VictorianLady

No, I can in fact resist very well, but that would defeat the purpose of the game. But Garth would be able to tell you that I am exceptionally good at resisting. *evil laugh* See, I resist!

Oh, I do love your new avvie!

Some of us prefer the inside of the cave, because there's a cliff right outside the front door--and sunshine isn't much good if you only see it when you're falling....

We discussed Augustine in philosophy class today. Pretty interesting guy. My professor pointed out that Augustine's not so much of an ascetic as some people make him out to be, because he apparently argued that all created things are legitimate objects of love (placed in their proper order, of course). The discussion in City of God on torture was very interesting, too. Historically in particular.

Had a meeting for my major tonight, and the advisor's topic was on how to use Great Books to teach history. He gave us a list of books he considered "great," and LOTR was on the list. He said that--besides the spiritual messages in the book--the Dead Marshes scene was heavily influenced by Tolkien's WWI experiences in the trenches, and that LOTR can be a good way to capture a student's imagination. I'll have to save that tidbit for future reference.

About where Lewis wrote it--I'm not totally sure. I remember things from his books, but not always which book I found them in. Maybe The Problem of Pain, but I honestly don't remember. The Abolition of Man deals a little with the universal standard of good (the Tao) in chapter 2, but I'm not sure if he mentioned it there, because he really doesn't talk about Christianity in that book. (And then they tell these stories about how he could remember the page number something was found on--I'm afraid I'm no C.S. Lewis.)

(And, by the way, what on earth would make you think that Duffering is not an ideal form? But it exists in the real world, so Plato probably wouldn't think it could be ideal--and he wouldn't think that randomness, insanity, imaginary friends, falling off cliffs, etc. are in pursuit of virtue or beauty. Oh, well. I guess Duffers are Aristotelians, then.)

Couldn't help but oversee your conversation with Lossy...who couldn't help but see your conversation with me... I think Lewis argued that the standard of morality had to be something God also abided by, because if good was only good because God was good, then if God was bad, good would also be bad...

I still haven't been able to fully sort that one out. The Bible seems to suggest that good is defined as being in line with God's character, but it never addresses the subject outright. Not that I would fully expect it to. Westerners seem to be the only ones to torture themselves with questions like "Why is good good?"

Do you know of any Christian writers who touched on the subject besides Lewis?

You're being clear, and yes, it is not unlike what I said. But I guess I wasn't thinking so much about the morality of the rest of the world. But as you said, "wrongness" is wrong because it contradicts God's very nature.

Hey,
I'm on now! Can you talk for awhile?

Couldn't help but oversee your conversation with Glen. We live in a funny world, we read Plato last week for PHIL, and this week we're reading Meditations. 0.o It's a conspiracy!

Anyway, we tackled a similar problem in class. Is good good because God so commands it? Or is God commanding it because it is good? Either way there are some uneasy assumptions.

But our professor seems to have solved it pretty well.

First off, one must accept that morality is agent-based, not act-based. That is, morality is more about the character of a person. If a man led a perfectly good life, but had evil thoughts of anger and hatred in his mind all the time, he is definitely not as moral as the man who le\d a perfectly good life and had a perfectly good mind. See, it's not the actions, it's the character.

Now, according to Plato what people consider "moral actions" actually flow from a moral character. You do not shuffle threw your little file cabinet for the "right thing to do" every time you have to make a decision (as my prof would put it). If you are a moral person, you naturally want to do what your nature dictates you do, thus your actions are moral because you are a moral person. A moral person would naturally act according to their nature, not necessarily because of some outside standard.

God is good. That is simply His nature. Naturally He commands us according to His nature. He commands what is good because that’s simply who He is. He doesn’t have a list of “to do and not to dos” which He has to refer to. Goodness is not an outside standard. And good is not good merely because He says so, it is good because of who He is. Good is His nature, and His commands merely reflect that.

Did that sound like completely random ramblings or did it actually make some sense? (If I were actually able to make sense, my prof would be so proud of me!)

When you get a chance look at my profile!

can you chat now?

I'm good. Guess what I've been updated to Junior Member!

My philosophy teacher should hear you on Socrates!

We had to read part of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. Apparently, the guy realized that he was believing some things that were probably false. Instead of just trying to find the false things, he decided that he would jettison all his beliefs until he could logically account for them. He apparently believed in God and his own mind without much trouble, but he goes through this whole long discussion on "Is life a dream?" (I actually asked that question when I was seven. Little pipsqueak.) He eventually determines that the world exists, but it takes him a while. The guy should have just asked his mother. It would have been easier, and Chesterton would have thoroughly approved. He makes me want to say, "The over-examined life is not worth leading" (to slaughter Socrates, who you seem to want slaughtered anyway).

Hey Sis!
How are you today?

Have you read any Descartes? We had to read something of his for my philosophy class.

I think I'll get to read The Odyssey eventually for my history class. Augustine's coming up for my philosophy course, and Aquinas, and Anselm--a little heavier reading than epic poetry, but still, they should be good.

Gilgamesh pretty much stinks until Enkidu dies. Then I like him more.

Will you be reading anything else interesting in your history class?

I liked the part where Gilgamesh is traveling to find eternal life--the part before Utnapishtim tells him the flood story. And I loved the Prologue. Did you have a favorite part?

True. He was pretty nasty, even though he's supposed to be one of the chief gods. Seems like Sumerian mythology isn't too big on having "good" gods and "bad" gods. Egyptians and Norse were a little better, although some of their "good" gods stank, too.

Overall, good. I'm trying to get ahead in them because I'm going home for four days the weekend after next, and I'll have quizzes and (I think) a test to make up. I'm currently trying to write that Gilgamesh paper--Utnapishtim sure had an easier time of things than Noah! And it was U. that got immortality in the end, because Enlil felt guilty.