"Turds Fallen from the Devil's Anus" (was Re: Kant, Christianity, and Free Will)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Ken:
>I think the text _Radical Evil_ from which the two essays comes, is an
>elaboration on Lacan's comment:
>
>"The problem of evil is only worth raising as long as one has not fixed on
>the
>idea of transcendence by some good that is able to dictate to [human beings]
>what their duties are.  Till that moment the exalted representation of evil
>will continue to have the greatest revolutionary value." (Lacan, Ethics, 70).
>
>They are rethinking the idea of evil from a contemporary perspective... so
>all
>of their thoughts could be []'d with the comment, "the problem of evil is
>worth
>raising only *if* ..."  Who knows, the idea of evil may have worn out its
>welcome, and along with it the idea of the good...

The "exalted representation of evil," as in Lacan's quotation from Luther:
"You are all turds fallen from the Devil's anus."  Lacan offers two models
of transcendence": the purification of desire into a pure desire for
knowledge, "beyond fear and pity" (Socrates who kills himself to save
truth); and the acceptance of one's "unbeing" and "subjective destitution."

If such models are attractive to you, why not Zen?

Yoshie