RE104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Natural Evil, Moral Evil, Human Nature
12 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
Mencius (200 bc) would say human nature is essentially good ie. if a child is falling, human nature is to help that child. Hsun tsu said humans can learn to be good but are essentially not ie. if a child is falling you will only go help the child because you believe there may be a reward. Q: are there some things that are always wrong ? (ie. murder, theftetc) Hobbes - life is nasty, brutish and short at state of nature (idea used today) Rousseau - best at state of nature, civilisation screws us up. Biomedical research on what it means to be human. Metaphysical evil - evil in the universe is a lack of good. Natural evil - evil only in the consequences, but does not possess an evil mindset. Myth: a story that tells a profound truth that cannot otherwise be articulated. Myths are the basis of many religions.
