Originally Posted by Ralph
Batman vs. Logic
Category: Religion and Philosophy
Alright. I'm trying this out to convince all of the bros and newjacks that Batman is a superhero despite not having powers. Accept these premises, follow to the conclusion. Any constructive criticism (pointing out of errors, contradictions, fallacies, overall weaknesses etc.) is welcome.
Batman is a superhero. He's the best superhero.
Let's approach this systematically.
1. In order to determine who is or is not a superhero, we need to know what is or is not constitutive of a superhero; we must define our terms and (thus) the boundaries of our set. I'm going to mention the problem of usage here, because it is important to the argument. For the sake of clear and useful thinking, we develop strict notations. We use words strictly that, when used in normal speech, can be vague to the point of meaninglessness. We can employ stricter meanings derived from variegated usage so that we can clarify our concepts and beliefs. Without stricter notation, every concept lies in vagueness and sentiment.
From here on, a hero is an agent that commits heroic acts. Accordingly, a superhero is an agent that commits super-heroic acts. The common usage of "super" is an expression of scale or magnitude above or beyond the standard. As a matter of obeying rational linguistic procedure, this word refers to the act rather than the agent. It is not only not useless but confusing to use "super" in reference to an agent in a general sense.* Expanded capabilities do not necessarily expand all of the actions or other properties of an agent or object.** To be genuinely meaningful or descriptive, the use of "super" should be in reference to whatever properties of an object are actually above or beyond the standard. This is also to avoid the confusion of too great a generalization. "Super" applies to what is supposedly super. I assume this is an uncontroversial premise. In application, it works out thusly: In order to determine what properties of our tentatively defined object are to be called "super", we note which properties are expanded. If an agent displays a standard human property in an exaggerated or expanded fashion, it is a superhuman property. This is an important point. We do not arbitrarily attach "super" to an irrelevant trait. Someone who possesses expanded human powers/abilities is superhuman. An agent that can lift 10 tons, or otherwise display strength above and beyond that of the standard, has super-strength.
*Deconstructive argument aka, examples that illustrate the confusion that lies with other uses of "super":
Suppose that we wanted to define a super-object. Could an object be just plain super? How can an object be flatly super without being super-objective? What would that even mean? And for super-agents? Super-agency? Not a worthwhile use of the words.
**Alternately, suppose a man possesses the ability to shoot heat-beams out of his eyes. Suppose also that he does his taxes. He pays a normal amount the normal way; he reviews his yearly earnings, fills out the paperwork, etc. Does this make him a super-taxpayer or just a superhuman who is doing his taxes? How is it useful to describe his tax-paying as super?
Now, differentiating a heroic agent from a non-heroic agent will depend on whatever definition of heroism is applied, but whichever definition is applied is, at this point, unimportant. Let's assume that agent B possesses this mysterious heroic property H. Now, let's say that B's H is expanded somehow (by performing majority of acts that are of super H level). Being that the rules are as they are, B now possesses super H as a property. B is now a superhero.
2. Defining heroism. To use any words in the family of "heroism", it is necessary to define them in such a way as to differentiate their uses from other words. A heroic act must be different from other kinds of acts. Considering use, a heroic act differs from other types of acts in two ways: altruism and difficulty. No act can be called heroic (in itself) if it benefits only the agent committing it without risking the dissolution of the difference between the words selfish and heroic. Nor can an act come easily within the means of an average agent and still be called heroic (though this is more a contingent fact about the word's apprehension). Meeting both criteria is necessary. To build a 1:1 scale Deathstar model in the desert would take a heroic effort, but not a single life would be spared an iota of misery. Alternately, donating a computer to a school benefits children, but is not a task above and beyond the means of a normal man. Further, the scale of the acts comes into play. Saving a child from a burning building is heroic. Saving a thousand children single-handedly from disparate burning buildings in a single day is altruism beyond the means of any human being (barring large networks of operatives, the organization of which would be a nearly superhman act for a single person). A deficit of natural abilities or resources becomes an asset of heroism. So, if scale and difficulty determine the magnitude of heroism, then suitable scale and difficulty in relation to the abilities of the agent results in superheroism.
3. Batman has the following achievements/acts under his belt:
-soundly defeating Superman in The Dark Knight Returns (a definitive take on his character but not a canonical/in-continuity story)
-besting Superman in the canonical Hush storyline
-driving off a rampaging Solomon Grundy in the Gotham sewers (Batman: The Long Halloween, also presumably non-canon but character-defining)
*Solomon Grundy, while having inconsistent powers, has fought Superman physically to a standstill.
-the one-punch knockout of Guy Gardner
*Guy Gardner is an F'ing Green Lantern. A power ring dependent on will and imagination is no use against someone with a superior mind, as was illustrated in Identity Crisis by Deathstroke.
-defeating the Justice League indirectly with his files on their weaknesses and plans for eliminating them in the Tower of Babel JLA storyline (canon)
-major involvement in cosmic crises including, but not limited to: Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths, battles against Despero, Darkseid, Starro, and Amazo, the Final Night, the JLA's battle against Angels from Heaven, etc.
4. In summation, Batman has, in his biography, a long (longer than here presented) list of (A-list) actions that resulted in the preservation of up to billions of lives. Moreover, he has committed these acts without recognizable super-abilities. The list far exceeds the standard for heroism. By 2,3.
:.
5. Batman is a superhero by 1, 4.
6. Batman is potentially the greatest superhero by 2, 3, 5.
"It's not about where you were born. Or what powers you have. Or what you wear on your chest. It's about what you do. It's about action." - Superman. Super-F'ing-Man
***These standards can be applied to Blue Beetle, but the only A-list thing he ever did was have Maxwell Lord shoot him in the head.
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