Omelas Halkı: Karar Vermek Zorunda Olanlar

Öz

Birey ve toplum birbirini etkileyen iç içe geçmiş iki unsurdur. Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1974) adlı kısa öyküsünde, Omelas toplumundaki tüm bireylerin mutluluk, sağlık ve refahının korunmasının bir çocuğun sürekli acı çekmesiyle sağlandığı bir durumu resmederek bu iki konsepti yansıtmak için farklı bir yaklaşım kullanır. Böylece bu ahlaki ikilem Omelas toplumunu iki gruba ayırır: kolektif mutluluğuna öncelik veren ve bunu sağlamaya kararlı olan üyeler ve ayrılma isteğiyle motive olan bireyler. Hikâyede, Le Guin tarafından resmedilen ahlaki ikilem çözümlenmemiş bir şekilde kalmakta ve bu da daha fazla incelemeyi beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu çalışma, okuyuculara tarafların fikirleri ve tercihleri hakkında ayrıntılı bir anlayış sunarak, her iki tarafın motifleri ve gerekçelerinin objektif bir analizini sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, kolektif çıkara odaklanarak kalmayı tercih edenler John Stu-art Mill’in Faydacılık teorisiyle içselleştirilirken, bireysel kaygılara odaklanarak uzaklaşmayı tercih edenler ise Transandantalizm yaklaşımıyla analiz edilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Omelas
• Faydacılık
• Transandantalizm
• kolektivizm
• bireycilik

The People of Omelas: Those Who Have to Decide

Öz

The individual and society are two intertwined elements that influence each other. In her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1974), Ursula K. Le Guin employs a distinctive approach to demonstrate these two concepts by illustrating a situation in which the preservation of the happiness, health, and prosperity of all individuals in Omelas society is ensured by the constant suffering of a child. Consequently, this moral dilemma divides Omelas society into two groups: those members who prioritize the collective happiness and are committed to achieving it, and those individuals who are motivated by their desire to leave. In the narrative, the moral dilemma depicted by Le Guin remains unresolved, thus inviting further examination. This study aims to present an objective analysis of the motives and justifications of opposing sides, offering readers a detailed understanding of the ideas and choices made by each. Therefore, the ones who focus on the collective interest and choose to stay are internalized with John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism theory, while the ones who choose to walk away by focusing on individual concerns are analysed with Transcendentalism approach.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Omelas
• Utilitarianism
• Transcendentalism
• collectivism
• individualism

Kaynakça

1. Bakratcheva, A. (2013). Visibility beyond the visible: The poetic discourse of American transcendentalism (Costerus New Series, 196). Brill Academic Publishing.
2. Bassford, A. D. (2022). Conscientious utilitarianism; or, the utilitarians who walk away from Omelas. Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy, 5, 11.
3. Buell, L. (2004). Emerson (Illustrated ed.). Harvard University Press.
4. Bodily, C. L. (1987). Henry David Thoreau: The instrumental transcendentalist? Journal of Economic Issues, 21(1), 203-218. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4225823
5. Emerson, R. W. (2008). Nature. Penguin Books Ltd.
6. Emerson, R. W. (2020). The conduct of life. İdeal Kültür Yayıncılık.
7. Herr, W. A. (1975). A more perfect state: Thoreau’s concept of civil government. The Massachusetts Review, 16(3), 470–487. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25088566
8. Herzog, A. (2021). Dilemmas of political agency and sovereignty: The Omelian allegory. Theory, Culture & Society, 38(4), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276420967436

9. Hirsch, A. K. (2016). Walking off the edge of the world: Sacrifice, chance, and dazzling dissolution in the book of job and Ursula K. Le Guin’s “the ones who walk away from Omelas”. Humanities, 5(3), 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/h5030067
10. Kabir, N. F. (2022). Evaluating the values of the sheepish slaves: A synthetical analysis of “the lottery” and “the ones who walk away from Omelas” in light of Nietzsche’s ruminations. International Journal of Literature Studies, 2(1), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijts.2022.2.1.5
11. Le Guin, U. K. (1991). The ones who walk away from Omelas (Variations on a theme by William James). Utopian Studies, 2(1/2), 1-5. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20719019
12. Langbauer, L. (2008). Ethics and theory: Suffering children in Dickens, Dostoevsky, and Le Guin. ELH, 75(1), 89-108. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30029586
13. Mill, J. S. (2017). Utilitarianism. Gece Kitaplığı.
14. Mooney, E. F. (2015). Excursions with Thoreau: Philosophy, poetry, religion. Bloomsbury Academic.
15. Nelson, W. S. (1962). Thoreau and American non-violent resistance. The Massachusetts Review, 4(1), 56-60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25086944
16. Roemer, K. M. (1991). The talking porcupine liberates utopia: Le Guin’s “Omelas” as pretext to the dance. Utopian Studies, 2(1/2), 6–18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20719020
17. Thoreau, H. D. (2018). Walden and civil disobedience: Collins classics. HarperCollins.
18. Thoreau, H. D. (2024). Walking (2nd ed.). Literart Yayınları.