Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
This article proposes that to understand the ethical and philosophical dimensions of Cormac McCarthy’s work one must engage in an articulation of mortal ethics. To do this, it is necessary to understand how The Road depicts the material destruction of the world, and the ethical consequences such phy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12337 |
| _version_ | 1797310358330802176 |
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| author | Patrick Damien O’Connor |
| author_facet | Patrick Damien O’Connor |
| author_sort | Patrick Damien O’Connor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article proposes that to understand the ethical and philosophical dimensions of Cormac McCarthy’s work one must engage in an articulation of mortal ethics. To do this, it is necessary to understand how The Road depicts the material destruction of the world, and the ethical consequences such physical destruction imposes on the novel’s central protagonists. More specifically, this article argues that Cormac McCarthy’s The Road presents an anti-metaphysics with consequences for understanding philosophical concepts of memory and community, as well as McCarthy’s effort to construct universal forms of being together. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:42:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef034135fb5e4717b669a44c81f302f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:42:47Z |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef034135fb5e4717b669a44c81f302f42024-02-14T13:21:49ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-933612310.4000/ejas.12337Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The RoadPatrick Damien O’ConnorThis article proposes that to understand the ethical and philosophical dimensions of Cormac McCarthy’s work one must engage in an articulation of mortal ethics. To do this, it is necessary to understand how The Road depicts the material destruction of the world, and the ethical consequences such physical destruction imposes on the novel’s central protagonists. More specifically, this article argues that Cormac McCarthy’s The Road presents an anti-metaphysics with consequences for understanding philosophical concepts of memory and community, as well as McCarthy’s effort to construct universal forms of being together.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12337EthicsMaterialismPhilosophyCommunityMortality |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Damien O’Connor Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road European Journal of American Studies Ethics Materialism Philosophy Community Mortality |
| title | Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road |
| title_full | Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road |
| title_fullStr | Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road |
| title_short | Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road |
| title_sort | anti matters mortal ethics in cormac mccarthy s the road |
| topic | Ethics Materialism Philosophy Community Mortality |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12337 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patrickdamienoconnor antimattersmortalethicsincormacmccarthystheroad |