Coetzee Creation Of Ethical Theory

Ethics has always been the concern of John Maxwell Coetzee, the contemporary white writer in South Africa and almost each of his books manifest his thinking about the issue of ethics. As for the South Africa after the abolition of apartheid, the ethical problem becomes more and more sensitive and intense, especially in the contemporary historical context. The white are faced with moral perplexity, not knowing how to posit themselves in the society. Due to his unique personal experiences in South Africa, Coetzee lapses into a state of perplexity. As a result, Coetzee develops complicated feelings towards the black people when communicating with them. Whether South Africa could get out of the historical and realistic dilemma is up to the repositioning of race relations and the establishment of a new moral principle. Therefore, the study on this issue has practical significances and referential value. This thesis, centering on the plurality of Coetzee's moral choice, tried to explore his thoughts on ethics.The introduction part presented the new direction of modern ethics and the general features of Coetzee's ethics. In the 20th century, the ethical thought shifted from Euro-centered to plural and open-ended, which leads to the complicacy and uncertainty of Coetzee's ethics.The first chapter mainly discussed Coetzee's complicated identity as a white man and his moral dilemma. The author claimed that this dilemma revealed in Coetzee's books arose from both the historical context of the white in South Africa and Coetzee's unique personal experiences. The inborn identify as a white man made Coetzee feel puzzled when in the presence of the white and many of his works manifest his perplexed attitude towards ethics.The second chapter discussed Coetzee's complicated feelings towards the nonwhite. According to the author, Coetzee's complicated feelings towards the nonwhite are manifested in two aspects. Firstly, out of his pity for the black, Coetzee states that the black deserves the right of getting emancipation and freedom. From another perspective of brutal reality in South Africa, the violence and revenge of the black aggravate the social unrest of South Africa, which made Coetzee reserves his opinions on the right and freedom of the black. In addition, Coetzee can not experience the life of the black in person as a white man. Therefore, the Black African culture is strange to him and he can not fully identify with the culture of the black.The third chapter discussed Coetzee's ultimate thinking about ethics of life and his grander views on ethics, i.e. treating all lives in the universe with awe and pity. Although Coetzee throws himself in a conflicting and wandering position of ethical pluralism, he surmounts his narrow moral outlook and turns to the ultimate thinking about ethics of life.The conclusion part summarized Coetzee's plural moral ethics. As a writer, Coetzee can not remove the influences of power operation, but he triggers people's ultimate thinking about ethics of life.