis? Explain your answer.
4. What is Foot’s central point about the source of morality?