Concepts of Morality in Horus Rising: The seeds of heresy are sown

In this Master’s Thesis, I am exploring Concepts of Morality in Horus Rising: The seeds of heresy are sown by Dan Abnett. The text is the opening book of The Horus Heresy series of science fantasy novels set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. The thesis opens with an introduction and background knowledge of Warhammer 40,000. The discussion then leads on to the concepts of morality relevant to this thesis and how they are applicable and interpreted within the text. Horus Rising: The seeds of heresy are sown is an exemplary text for examining the concepts of morality as it blends realism, history and a hypothetical future set in the Milky Way Galaxy. By exploring the moral dilemmas raised in the text and cross-referencing them with examples taken from real-life, it is possible to broaden the reader’s understanding of the nuances of morality and its various applications. The fundamental principles of morality are approached in this thesis with the assumption that there is some form of objective good and evil that people subscribe to in order to function morally admissibly. The examples given highlight the importance of subjective experience in determining whether particular actions are considered morally just in certain scenarios. This thesis aims to shorten the gap between a person’s subjective moral experience and their inherent, objective understanding of morality. The protagonists in Horus Rising: The seeds of heresy are sown come from varying backgrounds and as a result, have differing interpretations of what is moral and what is not. Coming from the same organisation binds them by some fundamental moral values but their subjective experiences and upbringing lead to conflicting interpretations of major events that occur in the text. This thesis discovers the extent that deontic ethics may be used to interpret and identify the basic principles underlying perceptions of morality. Furthermore, superstition and its role in maintaining societal moral fabric is explored using narrative frameworks, the musings of Eckhart Tolle and the influence of tribalism on moral belief systems. Individual and collective moral understanding is also explored in the text and the notion is analysed using examples presented throughout the thesis. The main focus is on the effects the ego, social distance and group affiliation have on the formation of both individual and collective moralities. Warfare is analysed from the perspective that it is dynamic and that there is no clear method of assigning moral accountability for resorting to war and to some extent, conduct during war. The contemporary evolution of medical ethics highlights uncertainty in a period of rapid developments in the fields of genetics and augmentation. The aesthetic presentation of physical augmentation may affect perceptions of morality, especially if grotesque and disparate features are included for literary effect. The conclusions drawn from this thesis are that morality may be defined and regulated by society and the law but the application of moral behaviour in practice is both contextual and subjective