Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Hermarchus, David Galloway and Simone Weil

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2 ideas

28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / c. God is the good
The only choice is between supernatural good, or evil [Weil]
     Full Idea: In all the crucial problems of human existence the only choice is between supernatural good on the one hand and evil on the other.
     From: Simone Weil (Human Personality [1943], p.86)
     A reaction: This idea strikes me as absurd, but I include it for a fuller picture of Simone Weil. Aristotle (my hero) is referred to, and labelled as more stupid than a village idiot.
Attention to a transcendent reality motivates a duty to foster the good of humanity [Weil]
     Full Idea: Anyone whose attention and love are directed towards the reality outside the world recognises that he is bound by the permanent obligation to remedy …all the privations of soul and body which are liable to destroy or damage any human being whatsoever.
     From: Simone Weil (Draft Statement of Human Obligations [1943], p.225)
     A reaction: [abridged] An interesting attempt to articulate the religious motivation of morality. The Euthyphro question remains - of why this vision of a wholly good higher morality should motivate anyone, unless they already possess a desire for that good.