Outside Reading 3-Evan Shively

Kant

    One of my favorite classes I have taken this year is my radical evil and the philosophy of Law class with professor Underwood. The class focuses on Kant's description of what constitutes evil and then applies to instances of evil in the world. The hope is to give us a better understanding of how to deal with evil people as well as people who committee evil. In "religion within the limits of reason alone" Kant discusses one topic which I think applies to our discussion of myth. Kant discusses the danger of establishing mythical beings as real in creating a system of morality. He focuses specifically on the idea of a real devil. For Kant it is impossible to establish a moral system that presupposes a real devil that forces people to commit evil. It negates are personal responsibility. I thought this was an interesting perspective for our class. While myth provides with a narrative for our life as well as an understanding of philosophical truths full belief in supernatural beings can actually be dangerous. It is an interesting balance to think about, while myth enhances our life a line must also have to be drawn to prevent it from twisting our views on reality in a dangerous way.