Category: History

Garden hermits, also known as ornamental hermits, were recluses who inhabited English landscape parks during the 18th and 19th centuries and entered into employment relationships. Garden hermits lived for a contractually defined period in specially designed hermitages and were required to appear at certain times of the day to entertain the owners of the parks and their guests with their presence.

The life of a Garden hermit

The requirements for the life of a garden hermit are known from newspaper advertisements. The most famous example of the employment of a garden hermit is found at Painshill Park, an estate of the nobleman Charles Hamilton (1704–1786), which was transformed into a landscape garden at great expense, featuring a typical grotto, neo-Gothic and Chinese architecture, winding paths, and a treehouse as a hermitage. Hamilton allegedly placed an advertisement stating that £700 would be earned by anyone willing to “stay seven years in the hermitage, where he should be provided with a Bible, spectacles, a foot mat, a straw mattress for a pillow, an hourglass as a timepiece, water for drinking, and food from the house. He must wear a woolen garment and under no circumstances cut his hair, beard, or nails, roam beyond the boundaries of Mr. Hamilton’s property, or even exchange a word with the servant.”

The long duration of the contract and the peculiar conditions of personal hygiene were not isolated cases. The lifestyle of a garden hermit was likely influenced by earth houses, which were common in rural areas until the early 20th century and were only banned in Britain by law in 1915.

Obviously, interested parties were not only sought after, but also offered themselves. In an advertisement from 1810, a young man (garden hermits generally had to be of advanced age) stated that he wanted to “withdraw from the world and live as a hermit in any place in England” and was willing to “connect with a nobleman or gentleman who desires to have such a hermit.” In Hawkstone Park, a landscape garden visited by more than ten thousand visitors in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a mechanical doll, equipped with an hourglass, skull, and glasses on a table, took the place of the garden hermit. This doll was located in a hermitage and was operated by an employee who spoke to its mouth movements.

Cultural and Historical Aspects

During the 18th century, the English landscape garden, as a walkable landscape painting, replaced the geometrically ordered Baroque garden. This development was related to the ongoing discussion in Europe since the 17th century about the natural state of humanity as opposed to civilization and communal living. The interest in garden hermits in this context corresponded to the interest in the “noble savage,” who embodied the unspoiled nature untouched by the constraints of communal life. In general, the elements of various traditions of rejecting civilization and their fascination with society were combined in garden hermits. The furnishing of the hermitage with a Bible referred to Christian hermitry, and the glasses referred to the scholar. Behind this was a long tradition that began with the traditions about the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (who was said to have lived in a tub as a despiser of civilization) and extended to Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver (in the third voyage to Laputa, where completely forgetful and dirty scientists appear).

The phenomenon of garden hermits in the 18th century accompanied an increased interest in English literature among hermits. A significant source of inspiration for this is considered to be the work of John Milton, especially his highly influential poem Il Penseroso (The Thoughtful), in which a forest wanderer spends his days in solitary studies and speaks the concluding words:

“And may at last my weary age
Find out the peaceful hermitage,
The hairy gown and mossy cell
Where I may sit and rightly spell
Of every star that heav’n doth show,
And every herb that sips the dew;
Till old experience do attain
To something like prophetic strain.
These pleasures, Melancholy, give,
And I with thee will choose to live.”

In numerous hermitages, which were already designed for Baroque gardens as places of secular contemplation, the closing lines from Milton’s poem appeared, and the arcadian motif of transience through the use of bones and skulls as memento mori also frequently appeared. The furnishing of the garden hermits with an hourglass (apart from its usefulness in adhering to the schedule for regular appearances in the field) also referred to this aspect of his performance task. The image of the garden hermit, which raised fundamental questions about the individual’s attitude towards society and life by abandoning typical civilized features such as refined clothing and personal hygiene, oscillated between seriousness and humor. This ambivalence was also often expressed in the follies (i.e., “architectural follies”) of the landscape gardens, which were widespread in 18th-century England, like the garden hermits.

The employment of garden hermits ceased in the first half of the 19th century, and the colonial expansion of European nation-states subsequently shifted the focus of interest. Ethnographic exhibitions took on the task of depicting images of people far from their own civilization. However, the term garden hermit remained present in the English-speaking world until today and no longer needs to be understood in its original sense but can generally stand for an eccentric way of life. Recent times have also shown increased artistic treatment of the topic in various media (literature, film, photo, and performance).

History

The trend of ornamental hermits spread between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries among the English aristocracy, when some nobles began to “decorate” their residences with hermits living in rudimentary dwellings. The task of the ornamental hermit was to appear at certain times of the day to be observed by his master and guests, and although he could not speak to anyone, on some occasions, he was required to engage the interlocutor in philosophical discourse. Ornamental hermits are mentioned in many sources for their eccentricity and are considered precursors to garden gnomes.

Professor Gordon Campbell of the University of Leicester reported in his book “The Hermit in the Garden” (2013) several precedents of ornamental hermits. Among them was the religious figure Francesco da Paola, who reportedly lived as a hermit in a cave on his father’s property in the early fifteenth century, later becoming the confidant and advisor to King Charles VIII of France.

In the following century, many estates of dukes and other lords in France included small chapels or other buildings where a religious hermit resided. According to Campbell, the first estate with a famous hermit (which included a small house, a chapel, and a garden) was the castle of Gaillon, renovated by Charles de Bourbon-Vendôme. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Louis XIV built a garden for a person named Marly a few miles north of Versailles, who initially served as his hermit. However, true garden hermits only became widespread in England in the late eighteenth century.

With the spread of Romanticism and the interest in mysticism among the English intellectual elite, hundreds of nobles hired decorative hermits, housing them in small dwellings built in the parks and gardens of their estates. Among the many accounts of the time, the Weld family employed an ornamental hermit who lived on the Lulworth estate in Dorset, while others were found in Painshill Park and Hawkstone Park. Charles Hamilton also hired a hermit for his residence. In a letter written by Hamilton, it is reported:

“… he will be provided with a Bible, optical glasses, a mat for his feet, a stake for his pillow, an hourglass for timekeeping, water for his drink, and food from the house. He must wear a camel-colored tunic and never, under any circumstances, cut his hair, beard, or nails, wander beyond the limits of Mr. Hamilton’s property, or exchange a single word with the servant.”

However, his hermit was dismissed only three weeks after starting his assignment, as he disappeared from the estate and was found in a local pub. During the mid-nineteenth century, the spread in England of garden gnomes imported from Germany gradually ended the trend.

Characteristics

Ornamental hermits led a secluded and silent existence, living in small and rudimentary dwellings such as caves, huts, follies, or rocky gardens decorated with scenic objects. They were not allowed to shave their hair and beard, trim their nails, and were usually disinclined to wash. They dressed like druids, wearing tunics, and like real hermits, they had very few items to live with.

According to Edith Sitwell in her book “English Eccentrics” (1933), they could never leave the estate and converse with guests, and only appeared at certain times of the day when they could be observed by their masters and guests. Their employment contract lasted seven years, during which they were compensated with one meal a day.

Usually, if the hermit resigned from the position before his term ended, he would be deprived of payment for his services.

Literature

Nonfiction

• Gordon Campbell: The Hermit in the Garden. From Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-969699-4.
• Isabel Colegate: A Pelican in the Wilderness. Hermits, Solitaries, and Recluses. Harper-Collins, London 2002, ISBN 0-00-257142-0.
• Edith Sitwell: English Eccentrics.
  
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  A gallery of most curious and remarkable ladies and gentlemen. (“English eccentrics”). Reprint. Wagenbach, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8031-1192-7, pp. 38–43.

Fiction

• Dieter Bachmann: The shorter breath. Novel. Residenz-Verlag, Salzburg 1998, ISBN 3-7017-1113-5.
• Matthew Francis: The Ornamental Hermit (Memento of 14 May 2008 at the Internet Archive) (winner of first prize in the 2000 Times Literary Supplement and Blackwell’s bookstore poetry competition)

Namahage refers to the masked and straw-clothed messengers of the gods (visiting gods) who have been part of year-round events in and around the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture.

Overview

Namahage is a traditional folk event found on the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture (Oga City), as well as in some parts of its base (Mitsushima Town in Yamamoto District and Katagami City). It has a history of over 200 years. According to surveys conducted in places like Oga City, from 2012 to 2015, Namahage events were held in about 80 out of 148 districts in the city. Designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the country as “Namahage of Oga” and registered as one of the “Visiting Gods: Masked and Costumed Gods” on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The “Namahage,” wearing peculiar masks and costumes made of straw, visit households to drive away evil spirits or admonish lazy people.

At the Shinzan Shrine in Oga City, the appearance of Namahage is considered a ritual called the Namahage Shibata Festival.

Similar events to Namahage are widely distributed throughout Japan. Among them, Namahage, in particular, has gained overwhelming popularity, becoming a symbol of Akita Prefecture. Due to its significant appeal, Namahage is not only used for tourism PR in Akita Prefecture but also serves as a motif for private companies related to Akita Prefecture, as well as being used frequently as an ornament or entertainment at merchandise and food and beverage stores related to Akita Prefecture.

Earlier Timing of the Event

During the Edo period, it was held on January 15th, the Little New Year of the lunar calendar, but with the calendar reform in the Meiji era, examples of holding it a month earlier, on January 15th of the Gregorian calendar, have also been seen.

After World War II, it was further moved about two weeks earlier to December 31st of the Gregorian calendar. Note that the lunar New Year’s Eve is December 30th or 29th.

Decline of Traditional Customs and Countermeasures

Communities that conduct Namahage as a year-round event for visiting households used to be prevalent throughout the Oga Peninsula, but due to the aging population and declining birth rates, they have now almost halved. According to surveys in Oga City, about 35 districts discontinued the event in the 25 years until 2015.

Originally, unmarried men from the community would act as Namahage, but with the aging population and declining population of the community, the number of young people taking on this role has decreased. Additionally, there are now cases of outsiders, such as relatives visiting from outside the community, taking on the role. In the Sugoroku district of Oga City, foreign exchange students from Akita University and the International University of Japan have also taken on the role of Namahage. Furthermore, as households with children, the primary targets of Namahage visits, decrease due to declining birth rates, there is a decline in motivation to carry out the event. Other factors contributing to the decline of Namahage include changes in residents’ lifestyles, such as having work or being absent due to travel during the New Year holidays. Namahage can even be performed by high school students.

As a countermeasure, since the fiscal year 2012, Oga City has been providing subsidies to neighborhood associations that conduct Namahage events. However, of the 148 neighborhood associations in the city in that year, only six resumed Namahage events, while nearly half, 71 associations, did not. This trend continued in the fiscal year 2015, with 69 associations not implementing the event.

In the Hana-date station area of Oga City, there was consideration given to women dressing up as Namahage on New Year’s Eve in 2018, but this idea was shelved.

“Tourism” Development

On the Oga Peninsula, there is a facility called the “Oga Shinzan Tradition Hall” where visitors can experience Namahage year-round for tourism purposes. Additionally, beyond just the Oga region, Namahage is utilized in Akita Prefecture’s tourism and product PR activities, and statues are installed not only permanently but also temporarily in various places, becoming a symbol of Akita Prefecture. In districts where there is a tradition that Namahage are unmarried men, it is common for married men from those districts to dress up as Namahage for tourist events.

New entertainments featuring Namahage as a motif have also been created to entertain tourists. During the leisure boom period, centered around group tours, seen during the high economic growth period of the Showa era, there was the “Namahage Dance,” and during the resort boom period at the beginning of the Heisei era, there was the “Namahage Drum.” These performances extend beyond seasonal and regional boundaries, participating not only in events such as the Akita Kanto Festival but also in various product exhibitions, and they even have solo performances. Unlike traditional Namahage, these performances involve wearing masks resembling demons and costumes made not of straw but of durable materials like yarn or hemp rope.

In rural-style restaurants and eateries, folk entertainment props are used for interior decoration, and employees perform folk entertainment to attract customers and increase satisfaction. In eateries featuring Akita Prefecture’s local cuisine and specialty products following this business model, it is common to use Namahage masks for interior decoration and for male and female employees to perform “Namahage Shows” year-round according to the store’s schedule, a practice frequently seen not only in the Oga region but also in and outside Akita Prefecture.

“Transformation into Oni”

Because Namahage have horns, they are sometimes mistaken for oni (ogres), but they are not. Originally, Namahage were gods of visitation unrelated to oni, but during the process of modernization, they became confused with oni and were mistakenly incorporated as a type of oni, leading to a transformation that could not be clarified. There is a theory that suggests this. Works of children’s literature like Hirokai Hamada’s “The Crying Red Oni” (1933) depict pairs of red (Jiji Namahage) and blue (Baba Namahage), but it is unclear when such settings originated.

Naming

During winter, when warming oneself by the irori (hearth), there is a condition called “Namomi” or “Ama” where low-temperature burns (thermal erythema) may appear on the hands and feet. From the practice of “peeling” these off to discipline the lazy and drive away misfortune while bestowing blessings, names like “Namahage,” “Amahage,” “Amamehagi,” and “Namomihagi” emerged. Therefore, attributing the character for “life” (生) to “nama” and interpreting it as “peeling life” is incorrect.

The shape of Namahage masks varies by region, but a standardized pair of red and blue faces is common, where the red face is called Jiji Namahage and the blue face is called Baba Namahage.

Customs

Namahage

Namahage are visiting gods who admonish laziness and discord, driving away misfortune. It used to be an event on the Little New Year (transferred from the lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar), but it became a New Year’s Eve event. At the end of the year, villagers dressed as Namahage, carrying large deba knives (or hatchets), wearing oni masks, and wearing attire resembling straw coats, keran, mino, or habaki, visit households. They parade around shouting strange cries like “There are no crying children!” or “There are no bad children!” and enter homes to reprimand lazy individuals, children, and newlyweds. Household members respectfully welcome them, and after the head of the household explains any misdeeds committed by the family over the past year, they are treated to sake before being sent off. Finally, they say “hebana” (meaning “see you later” or “goodbye” in Tsugaru dialect) and “Take care!”

Originally, the masks were painted vermilion (red) and made of wood, but in recent years, they have been made of materials such as papier-mâché using bamboo sieves as a base, or cardboard. While the straw garments are often described as keran or mino, they are actually specific costumes called kede (or kende, kedashi) unique to the local area.

Educational Function

Namahage is not only a traditional folk event but is also understood as a means of education for young children in the Tohoku region. Parents instill in their children a strong fear of Namahage in advance, and then, using linguistic means, help them understand that if the child engages in undesirable behavior, the fear may be rekindled.

Similar Events

Along the Japan Sea coast of northern Honshu, there are events like Nagometakure in Nishitsugaru, Aomori Prefecture, Nagomehagi in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, Yamahage in Akita City, Namomihagi in southern coastal Akita Prefecture, and Amahage in Yuya Town, Yamagata Prefecture. There are also events like Amamehagi, mainly in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, and the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture. While the origin of the word differs, similar events are also found in Fukui Prefecture, where they are called “appossha,” among others.

Similar events also exist along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region (Sanriku Coast). In Iwate Prefecture, there are events like Nagami in Kujishi City, Namomi in Noda Village, Fudai Village, and Yamada Town, Nanamitakuri in Kamaishi City, Suneka in Yoshizaki, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, Abladataki in Hirosaki City, Momidari in Kurihara City, and Taranagane in Otsuchi, Sanriku-cho. Further inland, there are events like Namomitakuri and Hikatatakuri in Tono City, among others.

History

Origin

Like yokai (supernatural beings) and others, the exact origins are unknown due to being part of folk tradition. In Akita, there is a legend that says, “The Emperor Wu of Han visited Oga and employed five oni every day, but on January 15th, the oni were released and rampaged through the village,” which is considered the origin of Namahage.

Chronology

• In the fifth year of Bunsei (1822), the “Sagei Masumi Yuranki” written by Masumi Sugei, was dedicated to the Akita Clan’s Meitokukan. In the section “Okano Kanakaze,” on January 15th of the 8th year of Bunka (February 8th, 1811, Gregorian calendar), Akita’s Little New Year event “Namomihagi” was recorded. This “Namomihagi” is considered equivalent to the current “Namahage,” and this book is regarded as the earliest known literary reference.
• In 1873 (Meiji 6),
  • On January 15th, the first New Year’s Eve in the new calendar system was observed. This date corresponds to December 17th in the old lunar calendar.
  • On February 12th, the first Little New Year in the new calendar system was observed.
• In 1961 (Showa 36), the contemporary dancer, Baku Ishii (born in Misato, Yamamoto District, Akita Prefecture), choreographed a dance, and his son, Koki Ishii, composed music for the creation of the “Namahage Dance.”
• In February 1964 (Showa 39), the “Namahage Shito-sai” event, which combines the Namahage rituals performed throughout the Oga Peninsula on New Year’s Eve and the Shito-sai festival held at Hoshitsuji Shrine on January 3rd, was first held. The event was later relocated to the Myama Shrine.
• On May 22, 1978 (Showa 53), “Namahage of Oga” was designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.
• In 1988 (Showa 63), the “Namahage Taiko” was created.
• In 1995 (Heisei 7), the Meguro family residence (completed in 1907), known as the Kuriki family, was relocated and opened to the public as the “Oga Myama Tradition Hall,” exhibiting folklore materials. It is also used as a place where visitors can experience the Namahage customs.
• On July 23, 1999 (Heisei 11), the Namahage Ohashi Bridge was constructed on the Oga Central Wide Area Agricultural Road (commonly known as the Namahage Line on Google Maps).
• In 1999 (Heisei 11), on July 23, the “Namahage House” was opened on the adjacent site of the Oga Myama Tradition Hall.
• In 2004 (Heisei 16),
  • From October 16th, the JR Ou Main Line between Akita Station and Oiwake Station, as well as the JR Oga Line between Oiwake Station and Oga Station, were given the nickname “Oga Namahage Line” on Google Maps.
    On November 27th, the first “Namahage Guide” certification exam was held.
• In 2007 (Heisei 19),
  • In May, along National Route 101 in Oga City, Akita Prefecture, two Namahage standing statues, 15 meters and 12 meters tall, with red and blue faces, respectively, were installed. Made of reinforced plastic, the production cost was approximately 40 million yen, and the city claims them to be the “world’s largest Namahage statues.”
  • On June 1st, the Oga Comprehensive Tourist Information Center opened adjacent to the pair of Namahage standing statues (15 meters and 12 meters tall).
  • On December 31st, a man disguised as Namahage became intoxicated from drinking and caused a disturbance by intruding into the women’s bath at a hot spring inn. In response, in January of the following year, the Oga City administration, led by Deputy Mayor Masataka Ito, and district representatives discussed the establishment of guidelines, or so-called action guidelines, regarding Namahage’s behavior. However, manual creation was postponed, and it was reported that the issue was resolved by “returning to the original tradition,” with no subsequent guidance from the administration.
• On March 30, 2013 (Heisei 25), the Namahage House was reopened after renovation.
• On October 3, 2014 (Heisei 26), the “Visiting God Rituals,” designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, existing in nine cities and towns across the country, established the “National Conference for the Preservation and Promotion of Visiting God Rituals” with the aim of collectively registering them as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• On November 29, 2018 (Heisei 30), the “Visiting Gods: Masked and Costumed Deities” (including Namahage from ten regions across Japan) were officially registered on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee held in Port Louis, Mauritius.

Tourism

Currently, as the Namahage ritual involves visiting households in the Oga region only on New Year’s Eve, it is difficult for outsiders to encounter this custom. Therefore, various tourism developments have been made, including facilities and statues where visitors can experience Namahage, the creation of performances and events in the guise of Namahage, and the production of souvenirs and characters. Tours allowing tourists to dress up as Namahage on New Year’s Eve are also organized by the Oga City Tourist Association.

Namahage Shibatou Festival

The Namahage ritual was originally held on Little New Year (January 14th/15th in the old lunar calendar or January 14th/15th in the new calendar). When the old lunar calendar is converted to the new calendar, the date varies each year but usually falls on the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of February, close to the lunar calendar’s Little New Year. The “Namahage Shibatou Festival” is held annually on these days. The first event was held in 1964 (Showa 39) at Hoshitsuji Shrine in the Oga Onsen area, but in later years, the venue was moved to Myama Shrine.

It is mainly enjoyed as a tourist event. It is said that wrapping straw, which falls from the Namahage’s coat, around one’s head and body brings good health.

Statues

In Akita Prefecture, there is a custom of erecting a straw-bodied, wooden-faced doll called “Kashima-sama” at the entrance of villages, with some reaching heights of up to 4 meters. Although the appearances of Kashima-sama and Namahage are similar, there is no mention of religious significance in the installation of Namahage statues like with Kashima-sama, and their locations are not limited to the entrance of settlements.

In recent years, there has been a trend of installing a pair of red and blue Namahage statues, but it is unclear whether this red and blue pair is a standard tradition in the dozens of villages that have inherited the tradition.

Related artifacts

Items using Namahage

• Air Self-Defense Force Akita Rescue Team Unit Mark
• Emblem of Blaublitz Akita
  • On January 18, 2010, a new emblem was announced, featuring a diagram of Namahage placed in the center of the emblem.
  • This item contains characters (Unicode 6.0 emoticons) that cannot be displayed on some computers or viewing software.
• Unicode characters
  • On October 11, 2010, as part of Unicode 6.0.0, the emoji for “JAPANESE OGRE” (U+1F479), representing Namahage, was registered.

Items inspired by Namahage

• Super God Nega
  • A character from Akita Prefecture inspired by Namahage. The creator is a former professional wrestler residing in Nikaho City. The theme song is sung by Ichiro Mizuki. His vehicles include a combine harvester with two rows of teeth and a hatahata-shaped motorcycle.
• Namy Hagie
  • The mascot of the Akita World Games 2001 held in 2001. After the event, it was transferred to the Akita Shinkin Bank and used as a mascot for the bank’s distribution materials.
• Oga Namahageez
  • A three-member female local idol unit from Akita Prefecture that appeared in the anime “Wake Up, Girls!”. All three members wear costumes resembling a “Jijinamahage” with a demon-like flushed face.
• Gosha Hagi
  • A monster of the Fang Beast species that appears in Monster Hunter Rise. Also known as “Yuki Oni-jū.” It freezes its arms with its cold breath and uses them as weapons like ice knives.

Named Namahage but not actual Namahage

• Akita Namahage Agricultural Cooperative
  • After its establishment, a character inspired by Namahage was created, and as a result of the name selection, it became “Onimaru-kun.”
• During the period from May 1985 (Showa 60) to September 2006 (Heisei 18) and from May 2012 (Heisei 24) to March 2015 (Heisei 27), a special edition car called “Namahage,” based on the 1300cc model of the Toyota Corolla, was sold exclusively in Akita Prefecture.
• In episode 38 of “Ultraman A” titled “Resurrection! Father of Ultra,” a “Legendary Monster Namahage” appears.
• In the game and anime “Yo-kai Watch,” there is a character named “Namahage.”
• In the anime “K-On!” during the “Live House!” special, there is a band named “Namaha-ge” listed on the band lineup. The characters cannot be confirmed on screen.
• In the “Shouten” (a Japanese TV program) rakugo (comic storytelling) segment, it often refers to Kaoru Katsura (a Japanese comedian) (along with skeleton, mummy, ghost, and monster).

The gerousia (from the ancient Greek γερουσία / gerousía, derived from γέρων / gérôn, meaning “elder”) is the Spartan equivalent of the Senate: it is an aristocratic and oligarchic element, as opposed to the assembly of the people. It was the name given by the Spartans to their Council of Elders.

History

Established by Lycurgus, a Spartan lawmaker, the gerousia is exceptional not only in its recruitment but also in its power. Thus, it mainly consists of an assembly of 28 elders who are at least 60 years old. It is from this age limit that one is obliged to cease military service in Sparta. According to Polybius, the gerousia ensures the balance of the regime while protecting the weakest. According to Isocrates, “the gerontes are placed at the head of all affairs.” As a result, they have a power comparable to that of the Athenian Areopagus copied by Lycurgus. The gerontes (γέροντες), after proving their candidacy, are elected forever by acclamation of the assembly of the people called the apella. Once elected to power, they are not accountable and can sometimes engage in favoritism.

They implicitly represent a council of elders that was found during the Homeric period as a council of the king, but also in certain oligarchic states, where the elders of the great families constituted councils that are restricted to Sparta as in several other Dorian cities like Cnidos. Moreover, at the level of democratic states, these councils were widely open to everyone. Furthermore, the gerontes hold the most important function in Sparta, as they judge crimes and important legal matters. They also have a superior power to that of the ephors. As a result, the account of the conspiracy of Cinadon attests that before making major decisions, the ephors first consulted the gerontes to dispel suspicions but also of conspirators.

The function of the gerousia was probably overestimated in antiquity. Already by the mid-4th century BC, Plato recognized this Senate as a power comparable to that of the kings. According to Herodotus, some gerontes have very close family ties with the kings, to the extent that if the kings are absent, they can vote on their behalf. Among these gerontes, one can undoubtedly mention Chilon who appears in the list of the seven pre-Socratic sages. In reality, they have the power to bring the kings to justice, to present motions, and to participate in the affairs of the state.

Method of Election

If a geronte were to die, candidates for his succession would present themselves before the assembled people in a determined order by lot. It is the Apella that elects them based on acclamation. The candidate does not have the right to speak. There was a concern for objective voting, to avoid addressing the crowd as was done in Athens or Rome. Consequently, those who noted the shouts were locked away and did not see the candidate, thus avoiding any favoritism. However, Aristotle described the acclamation process as childish. Indeed, since the procedure was entirely original, it was the subject of much criticism.

Gerontes are appointed for life. It is the only magistracy, along with the royal one, that is exercised without a time limit. This gives them a field of action devoid of all reprisals. Indeed, since gerontes are appointed for life, they are not accountable as death is the end of their magistracy. Therefore, gerontes have the opportunity to engage in clientelism, as they risk no legal prosecution. This is illustrated by the recurrent appointment of new gerontes chosen from among the relatives of active gerontes to ensure political stability. The function of geronte was exercised for life in Sparta but also in the Cretan cities of Marseille, Elis, and Cnidos. Indeed, the particularly honorable election to the gerousia is seen as a great honor bestowed by the Spartans in order to preserve memories.

Privileges

The gerousia constitutes the supreme court. It judges serious crimes, for example, cases of the murder of a citizen or by a citizen. In association with the ephors, it can judge the kings. It also arbitrates rivals during a royal succession, as in the case of Agesilaus II and Leotychidas.

From a political point of view, it is the gerousia that prepares decisions. Bills are submitted to it, and it can block them by exercising its right of veto. Plutarch, to resolve the problem of this redundancy of powers, suggests that the right of veto was actually used to block amendments voted by the Assembly. According to Edmond Lévy (“La grande Rhêtra,” Ktèma 2, 1977), it is rather an evolution of their power. The exercise of the veto is only attested once, regarding the reforms of Agis IV.

In fact, the importance of the gerousia seems quite exaggerated by the Ancients who, from Pindar to Plato (Laws, III), through Demosthenes (Against Leptines) and Aeschines (Against Timarchus), insist on the power and authority of the gerontes. The authors of the 4th century BC, great admirers of Sparta, undoubtedly identify more easily with the gerousia than with the ephorate or the dual kingship. For later authors, such as Polybius or Plutarch, they may have been influenced by the model of the Roman Senate, which Plutarch calls “gerousia” in the Life of Romulus. On the other hand, ancient texts mention the gerousia little.

In the political domain, their power therefore seems quite weak. However, their authority, magnified by their judicial prerogatives, is unquestionable. Both kings and ephors sought to conciliate them to pursue their policies.

The principle of double effect is a principle applied in bioethics to assess the moral dimension of an action with dual (positive and negative) effects.

General Characteristics

This principle is associated with the teachings of the Catholic Church, which profess moral absolutism, forbidding the commission of evil regardless of how much good the evil act might bring. Sometimes, however, an action produces both a good effect, intended by the actor, and an evil effect that is not desired.

Beauchamp and Childress, in their Principles of Biomedical Ethics, formulate the following conditions for the permissibility of the analyzed action:

• The action in question must be inherently good (Tadeusz Biesaga formulates this differently, stating that an action can be undertaken if its natural consequence is good, but it cannot be undertaken if it is bad).
• The intention of the actor committing the act must also be good; thus, the actor must directly desire the good outcome of the action, while he may only indirectly allow and tolerate the bad outcome, but he cannot intend to commit it.
• The bad effect cannot be the means of achieving the good.
• The good effect must at least outweigh the bad, or even surpass it; that is, the good and bad effects caused by the action must be proportional.

There is still one more condition:

• There are no other ways to achieve the good effect.

Biesaga also notes that according to this principle, the actor committing the act is responsible for its natural consequences, if known. However, regarding a consequence that was not known at the time of performing the action but was discovered by science later, the responsibility for its occurrence does not lie with the actor.

Abortion

An example of applying moral absolutism to the issue of the permissibility of abortion is provided by Father Jacek Woroniecki. He writes in his Catholic Educational Ethics that in a situation where the life of a pregnant woman can only be saved by sacrificing the life of the fetus, it is not permissible to do so, even if the fetus is destined to die shortly afterward. In such a situation, both should be allowed to die.

On the other hand, the application of the principle of double effect allows for the termination of pregnancy under certain conditions. For example, it justifies a salpingectomy along with an ectopic pregnancy if the termination of the pregnancy is only a foreseeable but not desired outcome of the surgery. A debatable case is when, instead of salpingectomy, a small resection of the fallopian tube is performed, involving only the site of implantation, or when the embryo itself is removed (salpingostomy or salpingotomy). Here, the death of the embryo becomes, according to some, a means to achieve the desired outcome, while for others, it is an unavoidable but incidental effect of its removal. The proportionality of such actions and their necessity are also questioned, especially if a larger resection can be performed. A similar issue arises with the pharmacotherapy of ectopic pregnancy using methotrexate, often negatively evaluated from the perspective of the principle of double effect, although it is also subject to debate.

Another example of a situation where the unintended consequence of an action aimed at saving the mother’s life is the death of the child is the treatment of cancer with chemotherapy. Although such chemotherapy leads to the death of the fetus, its aim is to combat the tumor. Therefore, it is a permissible method of treating a pregnant woman with cancer. Some ethicists also accept the induction of labor at an early stage when the fetus cannot survive outside the mother’s body.

Analgesia

The relief of pain accompanying illness is approved by both medical and church authorities. It is the duty of medical personnel, and a patient can only waive this right through an informed decision. Typically, a pain ladder is used to combat pain, starting with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and ending with strong opioids if necessary. However, sometimes, especially in the case of terminally ill cancer patients, even the usually administered doses of strong opioids prove insufficient because the patient becomes accustomed to the medication, which gradually loses its effectiveness. As a result, pain relief is achieved only by administering lethal doses, i.e., doses that cause death in some patients and may also cause death in the patient.

Administering a lethal dose carries the risk of being accused of euthanasia, which is illegal in many countries. This accusation is refuted using the principle of double effect. The administration of a lethal dose of an analgesic allows for the fulfillment of the following conditions:

• Alleviating the patient’s suffering is inherently good and demonstrates concern for the patient. Refusing analgesia would result in immense suffering for the dying patient.
• The intention of administering the medication must be good – the person must intend to alleviate the patient’s suffering. They cannot desire the death of the patient, although they should be aware of the possibility.
• However, death cannot be the means. This means that actions aiming to eliminate pain by killing the patient (as in euthanasia) are not acceptable. Death cannot serve the desired outcome; it cannot lead to it.
  
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  It can only be an unintended but tolerated or foreseeable consequence.
• The desired effect, in the form of pain relief, must be proportional to the threat posed to the patient. In cancer, severe, all-encompassing pain often occurs, affecting not only physical but also spiritual and psychological suffering. Such pain has no moral value in itself and does not fulfill its biological function. Alleviating the patient’s suffering in such cases is considered a proportionate effect compared to the threat associated with their relief.

Such high doses of strong opioids are only used when weaker analgesics and smaller doses are ineffective.

This reasoning is subject to criticism. Firstly, it is difficult to distinguish between intended and foreseeable consequences.

However, there are doubts about various laws. Some lawyers regard actions consistent with the principle of double effect as acts prohibited with eventual intent. Thus, the Penal Code of many countries would reject the principle of double effect. For instance, however, the Medical Code of Ethics, in Article 29, mandates the alleviation of a patient’s suffering until the end of their life in Poland. There is also a view that, in a situation of uncertainty regarding the threat to life, a doctor is exempt from liability for administering opioids, unlike the administration of a dose that will certainly cause the patient’s death. However, this view is based on erroneous premises, assuming that properly conducted analgesia does not include the administration of lethal doses. Such views reinforce, within the medical community, the fear of criminal liability for conducting effective analgesia and for inappropriate therapy of dying patients – with doses that do not affect them. Administering effective doses is defended here, invoking a state of higher necessity, the concept of primary legality of actions, and counter-type (in this case, extra-legal, but resulting from the Medical Code of Ethics, the Act on Healthcare Facilities, and the Act on the Profession of Physician and Dentist).

Transplantology

The principle of double effect is also sought to be applied in transplantology. The issue revolves around maintaining the dead donor rule in the case of donors with non-beating hearts.

Veatch repels such a threat precisely through the principle of double effect. However, Szewczyk criticizes this approach, considering the last of the aforementioned criteria of the principle of double effect unmet, citing living donors and donors diagnosed with brain death.

However, even the retrieval of organs from a living donor, which indeed worsens their physical health, is justified by the principle of double effect, although the principle of totality is also applied here. The physical suffering of the donor caused by the procedure is offset by a spiritual benefit. Such an approach was supported by Pope Pius XII during his speech at the International Neuro-Pharmacological Colloquium.

The lesser evil, or the lesser of two evils, is an ethical principle that justifies choosing one evil in order to avoid a greater evil. The condition of the principle is that of a strictly binary dilemma, meaning that there is no possibility of a third option (tertium non datur); for example, the option offered may be between the action​ that implies one evil and the omission​ that implies another different evil (which requires evaluating which of the two evils is lesser).

The impossibility of choosing between two equally attractive options is the paradox called “Buridan’s ass” (which would die of hunger and thirst if placed equidistant from food and water, unable to move in any direction). Examples of ethical dilemmas are Carneades’ table (where a castaway saves himself at the expense of causing another to drown) and the trolley problem (where one must choose to save a greater number of people at the cost of the lives of a smaller number, or vice versa).

Scylla and Charybdis

The myth of Scylla and Charybdis presents the choice between two evils that Ulysses had to face; by choosing to approach Scylla, he lost six companions, but if he had sailed alongside Charybdis, they all would have perished.

Therein dwells Scylla, yelping terribly. Her voice is indeed but as the voice of a new-born whelp, but she herself is an evil monster, nor would anyone be glad at sight of her, no, not though it were a god that met her. Verily she has twelve feet, all misshapen, and six necks, exceeding long, and on each one an awful head, and therein three rows of teeth, thick and close, and full of black death. Up to her middle she is hidden in the hollow cave, but she holds her head out beyond the dread chasm, and fishes there, eagerly searching around the rock for dolphins and sea-dogs and whatever greater beast she may haply catch, such creatures as deep-moaning Amphitrite rears in multitudes past counting. By her no sailors yet may boast that they have fled unscathed in their ship, for with each head she carries off a man, snatching him from the dark-prowed ship. “‘But the other cliff, thou wilt note, Odysseus, is lower—they are close to each other; thou couldst even shoot an arrow across—and on it is a great fig tree with rich foliage, but beneath this divine Charybdis sucks down the black water. Thrice a day she belches it forth, and thrice she sucks it down terribly. Mayest thou not be there when she sucks it down, for no one could save thee from ruin, no, not the Earth-shaker. Nay, draw very close to Scylla’s cliff, and drive thy ship past quickly; for it is better far to mourn six comrades in thy ship than all together.’

Homer, Odyssey, book XII. The words are spoken by Circe.​

The Latin phrase incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim (fell into Scylla while wanting to avoid Charybdis) became proverbial, with a similar meaning to expressions like “out of the frying pan into the fire,”​ “escape the fire only to fall into the coals,”​ or “between a rock and a hard place.”​ Erasmus includes it as an ancient proverb in Adages,​ although its earliest appearance is in Alexandreis, a 12th-century Latin epic poem by Gautier de Châtillon.​

History of philosophy and law

The principle of lesser evil apparently contradicts other ethical principles that would seem to indicate that it is never permissible to commit any evil, such as those posed about injustice (αδικία adikía) by Plato, in the mouth of Socrates, in the dialogues Gorgias (it is preferable to suffer injustice than to commit it), and Crito (injustice should not be committed even to avoid a greater injustice). In contrast, the principle is clearly defended by Aristotle in Book II of his Ethics, whose Latin version spread in the 13th century in Western Europe and was also adopted by Thomas à Kempis: De duobus malis, minor est semper eligendum (of two evils, the lesser must always be chosen).​

Aristotle defined virtue as a mean between two vices; proposing that it is advisable to fall into the less erroneous vice rather than the more erroneous one when one cannot hit the virtue (ta elachista lepteon ton kakon -“one must take the lesser of two evils”-).​ Cicero, in De officiis, gives as an example of choosing the lesser evil (minima de malis) not an easy way out but an example of heroism: the physical suffering that Marcus Atilius Regulus chose to endure in order to avoid breaking his oath.​

In the Middle Ages, the principle is reflected in Ivo of Chartres and in the Decree of Gratian, which is supported by texts such as this one from the Eighth Council of Toledo: si periculi necessitas unum ex his temperare compulerit, id debemus resoluere quod minori nexu noscitur obligari (“if an inexcusable danger compels us to perpetrate one of two evils, we must choose the one that makes us less guilty”); with that wording, it is evident that, although there is a moral obligation to inflict the lesser evil, the fact that there is an obligation to do so does not exempt from guilt or responsibility, since it is still an evil. As for the way to distinguish which of the two evils is lesser, there is an inconsistency among the manuscripts that contain the text of the Council: in one it says purae rationis acumene (“by the sharpness [clearness] of pure reason”) and in another orationis acumene (“by the sharpness [clearness] of prayer”).​

Electoral systems and psychological techniques

In political elections, especially in two-party systems, the options offered to the voter can both be seen as bad, so casting a vote usually does not mean identifying with a candidate considered optimal, but rather avoiding the candidate considered worse.​ In such contexts, expressions like “strategic voting” or “holding one’s nose while voting” are used.​​

There are theories and psychological techniques used in marketing and political campaigns (decision theory, neuroeconomics, and neuropolitics) that seek to guide consumer or voter preference by presenting comparative advantages or disadvantages. When not only the possibility of choosing between two options is posed, presenting a third instrumental option, closer to one option than to another, ensures that the preference leans in the desired direction. ​

Bioethics and medical ethics

The amputation of a foot to avoid greater harm (losing the entire leg or life) is a lesser evil assumed in medical practice, which is even expressed in a topic applicable to any other circumstance: “cutting out the unhealthy part.”
An important question is the possibility of applying the principle or criterion of the lesser evil in bioethical decision-making and medical ethics.​

To admit techniques like amputation, even for those who refuse to justify the principle of the lesser evil, a resort is made to differentiate between “physical evils” and “moral evils.”  According to moral rigorists, only physical evils could be subjected to a weighing of which evil is lesser, something impossible between two moral evils (absolute evils), while between a physical evil and a moral evil, the physical evil should always be preferred.

Justification of War as the Lesser Evil

While some aspects of ancient civilizations manifest a consideration of war as a good in itself or an honorable activity, others show it as an evil to be avoided as much as possible, but one must be aware that it cannot always be avoided (si vis pacem, para bellum). This is the case in the Greco-Roman world: according to Titus Livius, the Roman king Tullus Hostilius, despite his warlike nature, “calls the gods to witness that the calamities of this conflict [against the Albanians] will fall upon the people who first refused to listen to the demands of the ambassadors.” Cicero condemned the formalism that the rules of the ius fetiale imposed regarding the justification of the causes of war, proposing defense and revenge as the only just causes;​ although in some cases, he also proposes that war can be undertaken to “enlarge the boundaries of peace, order, and justice.”​

Illa injusta bella sunt quae sunt sine causa suscepta, nam extra ulciscendi aut propulsandorum hostium causam bellum geri justum nullum potest (“wars undertaken without reason are unjust, for no war can be waged justly unless for the purpose of repelling or avenging an enemy”).

Cicero, De Republica, III, XXIII.​

… if the iniquity of the opposing party is what leads the wise to uphold a just war, this iniquity should cause regret, since it is characteristic of human hearts to sympathize… So anyone who considers with pain these calamities so great, so horrendous, so inhuman, must confess to misery; and whoever suffers them, or considers them without feeling in his soul, is erroneously and miserably deemed blessed, for he has erased from his heart all human sentiment.

Augustine of Hippo, City of God, XIX.​

Christianity went from proposing radical pacifism in the time of persecutions to justifying wars when the Roman Empire was Christianized in the 4th century. From then on, the causes of just war (bellum iustum) were theorized, always to restore peace and repair the injustice received: thus in Augustine of Hippo (just wars avenge injustices) or Isidore of Seville (“to recover lost goods or repel and punish enemies for the unjust war initiated by madness or without legitimate cause”), whose ideas were collected in the Decree of Gratian.​ Other medieval authors who theorized about just war were Acursius, the decretists and decretalists, and Thomas Aquinas. For the latter, three requirements are necessary: legitimate authority (auctoritas principes), just cause, and right intention (intentio recta) to promote good and avoid evil. Thomism developed in a new context (that of humanism and the nation-states of the Modern Age) notably with the School of Salamanca (Francisco de Vitoria). With these Catholic thinkers, and with Protestants like Hugo Grotius and Alberico Gentili, the ius ad bellum (to wage war, there must be a just cause) was added to the ius in bello (in war, damage should be limited only to combatants, and there should be proportionality between the lives destroyed and those saved).​

President Harry Truman justified the use of atomic bombs on Japan based on a calculation of lives, according to which they saved more lives than they cost, assuming that any other option to end the war would have meant a greater number of casualties on both sides, although such calculations and motivations are disputed.​

… the truth is very simple: to survive, we often must fight, and to do so, we must get our hands dirty. War is evil, and sometimes it is the lesser evil.

George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia.​

How can you say that a good cause sanctifies even a war? I tell you: the good war sanctifies every cause!

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883-1885.

Collaborationism as the Lesser Evil

Those who denounce the moral fallacy of this argument are generally accused of aseptic moralism unrelated to political circumstances, of not wanting to dirty their hands; and it must be admitted that it is not so much political or moral philosophy (with the sole exception of Kant, who is usually accused of moral rigorism), but religious thought that has most unequivocally rejected all compromises with lesser evils. Thus, for example, the Talmud argues…: If they ask you to sacrifice a man for the security of the whole community, do not give him up; if they ask you to let a woman be raped for the sake of all women, do not let her be raped. … John XXIII … “never to act in collusion with evil in the hope that, by so doing, they can be of use to anyone.”

Politically speaking, the weakness of the argument has always been that those who choose the lesser evil quickly forget that they are choosing evil. … the extermination of the Jews was preceded by a very gradual series of anti-Jewish measures, each of which was accepted with the argument that refusing to cooperate would make things worse, until a stage was reached where nothing worse could have happened.

Hannah Arendt, Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship (1967).​

Tolerance as the Lesser Evil

For those who conceive of political power as a means to achieve the “maximum moral, both from religious perspectives (“to ordain good and forbid evil,” “heresy must be punished) and from secular totalitarianism, tolerance is a concession to evil since it allows its existence. In the context of the religious wars of 16th-century France, the politiques saw tolerance as the only way to achieve social peace, and Henry of Navarre agreed to convert to Catholicism to reign over a united country (“Paris is well worth a mass”), granting with the Edict of Nantes spaces of security for the Protestants. In the field of international relations, from the Peace of Westphalia (1648) onwards, the imposition of religion ceased to be a priority for European states as it had been in the previous century.

Realism in international politics requires tolerating moral differences with allies and enemies. The “balance of terror” of the mid-20th-century Cold War implied avoiding direct confrontations between superpowers if one wanted to avoid “mutual assured destruction,” forcing a peaceful coexistence with so-called realpolitik (renouncing the imposition of one’s own principles to achieve an understanding with the adversary). Even game theory was developed to weigh the logical consequences of the confrontation between adversaries with opposing interests (in the “prisoner’s dilemma,” the possibility of voluntarily assuming a punishment to avoid a greater one by collaborating with an adversary facing the same perspective).

United with the principle of lesser evil, and as a consequence of it, we can state the principle of tolerance. This has great relevance due to the pluralistic environment of our society. In a certain sense, we can understand it as “not preventing an evil, although capable of doing so, but without expressly approving it.” Consequently, regarding truth and opinion, the stance is one of respect, while in the face of evil and error, tolerance is appropriate. We can distinguish two types of tolerance: one is dogmatic, which permits everything, as for it, everything is equal. This position cannot be sustained… [but] it continues to be supported by many thinkers, for whom the relativistic view of tolerance (the dogmatic one), often presented as ethical pluralism or the neutrality of the State, is the condition for the possibility of peaceful democratic coexistence. The other type of tolerance is practical, allowing error without approving it. That is, it focuses on fundamental ethical values for coexistence: peace, freedom, and justice to legally guarantee the demands of human dignity. This second type, with some nuances, can be admitted. It is what has been called “negative permission of evil.” Tolerance, in the strict sense, that is, as a moral principle, can be defined as follows: “in some circumstances, it is morally permissible not to prevent an evil – although capable of preventing it – in consideration of a higher good or to avoid more serious disorders.”

Traditionally, the argument of the lesser evil has been applied in social ethics within the framework of the permission by public authorities of certain evils to avoid worse evils [But when one must choose between two dangers, in each of which there is an imminent peril, it is better to choose that one from which less evil follows. Thomas Aquinas, On Kingship, I, 6]. From the 16th century onwards, this notion has been extended to the distinction between the sphere of personal ethics and the sphere of legal order and governmental action. It is then when the contemporary concept of “tolerance” arises, understood as the attitude of States accepting the primacy of individual decisions over public authorities, in less relevant aspects of the common good, gradually opening a more marked dissociation between individual morality and public order, as in John Locke in his Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), or in Voltaire with his Treatise on Tolerance (1763). However, this gradual process has not ceased to reveal its contradictions. The sophistical uses of the argument of the lesser evil, and its use in a context unrelated to the perception of the absolute ethical demands of truth about the human person and their dignity, have been denounced by contemporary thought, especially since the Second World War. Hannah Arendt has made a sharp critique of the aberrant and ideological uses of the argument of the lesser evil in an attempt to numb moral consciousness during the National Socialist period in her book Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship (1964): “The acceptance of the lesser evil was consciously used to accustom officials and the population to generally accept evil itself.”

Justification of Torture as the Lesser Evil

Since at least Jeremy Bentham,​ the use of torture has been purportedly justified as a lesser evil, with the so-called “ticking time bomb scenario” (TBS):​ authorities have caught a terrorist who has just placed a bomb, and he refuses to provide information about its location, so there is no way to prevent the death of many people unless he is forced to do so. Alan Dershowitz argues that both evils must be analyzed, and one must be willing to accept the consequences of the choice, concluding that torturing the detainee is the lesser evil. Michael Ignatieff agrees with the approach, warning that it could only be applied as a last resort if it were impossible to resolve the emergency with other methods; but he insists on pointing out the danger of turning it into a greater evil if it is disconnected from the assumptions of the scenario (real and immediate threat) and becomes a systematic recourse (applied to suspects or for potential events), as would have happened after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

A Morton’s Fork is a type of false dilemma where contradictory observations lead to the same conclusion. It’s said to have originated with tax collection by John Morton. The first known use of the term dates back to the mid-19th century, and the only earlier known mention is a claim by Francis Bacon about an existing tradition.

Dilemma

Under Henry VII, John Morton was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486 and Lord Chancellor in 1487. He raised tax funds for his king by arguing that someone living modestly must be saving money and therefore could afford to pay taxes, while someone living extravagantly obviously was wealthy and thus could also pay taxes. The Morton’s Fork might have been invented by another of Henry’s supporters, Richard Foxe.

In some cases, like Morton’s original use of the fallacy, one of the two observations may be likely valid, but the other is purely sophistic.

In other cases, it may be that neither observation can be trusted to properly support the conclusion.

A Morton’s Fork can lead a person not to make a choice at all, possibly with undesirable consequences. A more thorough consideration of the alternatives may sometimes reveal an additional option or show that one of the available options does produce a less unfavorable result than the other. Sometimes a Morton’s Fork can also be solved by finding an exception to the rule.

Other similar concepts to Morton’s Fork are between hammer and anvil or between Scylla and Charybdis; namely a choice between two or more equally undesirable alternatives. Morton’s Fork is the logical counterpart of Buridan’s Donkey (Buridan’s Ass).

Examples

The “Morton’s Fork coup” is a maneuver in the game of contract bridge that uses the principle of Morton’s Fork.

An episode of the television series Fargo is titled “Morton’s Fork,” referencing the dilemma.