Mit upadku: esej filozoficzny o źródłach zła

• Authors: Ziemiński Ireneusz

Title variants

EN

THE MYTH OF “THE FALL”: A PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY ON THE ORIGINS OF EVIL

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The article is an attempt to interpret the biblical idea of original sin in light of Albert Camus’ novel The Fall. The overarching goal is an answer the question of what (or who) is the final source of evil in the world, rather than an eisegesis of any of the mentioned texts. Three answers to this question are presented in the article; that the source is Satan, humanity, and God. The author considers the religious figures of Satan and God to be symbolic personifications of the human tendencies for good or evil, and thus suggests that the only source of evil in the world is humanity. This answer could be interpreted both as optimistic and as pessimistic. From an ethical perspective, this is an optimistic answer, since it presents humanity as free beings who are responsible for their own actions (and who do not justify their evil deeds as Satan’s trickery). However, from an existential perspective this answer may seem pessimistic, as it destroys the hope that evil could ever be removed from the world: humanity is too weak for it.

Keywords

EN

EVIL; SATAN; HUMAN; GOD; FALL; BIBLE; CAMUS

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Umiejętności / Uniwersytet Jagielloński
• Journal: Kwartalnik Filozoficzny
• Year: 2019
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 37 - 73

Contributors

author

Ziemiński Ireneusz

• Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Zakład Filozofii Współczesnej, ul. Krakowska 71, 71-017 Szczecin, Poland