In this episode, I analyze the novella Billy Budd, by the Great American writer Herman Melville. I analyze the novella in light of two philosophical issues. One is the question of whether the law of society trumps our own conscience. The other is the phenomenon of an irrational pursuit of evil for the sake of evil, through which we have no personal gain. The opera by Benjamin Britten of Billy Budd can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=GOdS6cGDRCw.
