Like chapter one, chapter two talked mainly about the nature of human life. Human beings are innately lost in life, always searching for something that is outside of our reach. Humans draw a map to try and find the way to get through life and to get to their destinations. Catholics, Christians, Buddhist, Muslims, Jews and all other faiths believe in a similar idea that human life is out of its proper place. Christians call this idea of humanity being prone to sin Original Sin. Because of this imperfect existence humans are prone to not just sin but also to lie, to be confused about what we truly want and to find the truth hard to illusive. This week we have talked about this idea which our book calls the human coniditon.

The Problem of Evil is a question that every human being encounters no matter what there beliefs are. This question is most commonly phrased as “why do bad things happen to good people”. This philosophical question becomes even more confusing when you are a Christian and believe, like most other Christians that God is omnipotent and omni benevolent. If God is omnipotent and omni benevolent then how could there be evil on earth? This question has been asked since before the ancient Greeks. The answer to this question has been pondered over yet the true answer can not be known because we can not know God’s will.

One thing we have discussed a lot about during this chapter is why do humans tend to lie so much. Most humans attempt to live honestly and be truthful yet we all find ourselves telling lies to each other. Whether it is to save ourselves from punishment, discomfort, or inconvenience we lie. Lying can seem like a small thing but lies easily escalate to bigger lies and one lie can ease the way for many, many others. Lying is an excellent example of concupiscence, something we do that we know is wrong and don’t want to do but do it anyway. Concupiscence in all its forms especially lying shows us the affects of original sin and our own human condition.

Most Philosophers some time during their lifetime discuss and think about the human condition, or another word used to describe the same idea. During class we named many noticeable ones including M. Scott Peck, who wrote many books and the article “Choosing a Map for Life”. St. Thomas Aquinas and C.S. Lewis, theologians/philosophers wrote about the problem of evil. Blaise Pascal wrote many thoughts about the human condition and after his death his friends found his notes and published them as Pensees (Thoughts in French). The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote many of his ideas on the human condition down before the birth of Jesus in his book The Meditation. Erich Fromm, student of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, wrote that humans are essentially lonely and their whole life is a struggle for happiness through fulfilling that loneliness. The question of our human condition is one of the most pondered philosophical questions in history.

Click on image for more on Rabbi Harold Kushner

“Cogito ergo sum”

“I think therefore I am”

 

Why do we lie to each other, even though we know we would not want to be lied to?

Because the human condition causes us to be prone to lie and we are afraid of consequences the truth might lead to.

George Carlin