When we read about the four visions of anarchy, we focused on Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and Kropotkin.
We didn't read Jean Jaques Rousseau, but he also had a vision of anarchy. One very important difference that he asserted against Hobbes and Locke was that man has pity or compassion for those in pain. Man is not only selfish and power hungry, but he is also compassionate.
What do you think about this? Do you think that man is compassionate? How would compassion shape the book we're reading, The Road? Would the story be different of men were depicted as compassionate? Or, would compassion be overrun by man's effort to acquire his desires, to be the most powerful, to be successful and strong?
I believe man is capable of being compassionate, especially if one has gone through the same hardships he witnesses another going through. If 'The Road' showed men with more compassion, I don't think the story would have the same affect or suspense. Everyday the man and boy have to be cautious of what is ahead, not knowing if it will be their last day alive. If man were more compassionate, they would not try to eat the two and instead would try to help them, giving the man and boy fewer things to worry about. This would create a sense of safety throughout the book, which is not usually around in a state of anarchy. While man would still be be power hungry, trying to only better his own position, he would still be able to show compassion. Whether or not he used compassion would come down to the situation and the man himself. The decision to be compassionate would be based on the morals and thoughts of man.
ReplyDeleteAustin Cline PSCI 100.04
I believe man is compassionate, I think naturally we're born with some sense of compassion, and desire to help others, however the world around us causes us to forget how to be compassionate to others outside of our own family, if even we're compassionate to them. I think as we grow older we're taught to hate, to be annoyed, and to ignore those in need because society around us tells us that everyone is out to get us. We're taught not to trust people, at least in this country we are.
ReplyDeleteI think that in The Road, the boy tries so hard to exercise compassion, yet his father refuses to allow him to show it to anyone because his father believed that you couldn't trust anyone, and in that environment you couldn't. I think if the man exercised more compassion, he and his son could have been at danger because the culture/time they were living in. I think the cannibals would take advantage of compassion, and those that they helped were helped to much it would be taken advantage of. Take welfare or unemployment for an example, it's the governments act of compassion towards their people, yet people take advantage of it.
Kyla Seaman PSCI 100.04
I believe that when man has all his basic needs taken care of, he is compassionate towards others. When there is struggle for the resources necessary to be alive, he must constantly be thinking of how he wil get food or water. I believe his basic instinct to survive would overcome any compassion for a stranger. There are still those in todays society that lack compassion. We spoke about it in class; most people who live in the city will ignore an elderly woman laying on the sidewalk, whereas in Shepherdstown most would stop and help her. I believe that a person's amount of compassion depends on where he or she was raised, where he or she lives, and what the situation he or she is in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Austin when it comes to the Road; the story would be much less interesting if there was not a constant feeling of fear.
Danielle Fuhrmann PSCI 100.04
I don't believe that man is compassionate. In the world that we live in, it's almost impossible to be compassionate. As a child we were all taught to share and to play well with others, but once we grow up we are told that it's every man for himself. I believe that its a matter of our society and not so much genetics or "nature." I believe that if you're not willing to look out for yourself then no one else will.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the book i think that the book would be just another happy underdog story if it weren't for all of the violence and the unknown. But with the added darkness and lack of compassion the father and the boy are forced to fend for them selves and to sleep with one eye open.
I agree with that when basic needs are met there is room for compassion for those less fortunate. I also believe that when basic needs are met there is a desire to covet what others who are better off than you have. Jealousy and greed are also part of man’s make up along with compassion and pity. Sometimes it’s situational and sometimes it’s just who you are and how you were raised. So, Rosseau was, at least honest by pointing out that the coin has two sides.
ReplyDeleteCompassion is more what you feel toward someone you’re willing to help. Pity is more what you feel toward someone when you know you can’t or won’t help. The book is more aligned with our earlier classes that identify safety as the first objective. The father is locked on safety/survival to the point that he can’t trust anyone. In their situation that is a life or death rule. It may be unfair to the one person who is trust worthy but it keeps you safe from the other 9 that aren’t. The author depicts the boy as naturally being compassionate. He also depicts the father as understanding his son’s compassion but knowing that he must teach the boy to ignore his natural reaction in order to survive. I think the father has compassion but knows it can be fatal so he displays pity instead.
Joe Woodburn
PSCI 100-05
I believe compassion is learned throughout one's life. We determine what is good and bad and what and who deserves a person's compassion from life experiences. From that point on, we show compassion to those we trust and feel close to. The Road incorporated many moments of compassion, but if we take step back and examine these examples, they come from a little boy, not from the grown men. The innocence and purity still exists within this little boy.
ReplyDeleteIf all the men were compassionate, there wouldn't be too much of a plot. The man and boy were running south to survive from this society, as well as defending themselves against the bad men. But if those bad men were compassionate, the book would end in a few pages because the bad men would show compassion and help them. Also, this idea of anarchy would be lost. Everybody would attempt to cooperate and assist one another versus killing each other for resources.
[Matthew Tark PSCI 100.04]
I don't think in today's society that man is able to be compassionate. The daily life routine is very rushed, focused, and fast paced that we rarely have the time to be compassionate or to help others. The example in class we used is walking right past homeless people begging for money in DC. There are few individuals who stop and give these homeless people money, a blanket, or even food. It is very rare that individuals help to aid each other because frankly, the human race is very selfish and only wants to do what gets them ahead which means stepping on anyone to get there.
ReplyDeleteIn The Road the cannibals clearly aren't very compassionate to the father and son. They never let them get ahead and always have them on the fence of what will happen next. They could let the father and son go along their way without and disturbances, but don't. The only individuals in The Road that show compassion, I feel, are the father and son. The Father shows compassion for the boy and is constantly aiding him, sheltering him, and putting the boy before his own-self. The son on the other hand is compassionate for not only his father, but other individuals he sees struggling, whether it’s the little boy, the dog, or the men they see along the way. The son is constantly trying to give, help, or aid these individuals just like his father aids him.
Though the book is very gloomy and dark, we can see the deep compassion that the father has for his son. Though he dies and the son has to fend on his own for a short time the father helped prepare him for what’s to come.
Compassion may exist in some individuals in today society but I feel it’s rare to see individuals helping each other out. It is sad because we are taught at such a young age to show manners, be kind, and respectful but most of the generations today lack these values thus lacking the compassion for each other.
-Shelby Pendergraft, PSCI 100.04
Compassion, I believe, is an expression of a persons moral code. Therefore compassion is as prevalent in human nature as the virtues of right and wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the source(s) of a persons moral code (such as personal, social, religious, or government), I believe the most direct source is the nurturing of that individual, beginning at birth. Therefore, the source of the moral code of that nurturing body (be it parent, school, state, wolves, whatever), has to be examined. It seems apparent that society, whether that involves three people or 300 million, is solely responsible for shaping the values and thus moral code, that any particular person is going to 'adopt', in which then is passed down. However, it seems that society is not an original being, i.e. a union of two occurs before a union of state. Therefore, an argument for right and wrong (along with compassion) being an innate and universal 'occurrence' must be made. With this argument, experience and independent variability would be the source of variations to the universal right and wrong; to be manifested through personal action and enforced as the norm through government/law and/or religion.
However, examples of all that is hypothesized above is not readily seen in the natural environment. For example, my belief of what the universal right and wrong is is simply do all that is possible to prevent harm to another. Throughout nature, however, individuals harm other individuals continuously in order to survive. I believe this is how an anarchic society would 'naturally' look for humans if continuously kept as the 'working system': some would cooperate (herds), some would be individualistic, some would scavenge, some would specialize in some feeding behavior while others would specialize in others. Competition would carried out for mates, food, and protection. Ultimately individuals would perish at the benefit of others, which is against (what I define as) the universal moral code. So therefore, based upon the observation of 'nature', no innate universal moral code exists.
Compassion is, however, observed when any species provides nurturing to its young. Not all animals do this. Some species flourish by placing all their energy in producing mass amounts of young while giving little to nurturing, while others put all their energy into nurturing and only producing a small amount of young. Therefore, if a 'sense' of right and wrong is the source for compassion, as I argued in the beginning, then that sense of right and wrong originates within a particular individual, at a particular time, due to particular circumstance and condition, and passed down generation after generation dependent on experience and condition.
With all that said, I believe that if McCarthy injected compassion into any of the characters personality, it naturally would have decreased their security, thus providing a short story rather than a novel. Unless, of course, all characters within the novel demonstrated acts of compassion, which i argue would be completely unnatural (i.e. impossible) due to the role of experience and circumstance, in addition to personality (intelligence, physiological makeup, etc.) on the adoption and expression of moral acts (such as compassion).
Severin Condon PSCI 100.05
To say that the novels characters do not have compassion is to say that the love and protection that the father and son show is lacking compassion. However, if this novel focused around a center of compassion we may have a novel that depicts a new uprising of a society that once existed in shambles or a new society build on tranquility and hope. It is also plausible that we would have a very similar novel to what we have in which a band or collective of nomads forged the land in search of food to cure their starvation and shelter to warm and protect themselves. It would then simply be more people starving and traveling in a desolate land together to no end. If we completely took this book and filled it to the brim with compassion and made it a joyous fairy tale we would be missing what the author is attempting to show us about the need for some form of governing body and the destruction that can occur at the hands of man.
ReplyDeleteJordan Clark PSCI 100.05
In my opinion, compassion is a learned trait and is not innate. I believe that compassion ties into your morals as a person, but those morals are learned from other individuals that you associate with. If the novel The Road were to be re-written with the notion that man is compassionate, then I doubt that there would be people eating babies and other humans, and with that drive for hunger they might work together to come up with a solution for starvation.
ReplyDeleteKaitlin Drake PSCI 100:04
I do not believe most men will be compassionate in a state of anarchy. I think most people will be thinking "survival of the fittest", and will look out for themselves. Indirectly they may show compassion to get what they want. In other words they will deceive their neighbor to survive.
ReplyDeleteI think man is capable of being compassionate. However, I also believe that the instance where man acts on that compassionate impulse is rare. For instance, think about how often people will see, say a homeless person or someone else in need, and they think "Oh man, that poor guy." Yet, they continue to go about their day without a second thought. In a state of anarchy I believe that the thought of compassion would be practically obselete. The only time where compassion would be extended, I think, is when the person in need was not a threat.
ReplyDeleteI think the book The Road would be a completly different story if man were compassionate. Instead of being a story of lone survival it would be a story of people working together to rebuild society. In the book as it is now there is a small glimmering of compassion extended by the boy to the old man. As we see here the boy, who only has known the compassion of his father, must convince him to help the old man. Wheras the man, who has known of compassion before, is reluctant to help him. This exemplify the ability for compassion, but how man does not always act, for whatever reason there may be, on that thought.
Chloe Powers PSCI 100.05
I believe in general man is naturally compassionate. I believe that it is experiences that feeds man into pity instead of compassion towards others. A great example of this is in The Road when the young boy and the man run into the older man suffering. The young boy who has grown up in this world of anarchy is the one who wants to stop and help the old man while the man wants to keep moving past. In the end the boy convinces the man the stop and feed the old man and have him join them for the night. The mans life is shaped differently to the boys where he is left to not trust anyone so in this case he only shows pity. While the young boy who has grown up in the world of anarchy is the one who wants to stop and be compassionate towards the old man.
ReplyDeleteIf everyone in The Road was compassionate it would completely reshape the way the book was portrayed. Men would be nicer to one another and help each other versus taking advantage of each other like they are in the book now.
I believe in the end though that the struggle for power would over come the compassion that man would have for one another. We see this in todays world, power equals everything and what everyone strives for.
Kayla Walker PSCI 100.05
I believe all people are capable of compassion; it’s just stronger in particular individuals. Some people can also ignore that feeling and go on about their day. Then there’s the people (me) who dwell on issues and care to much about those around us, wanting to ‘save’ ‘heal’ ’fix’ everything. The book would change in many ways but not everyone has the same qualities. There would still be groups of cannibals but there would also be groups of compassionate people who trust one another and look out for each other. Family like structures.. But self preservation is always a factor. You can only be so compassionate… putting your life at risk for another is a very huge sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very possible for man to show compassion. in "The Road" compassion was shown by the boy and then forced to be shown upon the father. That proves that even in a world of destruction, compassion still exists. Also, at the end after the father dies, the man takes the boy to his family and forms a safe place for him to continue on. That also shows compassion. Although this is true, most of the story showed situations and people where compassion wasn't depicted at all. The canibals are an example of this. If the whole story was compassion based it wouldn't be nearly as interesting as it was. Honestly it would be pretty boring. The author did a good job not showing compassion in too many characters to get his point across of what anarchy is really like.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Amorati PSCI 100.04
I think that man is compassionate, but man might not show it. In this world you could either feel compassionate and show it or not. What im trying to say is just because you feel something doesn't mean you need to show it. I think if people were compassionate in the book The Road I don't believe it would change very much. I think they might feel compassion each time a can-able would eat another but they would go along with it so they wouldn't die themselves. After they eat someone they might feel sad or upset but they would keep moving knowing that the survived hunger. Also I think some would help the little boy because they had compassion more for kids than adults.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Martin PSCI 100.04
I think that man is born compassionate in nature, but society changes that by subliminally training us to not trust people, therefore not to be compassionate to those we don't trust.
ReplyDeleteI think The Road would be a little different if people were compassionate. A group of the compassionates could form a group and they would band against the cannibals. That would be their ultimate goal, not to let the cannibals overrun them.
I agree with Jean Jaques Rousseau that in the condition of anarchy, man has pity or compassion for those in pain. Every man has compassion, but not every man shows it. One man may show his compassion more than another. Also, the way man shows compassion varies within the individual. For example, the little boy in the shows compassion towards everyone, by wanting to help everyone he sees that's in trouble. But, the man only shows compassion towards the little boy by making sure he is okay and that he is fed every night. In the book, if there would be more compassionate people the story would definitely change because instead of people killing each other to survive, they would work together and find a way to survive as a team. There will be those people that are selfish and only care about their safety. So when they encounter someone that is compassionate, these selfish people will take advantage of those who are compassionate.
ReplyDelete--Keani Chinn PSCI 100.05
I really find a lot of truth in this vision of anarchy. If man was not compassionate at all, he would never care for his loved ones such as his children, friends, or spouse. Anarchy is an extremely situational concept. There are times when certain aspects of anarchy, such as compassion, do not exist. For instance, suppose you occupy an abandoned farm in anarchical conditions and another family comes and tries to forcefully take over your land. Of course, in this situation, man would not have compassion; instead, he would have to eliminate the threat in order to protect his own family that he DOES have compassion for. It is fairly safe to say that all mankind has a form of compassion, even if it is in the smallest way. However, not every man is naturally selfish and power hungry. This vision of anarchy has its truths under certain conditions, as well as the other four visions we studied.
ReplyDelete-William Slifer PSCI 100.04
Man is compassionate. You can see this in the success of things like soup kitchens or those "adopt this really cute but sad, sad puppy who really only wants a loving home" commercials. It can be seen in children, especially in the boy in The Road. The real question is this: Does human compassion triumph over survival instincts?
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the answer to this question is no.
Cassandra Nipe
PSCI 100.05
In many ways man is compassionate because they are always striving and working towards the next step in life. However, man is always taught to be more independent and fight for themselves. So i would agree with Rousseau.
ReplyDeleteIn the book this is demonstrated in many ways. The father and the boy are always fighting and defending themselves. When they come across food they take it for themselves to survive. When the cannibals try to attack they fight back and defend themselves by shooting them. If the story was changed then it wouldnt be as realistic in the end because there is never a happy ending in the real world, there are always struggles along the way.
Shanan Plunkett
PSCI 100.04
I believe man is compassionate when he doesn’t fear for their own life. If you have the means to help people, such as helping the little old lady across the street, then I believe the majority of people are compassionate. However, in an anarchical environment I believe fear outweighs compassion. You have to be skeptical of everyone, because they may be attempting to trick you so they can take whatever resources you may have. If the men in The Road were portrayed as compassionate, the story would seem too unrealistic. It’s a “dog-eat-dog” kind of world we live in, so the book portrays a realistic outlook of a post apocalyptic environment.
ReplyDelete-Matt Santmier PSCI 100.05
I believe that most people are compassionate for people in pain. There are some that are not. If I saw someone in town in a lot of pain that needs help no matter who they are I would do my best to help them or find help. I am sure most people would do the same. The only way I would not be compassionate is if they have done something to me not to deserve the help.
ReplyDeleteThe boy in “The Road” was very compassionate but his father wanted him to be less compassionate because in their situation, you could not trust anyone. If the men in the book were all compassionate then the story would be a whole different story.
I think if someone does not feel threatened they will have compassion.
-Blake Hoffman PSCI 100.05
I feel people are generally compassionate to some degree. However, I feel like human beings are also quite selfish, whether we mean to be or not. We like to help and aid others because we feel good about what we are doing for them. While the deeds are great and would not be considered selfish in a normal sense of the term, we also cannot admit that there is no sense of self serving through helping others. I'm not attempting to state that I discourage helping others. On the contrary, I feel people tend to not help or care for others enough. However, everything we do has something in it to gain for ourselves, whether we realize it or not. Therefore, I agree with Jean Jaques Rousseau's theory of human nature, but am emphasizing that the lines between the concepts of selfishness and compassion may not be as solid as we like to believe.
ReplyDelete-Adam Jordan: PSCI 100.04
I believe that men are compassionate depending if their life is at risk or not. When people feel safe and not struggling to find food, water, and shelter to survive then I believe people are compassionate and will help others. However, when there is a struggle to survive, such as in an anarchy, this is when people become selfish and not compassionate at all. People only care about helping themselves and keeping themselves alive during this state of struggle. Also, I really think it depends on the environment you live in. Compassion is not a trait we were born with, it is something that we are taught and as a whole I think our country today is more selfish than compassionate.
ReplyDelete-Georgia Karr PSCI 100.04
Yes I believe man is compassionate. In The Road if there was compassion, then society would not be as bad. People only look out for themselves and for survival. If there were compassion in the book there society might be better off, there may be less cannibalism. Or if there was more compassion everyone may be dead. If they are more concerned for other people how will they survive?
ReplyDelete-Alexandria Tost: PSCI 100.05
Yes man is compassionate. but as Cassandra asked does compassion triumph over survival instinct? My answer is also no. The book would be completely different if the everyone were able to maintain compassion when the world has been all but been destroyed. There would not be anarchy. People would band together to survive. That is not the case though. When faced with death it is survival of the fittest. The boy and man have compassion but it is limited, they have to be cautious in order to survive. Like i said man is compassionate but the primal instinct to survive will triumph in the face of danger.
ReplyDelete-Shannon Knipple PSCI 100:05
I think that The Road would have been a very short book had the boy and his father been compassionate beings. The world that they lived in is a very hostile one and compassion would only result in the two being taken advantage of and leading a short, painful life. The two had to be cautious to survive. Man is compassionate, but only to a point.
ReplyDelete-Michael Skaggs PSCI 100.04
I do think man is compassionate, and in The Road there is compassion in the little boy especially, but the family that takes him in at the end is the best example. They have no clear benefit from this deed, and it required a great deal of trust from both sides. McCarthy probably chose to de-emphasize compassion as a theme in his book because it is not realistic for strangers to be compassionate in a dire situation because of the lack of trust. I too agree that survival instinct may sometimes triumph over compassion, but The Road shows us that compassion can become necessary for survival. Had the father not been compassionate for his son he would have most likely had less will to live and died much earlier.
ReplyDelete-Emily Jones PSCI 100.04
I feel that man is compassionate because if we weren't we wouldn't have developed things such as the trade system and peace treaties. I believe that the same as "right and wrong" it is situational. If it is a life or death situation the level of compassion is different versus a normal situation.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that if compassion were present in the book we are reading it wouldn't be at all the same. I think there would be alliances formed. It would go from survival or the fittest to survival of smartest.
I believe that some people are compassionate and other people pretty much only care about what happens in their own lives. The Road would have been so much different if man were compassionate. I don't think that the man and boy would have to worry about everything so much. they would be able to have a little more trust in people and not have to worry about being a victim of cannibalism. It could also come down to man having compassion towards others and then turning on that person once man has their trust. This could show that man has compassion to get what he/she wants and also because of pure greed in human nature.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Sealock
PSCI 100.05
I believe that compassion is something that comes naturally to men but the way it develops depends on life experience and survival. If someone does not have a steady flow of resources it makes them be more appreciative and cautious about them. This can make a person either more violent or more compassionate towards others when there is a lack of resources. What will really affect their decision is their life experiences and since this is different in every person I feel like it would be way to unpredictable to say that men are compassionate or not. Ultimately we all are born with compassion in us but whether we develop it or get rid of it depends on our life experience. Because of this I believe the plot of "The Road" wouldn't change even if this concept came into play.
ReplyDeleteFernando Velez PSCI 100:04
I believe man can be compassionate, but I feel that it is in the way you are raised or the type of environment you are in brought up in that has a direct effect on whether or not you become one of compassion (I believe in most cases anyway). When you are brought up in an environment filled with anarchist behavior then I can only imagine that it would be hard to even know what compassion is. There definitely was compassion in The Road, with the son and boy, and with the family at the end that brought the boy with them, but if all were compassionate in the story than it would be a totally different story all together and society would not be filled with anarchy. And like Alexandria said, ”if all men were compassionate in this story everyone may just be dead” I believe that’s true, instead of killing others around them, if they were compassionate people they would just shoot themselves and not take another’s life. They have to use survival tactics in The Road so they are only looking out for themselves and no others. It’s hard to have compassion for people when there is no trust, in a state of anarchy like that all the trust and compassion goes right out the window.
ReplyDeleteN.Francesconi 100.04
Compassion is something that I feel each individual possesses however that does not mean that every individual chooses to be compassionate. I personally am one who feels the desire to help others whenever I am able. And then their are individuals who feel no need to help anyone and are able to continue to live their day to day lives with the things that are going on around them. I feel that the life that people have as well plays a big part in whether that individual has certain instincts to be and to feel compassionate or not. In today's society however it seems that more and more people are choosing to overlook situations.
ReplyDeleteWith the book though I feel that compassion was always an instinct within the man however he was unable to be compassionate to ensure the safety of him and his son. When you become a parent or have offspring I feel that it changes individuals and makes them more concerned for that child rather than themselves. I feel that this is what happens with the man, he is unable to show compassion because he wants to ensure the safety of his son and that is of the upmost importance to him. I think the boy as well shows signs of compassion however whenever he wants to show any sort of it his father stops him and explains the situation that they are in. Yet the Family in the end of the story shows compassion for taking the boy in and here is where I feel that there has been some compassion throughout the book however it was underlying. Compassion is in many parts of our lives we just have to look for it.
- Cassiana Roby PSCI 100.04