No Country For Old Men

1189 Words5 Pages
No Country for Old Men: How a psychopath can be a metaphor embodying Western ethical theory. No Country for Old Men: How a psychopath can be a metaphor embodying Western ethical theory. Introduction In what follows, I will analyze the ethical themes in the movie No Country for Old Men. It is my thesis that Anton Chigurh’s character was a metaphor, an embodiment of all Western ethical theories. Chigurh’s character embodies the theories of Deontology, Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Theory. Section 1 will define the ethical theories of Deontology, Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Theory. Section 2 will locate specific examples from the film to prove the validity of my thesis. Section 3 will look at opposing viewpoints, while the conclusion will summarize what has been proven. I Definition This section will provide definitions of ethical theories, such as Deontology, Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Theory. Deontology (Kantianism) theory stipulates that people must decide for themselves what is rational. Personal desires outside of one’s principles are thought of as outside forces with the potential to thwart rationality. One who acts as a Kantian must be completely unwavering of these principles. Egoism is the ethical theory that people are largely consumed with their own self-interests, and all acts are pursued primarily out of self-interest and personal desires. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory where one pursues acts that are deemed to be reasonable and catering to the needs of most people, doing the action that results in the most good for the most people, discarding anything that isn’t useful to the collective. Virtue ethics (Aristotelianism) is the idea that people should ask what the best character traits are to possess, and what is the best sort of person to be? It is clear that Anton Churguh’s character embodies the principles of all of
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