A story of Tolstoy was related by Prof. Irwin Weil [1]: A young Jewish man wrote to Tolstoy a few months before the latter died, and asked how a Jew could believe his teachings which were based on the words of Jesus Christ. Tolstoy replied, “The words of Christ are not important and applicable because they were said by Christ, on the contrary, they were said by Christ because they […]
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The Brothers Karamazov: III. The Foundation of Morality
In a previous post, I formulated Dostoevsky’s argument that belief in God is necessary for morality from an ontological perspective. In this post, I’ll formulate it from an epistemological perspective. I’ll demonstrate that knowledge of God is the foundation of morality, following the method of René Descartes. Foundation of Knowledge In his Meditations, Descartes reasoned that ideas formed within our mind have their origin beyond our mind, that is, our ideas are […]
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The Brothers Karamazov: I. The Nature of Morality
The Natural Law The word morality comes from the Latin root mos (meaning “custom or law”), which in turn is a translation of the Greek word ἠθικός (“character or moral nature”). The idea of natural law originated with Plato and the Stoics, and found its full expression in Cicero. God, who governs the universe, has implanted the immortal soul in man from His own divine nature. The Mind of God […]
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