The fall semester of my freshman year I decided to take a first year seminar on the philosophy of death where we discussed and explored the various aspects of life and death and how different scenarios like immortality affect our perception of life and death. One of the areas we examined was how one’s perception of life changes after knowing they are the last generation of humans. In learning about the various responses society would have to this we watched the film The Children of Men. Several things happen to one’s view of life when they know humanity will die out and each of these reactions are seen in PD James’s novel, The Children of Men. There is a switch in how the majority of society lives with a loss of interest in the betterment of society and the planet, loss of law and order, and a loss to the appeal of life.

First, there is no longer a need to better society since there will be no future to experience its results. A common example of this response that we discussed in the course is the ceasing of cancer research. Why spend money, resources, and time on cancer research when the results will have no effect on society? When human life has an imminent ending, a majority of societal and environmental projects will cease since their efforts are now futile. Movements for civil rights and equality are no longer necessary because there is no future generation to experience the newly won rights. PD James alludes to this expected response on page 112 when Theo talks about the Five Fishes demands. Theo wonders,

“If there had be no Omega, these were aims which a man might be prepared to fight for, even to suffer for. …It was reasonable to struggle, to suffer, perhaps even to die, for a more just, a more compassionate society, but not in a world with no future where, all too soon, the very words “justice,” “compassion,” society,” “struggle,” “evil,” would be unheard echoes on an empty air.”

This quote perfectly illustrates the concept of giving up on making progress and how PD James is aware of the philosophical implications a dying society imposes.

Another common reaction to the knowledge of humans ceasing to exist is the gradual decline to chaos. The majority of humans may not respond with a complete disregard to the law but a few will since life for them has lost its meaning. This is seen in the novel with the murderous Omegas called the Painted Faces. The Painted Faces are a gang that appears to only kill for the fun of it and steal people’s cars. Their killing is not done out of revenge, political terrorism, or defense but simply for the act of it. This is seen when Theo describes the scene of Luke’s death on page 184. “And now the killing looked less like a frenzy of blood-lust than a calculated murder. Five or size of the Omegas were holding their torches aloft in a circle within which, silently now, the dark shapes of the half-naked bodies, arms wielding their clubs, rose and fell in a ritual ballet of deaths.” PD James describes the murder of Luke as a ritual, displaying the complete decay of humanity and this neglect of law and order.

Lastly, one usually experiences a loss of interest in life or things they once found pleasurable. One will only think life no longer has a meaning, though, if their definition of the meaning of life is intertwined with the future, which for most it is. PD James explores this idea in the story when Theo discusses the lack of sexual drive humans now experience. On page 116 Theo says, “One might have imagined that with the fear of pregnancy permanently removed, and the unerotic paraphernalia of pills, rubber, and ovulation arithmetic no longer necessary, sex would be freed for new and imaginative delights. The opposite has happened.” But not only has sex lost its charm but so has love. This is seen when Theo says, “People still fall in love, or say that they are in love…But we read the love poem of previous ages with a kind of wonder” also on page 116. Even if one is able to live a full life span, the knowledge of their generation being the last one still causes the meaning of life to become pointless.

With these three concepts, the loss of societal betterment, the law, and the appeal of life in general, in mind, one can see in PD James’s novel that James is grappling with in depth philosophical ideas, just hidden in a captivating plot.