ethical act, n.Definitions

An Ethical act (n.) establishes ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not myself but the thing.

The Ethical act (n.) in ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a deadlock can only say: "If I'm lucky, my present act will have been ethical!"

The Ethical act (n.) at ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠its highest may be Siegmund refusing Valhalla: giving up eternal bliss to stay mortal with the woman he loves.

An Ethical act (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the opposite of making oneself the instrument of the big Other: Sophia Karpai, kept sleepless in a refrigerated cell, refused to sign the confession that would have launched Stalin's "doctors' plot," and held out until he fell into his final coma.

An Ethical act (n.) can ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠coincide with not doing: in Ophuls's Caught, Leonora silently watches her husband convulse on the floor, ignores his pleas for water and pills, and withdraws, wishing him dead — choosing the death drive over the Good of compassion.