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Noble Savage
| Philosophy 101 |
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Noble Savage |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan 
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. Given the absence of external threat or coercion, which is natural man more likely: selfish or self-sacrificing, lazy or industrious? . |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
What do you mean by 'natural man'? Without a context, a society, a something that influences when and how DNA does its thing, the idea of a man doesn't make much sense. I would argue that "man" is a social animal a la Clifford Geertz. I suppose you could argue that 'man' is defined by DNA but I don't see how your culturally loaded terms follow from that. Without a culture, an environment, 'man' is a gene reproducing machine, nothing more, nothing less (of course, you need two for that and that gets us back to culture, doesn't it?). Still, I understand the French influence here  and wonder if you mean man in hunter/gatherer societies. For an interesting take on that, give "Guns, Germs, and Steel" a shot. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. I mean as Magellan and Cook found him in the Pacific. . |
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Stephanos
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618Statesboro, GA, USA |
Man (humankind) is fallen in the Biblical sense. In other words, there is a mixture of both kinds of things you mentioned (virtue and vice). "The Knowledge of Good and Evil". Most societies, primitive and advanced, contain some mixture of tantalizing possibilities, and frustrating failures. I know of no civilization that hasn't demonstrated this. I'm sure we all agree that technological advancement does not equal moral progress, and that "civilization" is misunderstood, thought to mean one thing when in fact it is quite another. The noble savage is a myth, and so is the noble modern. On the other hand the savage savage, as portrayed in popular art, is likely a myth too. :-) |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
Wow! We pretty much agree on this. The cause, of course, is different. |
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Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
quote: If there were such a life, I presume moral laziness and greed would probably increase. If you didn't need to serve your stomach to survive, or wear warm clothes in winter to stay warm, or worry about your marriage with one woman falling apart because you love another woman too, losing a job because you don't do it efficiently enough, etc. If there were no "threat" of losing something precious or important to us because of what we do or don't do, then the moral "standard" would probably become very weak. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. I have read a biography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and found his concept of a “Noble Savage” to be of a man who at birth and after was a man without conscience and thereby blameless . . . . |
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Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
quote: Why/how would he be "without conscience" or "blameless"? |
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