In Hume's "Enquiry Concerning Human Nature," he seeks to bring insight to the masses regarding the absurdity of religious belief. Hume uncovers a lack of evidence associated with fervent religious bel...
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06/03/2010 Hobbes also seems to assume that the natural position of man is one of chaos where everyone has right to everything and might makes right. It seems to me that this idea is questionable. Can mankind in general ever live in chaotic disunity? Was there ever such a time as when man did not cooperate for continued survival. If not, then it seems rash to conclude that a breakage of a social covenant leads into such a state. For example, even when rebels oust a government and institute a new one, they do so not out of chaos, but out of a new and different order. The French philosopher Rene Descartes lived from 1596-1650. He was the son of an aristocrat and traveled throughout Europe studying a wide-variety of subjects including math, science, law, medicine, religion, and philosophy. Descartes was greatly influenced by other thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. |
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05/03/2010 It seems that Augustine's view of grace versus free will reacts in a similar fashion. Grace is that act of god by which our souls can turn from a carnal and sinful existence to look toward the world above, toward god. This implies that the only way to achieve glory is through god, a view in keeping with biblical text. However, the same argument states explicitly that we cannot achieve glory through ourselves without the blessings of god. This would seem to mean that free will is not enough in and of itself to achieve virtue. The Greeks recognized that there were two kinds of love, Common Love and Noble Love. The combination of these two loves will make for an everlasting love. It is the love of mind, body, and soul, not the foolish love of youth, or the love of intellect a person develops later in life. It is the same today. People who wish to have true everlasting love should look through the shell of their potential mate, and discover what is on the inside. Potential lover's should know each other's inner most feelings thoughts, and intellect, not just the exterior shell. Physical beauty is deceiving. It blinds the mind to the workings of the real person. The old saying "beauty is only skin deep" is an idea that more people should accept. There is virtue in beauty, but attraction due to beauty itself, and only beauty has no virtue, and is not everlasting. Combining physical love with the love of the person's intellect is the best way to ensure a happy healthy relationship. This is the true love, and finds its roots in virtue not in beauty. Virtue is the higher form of love, and Common Love is the lowest form. The ideal form of love combines virtue with the physical attraction of Common Love. |