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			POST 3 WEEK 4

Existentialism is summarized as "individuals who are radically free. Who people are viewed as a function of there choices they make, not that the choices they make are a function of who they are." Sartre states that man shows up and then defines himself. He states that "man will be what he planned himself to be not what he wants to be". I think he believes that if man keeps abiding by this that he will always choose good and never choose evil. Sartre feels that there is absolutely no god that we are solely responsible for all of our actions. He thinks that people us " God and Satan" as people to blam their mistakes on and their accomplishments to. He feels we should accept our accomplishments for ourselves and for society. Sartre thinks that "we must seek to make decisions rather then avoid them. By not choosing we are retreating from the challenge of life." However, Sartre feels that because of this man takes on the responsibility for the whole world and must bear that wight. He feels that the only act of freedom is in us being born since we had no choice involved in that. Kierkegaard feels that a person's decisions make their character and shows their true personlity. he feels that it is the heart of human existence to have will power. The way in whic a person chooses things is a lso a determining factor. If the thins about it and wighs good and bad he is ethical. If eh doesn't think and decides on emotions or ponders it too much and creates more then is reaonable he has forfeited a good decision. He has no affect on his life or on any others in a positive sense. "ethical choices are strict and help to find yourself." "The only absolute either/or choice is between good and evil." Our choces show wheter we are good or evil at heart based on our personality. However, I feel Kierkegaard feels we must think in order to have even a choice. He feels that the aesthetic way of life is in the pursuit of pleasure and nothing more. He feels that it is a purely external enjoyment and never infiltrates inside. To be happy we must live our lives ethically and choose to hlep not only ourselves but others and the we will find ourselves. Otherwise we a re just another mindless person. Kierkegaard feels that we must make a leap of faith to find faith in God. "Since there are no universal rules to provide guidance to individuals." He shares the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham is told by God to take his son to sacrifice him. Abraham obeys and breaks the ethical code but following God's command instead. In trusting God's design and "revelations" he fins it's to be of more worth. After seeing Abraham's faith God tells him to sacrifice a goat instead of his son. "Christianity is not a set of doctrines with certainty". The basis is in Go'ds revelations. Without risk involved in the religion no one could be a christian. He states that in Christ himself there must be a lep since it is impossible for a God to become a man figuratively and temporally speaking. But you must believe such to be a Christian. I feel both these men are similar in their views on choice affecting humanity and showing who you are. However, I feel they disagree on the importance of this and on faith.



	Saint Augustine is putting up a defense as to why evil exists in the world today. He is proving that their can be evil in this world and still be a God ruling over the world. He states that God is perfectly good and that all things must come through Him. "Because God in His goodness cannot create anything evil, it follows that evil cannot be a positive characteristic of things. However, the things that God creates are less than wholly good, and they are evil only insofar as they lack goodness." Augustine is trying to prove that evil is merely a lack of good or an absence of good. Since all being are made good however, not perfect so they are susceptible to being corrupt. Corruption means that good is being deprived from that person. Augustine points out that corruption can only fully destroy good by consuming the entire person themselves. Everyone is at least a little good. I believe this statement since everyone is built with at least a moral system or ethical code prebuilt in all of us. HOwever, I do believe some people have psychological problems which can override this inert system. Augustine answers a common debate that if God is all powerful then He can stop evil if He wants. Augustine states "His permitting evil must reflect His goodness in some way." He feels that no matter what a person chooses either good or evil God will use that choice in a good way. Augustine states that the will of God is never defeated, however much is done contrary to His will." Even though Adam first sinned and condemned all of mankind to death, God used this in a positive way and gave us Christ which allows us to be saved. He takes damnation into salvation. "The will of God is always good, sometimes fulfilled by the evil of man. His will can never be evil." writes Augustine. Augustine further provides support in saying that even though God knows an event is going to happen in the future doesn't mean that God caused the event to happen. God has foreknowledge of things to happen, yet He gives us free will to do as we choose. Augustine feels that an evil will is simply a will choosing to ignore the good. "The supreme good is in God and not with in ourselves." Augustine points that without religion their would be no true virtues and that you couldn't do anything wrong in life without this. This somewhat makes sense. All of us are built with some knowledge of virtue even without religion, I feel religion defines it. Augustine reiterates that in the city of man there is no peace, where in the city of God you have peace. We have peace with love, loving God and our neighbors like ourselves. If we choose the city of man then God will seek a punishment of damnation. Aquinas states that God is perfect and that all things are made through God so therefore all things are perfect through God. He feels that people made from God and in His image are given a free will that has good and evil sides to it. Aquinas feels to gain happiness we must contemplate the truth but in that truth that everything we have falls short and in order to attain happiness we must know the truth of God. Aquinas feels that Aristotle is wrong in that we cannot find higher wisdom in our current life and that we are made to have difficulties in differing between moral and intellectual virtues. However, since we are made in God's image we have the capability to determine what is right and wrong and which laws we should have. There is an eternal law that God put in place that affects us, animals, plants, etc. These laws control how the universe turns and what things must happen. Aquinas then talks about good versus bad acts. "Good and evil are essential differences of the act of the will. For good and evil pertain essentially to the will; just as truth and faslsehood pertain to the reason, the act of which is distinguished essentially by the difference of truth and falsehood." Aquinas states that mere ignorance can be a bad will. If you failed to draw a line between an action and what the reaction might be and it is bad, you are still at fault for ignorance.

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