Jack Bauer's Dilemmas--and Ours
Watching "24" as a primer on moral philosophy.
BY BRIAN M. CARNEY
Friday, January 26, 2007

The current season of Fox's television series "24" began with a dilemma that will be familiar to long-time devotees of the program. A man's wife and child have been taken hostage by a terrorist. If the man does not help him carry out his plans, his family will be killed.

Yes, such a dilemma propels the show's pace and intensifies the dramatic ordeal. But it also points toward difficult ethical puzzles with profound implications for our current real-world moment. You don't need to watch "24" as a kind of primer on moral philosophy, but you probably should.

This season's opening predicament echoes the one into which the show's star, Jack Bauer, was thrust in the series' first season six years ago. Back then, the bad guys tried to compel Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, to assist in the assassination of a presidential candidate. As a result, he was forced both to play along with the terrorists and seek a way to free his family. He succeeded, at least temporarily, in saving both the target of the assassination and his family. the rest photo

"Please, I need your help""I have to finish this"

"You are going to tell me what I want to know, it's just a question of how much you want it to hurt"

"I'm done talking with you, you understand me? You've read my file..."

"Trust me, you don't want to go down this road with me"

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