Inversion of Morality

Where it surfaces

• Erewhon

  Erewhonian society treats illness as a crime and crime as a misfortune, inverting conventional moral judgments.

• VII: First Impressions

  The Erewhonians treat possession of a watch as a crime, inverting the European moral framework where such objects are valued.

• VIII: In Prison

  Illness is treated as a crime, while moral failings like embezzlement are seen as recoverable ailments.

• To the Metropolis

  Embezzlement is socially acceptable while poverty is criminalized, highlighting the topsy-turvy moral code of Erewhon.

• Current Opinions

  Erewhon inverts Victorian morality: crime is treated as illness requiring medical treatment, while physical illness is hidden and stigmatized.

• XI: Some Erewhonian Trials

  Erewhonian law punishes misfortune and illness as crimes, while rewarding luck and health, reversing conventional moral judgments.

• XII: Malcontents

  Erewhon punishes illness as a crime, inverting conventional moral judgments about health and disease.

• XIII: The Views of the Erewhonians Concerning Death

  Erewhonians invert conventional moral attitudes: death is less abhorrent than disease, childbirth is treated as a shameful illness, and statues are destroyed after fifty years.

• XIV: Mahaina

  Erewhon's inversion of moral and physical responsibility is highlighted: illness is treated as a crime, while moral failings like dipsomania are discussed as if they were physical ailments.

• XIX: The World of the Unborn

  Erewhon inverts conventional morality by treating birth as a capital crime and suicide as the means to enter life, challenging the reader's assumptions about good and evil.

• The Colleges of Unreason

  The society values unreason as a complement to reason, inverting the typical moral and intellectual priorities, and justifying inconsistency and evasion as necessary for daily life.

• XXIII: The Book of the Machines

  The argument inverts typical moral assumptions by suggesting machines might be a threat requiring preemptive destruction.

• XXIV: The Machines—Continued

  The Erewhonian text inverts the typical view of machines as servants, arguing they are actually masters that enslave humanity.

• XXV: The Machines—Concluded

  Erewhonian society inverts moral values by treating mechanical progress as a threat worthy of destruction, while illness is criminalized.

• XXVI: The Views of an Erewhonian Prophet Concerning the Rights of Animals

  The prophet's teachings invert conventional morality by making the killing of animals for food a crime, while common sense and nature are portrayed as the true guides.

• The Views of an Erewhonian Prophet Concerning the Rights of Vegetables

  The philosopher inverts conventional morality by arguing that eating vegetables is as sinful as eating meat, leading to absurd dietary restrictions.

• Escape

  The narrator is to be prosecuted for 'measles' while his deceitful escape plan is seen as legitimate by the Erewhonians.