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Guest
I always like thinking of notions that cross between ancient concepts and modern ones. For example, if we look at the idea of Original Sin, the notion that human beings are “fallen” and unable to attain perfection by their reason and will alone, we can cross-reference modern philosophical notions about the limits of reason. Friedrich von Hayek (darling of libertarian economists) and Richard Rorty (darling of postmodern ethicists) both argued that there were limits to what formal reasoning alone can achieve. Hayek argues that bad things actually happen if we put too much faith in reason (this being one of the philosophical tenets of libertarian critiques of government). In any case, it seems to me that we very often believe that our post-Enlightenment thinking is superior to all prior ages. Looking at how the ancients explained what it means to be human, it seems like they hit on notions similar to those we address today.