Are we to blame for the sins and vices we commit? Ottaviano says,
“It would be too wicked and foolish to punish men for defects that proceed from
Nature through no fault of our own.” On the other hand, signor Gaspare replies,
“Yet there are many who fully understand that they are doing evil, and still do
it.” He continues by saying that “they are more conscious of the pleasures of
the moment than of the punishment they fear in the future.”
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Ottaviano’s words seem to agree with the scripture in Luke by
saying that “if they enjoyed true knowledge, there is no doubt that they would
not fall into error. For reason is always overcome by desire because of
ignorance, and true knowledge can never be defeated by the emotions, which
originate in the body rather than the soul.”
As each of us thinks back on our own lives, would we have made a
different decision if we had known better? I know I would have.
Does "True Knowledge" in this case mean Wisdom? If not, I find it odd to say that true knowledge can never be defeated by emotions. I often find myself doing things I shouldn't even though I "know" better. There are doctors who smoke, dentists with cavities, it's a hypocrisy, yes, but it IS a human one. I just don't think any definitive statements can be made in this case.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a good point, but when we think about going back in time and changing our actions, we would change based on knowledge of the consequences, rather than reason. I think trying to manipulate our actions based solely consequences rather than reason puts us on an equally inferior track as those completely ignorant of the wrong their actions are.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I don't think that changing our actions based entirely on the consequences is a bad thing. If you stole, and went to jail, and could go back in the past, you would't steal again. You could correct immoral wrongs in your life. If there were no negative consequences, would the action need to be corrected anyway? So if we could change the world by looking at our past wrongs even just based on consequences it would be good
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amy and Peter, I don't think going back to change our actions would be just because we didn't want to be punished. Personally, I have done things in the past that hurt people without my realizing it until later. Even though I was not directly punished, I would still want to change things I did to spare the people I hurt.
ReplyDelete