Zarathustra made assumptions that humans would make the bad choices as he is telling everyone that they should make the right choices. Throughout the hymn, he refers back to doing good deeds and all the good choices that Ahura Mazda made while his twin made all the bad choices. There is a description of how the good followers would be rewarded and how the evil would have the worst experience. He also tells people that they have the choice to do whatever they desire. However, he emphasizes how the bad will suffer and how the good will not. At then end, it says "Long punishment for the evil-doer, and bliss for the follower of Truth", which serves as a reminder that the follower of goodness won't be punished while the evil-doer will. Overall, I think Zarathustra assumes that people will be more likely to make the bad choices and just need to be told that they need to be good. After they are told to be good, they just need to be reminded to remain good and not fall towards the dark side. The hymn really serves as a reminder for people that they should be morally good so they can be rewarded.
Hi Twinkle-
ReplyDeleteJust as a thought, if he thinks people will tilt toward the dark side, and need reminders to be morally good, does Zarathustra then fall in the category of philosophers who believe people are born bad? Or do you need more evidence to make that determination?