“What assumptions does Zarathustra make about human nature and the capacity of humans beings to make morally good choices out of their own free will?”
Zarathustra creates an interesting assumption regarding human nature and human beings' abilities to make morally good choices. First off, around this time - the belief in moral values was confusing, but influential to many. Zarathustra asserts that those who do good will recieve good, and those who do evil and follow evil will be of the worst existence. Zarathustra's belief emphasized that people are able to make morally correct choices out of their free will, but can often make wrong choices. At the end of his song, Zarathustra mentions salvation and eternal bliss for those who do good and long punishment for those who do evil.
Hi Jay-
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation, but I have a question for you: Do you think that people who are good need an incentive to be good? If Zoroaster is dangling the idea of a good afterlife in front of people, is he assuming that good people need a push to be good, and if so, then are they really good? Deep thoughts for you to contemplate...