The Road by Cormac McCarthy Essay Example for Free

The Road by Cormac McCarthy EssayThe Road by Cormac McCarthy is a legend based in a post-apocalyptic population. It revolves around the life of a father and a word of honor who atomic number 18 struggling to survive. Everything around them is destroyed, filled with ash and stripped of life in so far the two continue to locomote south, towards the sea hoping for better daytimes to come. Their lives are lived in a constant state of fear. Every day spent scavenging for food as they are constantly moving, trying to stay un noniced and safe. In the world that they live in, survival is the whole goal and the creation of les watchwordity has become non-existent.Cannibalism is the greatest fear as every bingle(a)ness is a predator. But in this Barren, silent, godless (4) world, where the days more gray each sensation hence what had g iodine before (1) and where public is prey to piece of music, the opus and the boy hold their ground. They commit not yet disconnected t heir sense of honorableity and refuse to resort to a lifestyle that many another(prenominal) around them project adapted. To them certain acts are intrinsically wrong (OBrien) and never simplyifiable. This way of thinking and ethical view resonates with the concept of moral absolutism.This philosophy, built on the foundations of Immanuel Kants belief that moral philosophy is the ability to act rationally, may be used as an explanation as to why the man and boy stick to their principles. Though, the two have very similar beliefs, the extent to which they follow and believe in them is different as the boy has stronger moral values. Therefore, under Kants philosophy, the boy in Cormac McCarthys The Road is arguably a moral absolutistic due to the upbringing and relationship between him and his father as they are both accountable to one another and have a relationship as strong as one between man and God. despotism or something that is downright is a principle that is universally valid, and is viewed without relation to other things. Moral Absolutism is when morality is universally valid and certain principles are viewed without relation to other things therefore they remain absolute no matter what situation or context they are put it. As a result, moral absolutism outlines that certain acts are always immoral and are never justifiable regardless of the motif behind them or the consequences of those actions. When analysing Kants philosophy on morality there are three aspects that pauperization to be considered.Firstly, as mentioned before, moral principles are absolute and do not allow for exceptions. These principles are not questionable because if they are put into different contexts and hypothetical situations, this opens doors to potentially infinite number of revisions and subtle qualifiers, and leaves one in a moral mess that Kant thought he was clarifying. (Rousseau) Secondly, Kant believed that all human beings are intrinsically important and that one should always respect the intrinsic worth of rational beings (Weilenberg).Therefore it is wrong to swear out others as instrumental means for ones gain (Josephson Institute). Thirdly and finally Kant contributed to the rule of Universality, which is that one should only act in a way that they believe would be appropriate if it was applied universally. import that if one believes that an action is moral, would it remain moral if everyone around them was to act in that way. The rules and principles outlined in Kants moral philosophy and the basics of moral absolutism are visible in The Road by Cormac McCarthy.The man and the boy follow this belief system but as mentioned before, the extent to which the boy follows or believes in them is frequently different than the man. The man refers to himself and his son as the wide-cut guys and as outlined in Weilenbergs essay they follow a moral code. This code consists of primarily never resorting to cannibalism, to not deceitfulness or stealing, helping others and never giving up (Weilenberg). These principles are very similar to those outlined in Kantian moral philosophy. All rational beings should be respected and should not be used for ones own gain.Therefore cannibalism is never justifiable and helping others is a moral principle that must(prenominal) be followed. Throughout the novel, the man and the boy face many life threatening situations and it is during these situations that their level of morality is either weakened or strengthened. The first example of this would be when the man and the child encounter a man who has been struck by lightning but the man convinces the boy that it is not beneficial for them to help thus far after the boys urging (50).The man is ignoring principles and is focusing on his or their own good which goes against Kantian philosophy but even at this point the boy tries to convince his father otherwise. At another instance the boy responds to his father by saying, If you brea k little promises, youll break big ones (34) just as Kant argues that justifying one action opens up doors for an infinite number of possibilities which goes against absolutist principles. One of the main issues in the novel is cannibalism.The society in this post-apocalyptic world has in a way accepted cannibalism because of the threat of starvation but the man and the boy promise one another that no matter what the situation, they will not resort to it as the boy states, We wouldnt ever eat anybody, would we? .. No matter what? and the father reassures his son by repeating, No. No, matter what. This is the fundamental statement that shows an absolute moral. Therefore they are arguably chase Kantian philosophy and abide by moral absolutism.The man and the boy are living in a world where morality does not exist as a result of this one many question the motivation behind the man and the boys moral standing. Though everyone around them has lost all sense of humanity, the two still follow certain principles. Early on in the novel, the man says, If he the boy is not the word of God God never spoke(5). Though this, it can be inferred that the man sees God in his son. He sees a superior being and a higher fairness in his son. The mans life surrounds around his sons survival and he is his one and only motivation.Same applies to the son, as they both rely and trust in one another. Not only is The Road a bosh of survival in a post-apocalyptic world but it is also the tale of the trammel net between father and the son and how strong this bond can be. The father preaches absolute morality to his son and they are both accountable to one another. This, is arguably the reason as to why the man and the boy hold absolute morals and values. In God and Moral Absolutes, Mathew OBrien argues that once the cosmea of God is command out, it is impossible to demonstrate that there are moral absolutes.This argument can be looked with a different perspective. Though, the conce pt of God is not as strong in the man or the boys life their moral standing is very strong. Here the existence of God is ruled out but the bond between two people exists and as a result of this bond the father and son continue to live by their values. Also after the fathers death, the son continues to spiritually communicate with his father but it is stated, He tried to talk to God but the stovepipe thing was to talk to his father (286). Here, it may be argued that the bond between father and son was much stronger than that of man and God.