The Grand Inquisitor
Discuss how ones view of human nature is linked to the emphasis on need for authority in The Grand Inquisitor. The paper should be about three pages in length, double-spaced typed
Respond to these three points:
- If you were to bring charges against the Grand Inquisitor, what might they be?
- How would you defend him against these charges?
- What is it about the Grand Inquisitor's view of human nature that makes it imperative to take away freedom for the sake of happiness?
Hint: Imagining people to be weak and fallible, craving meaning and
attachment yet possessed of an overweening pride (hubris) and rebellious
spirit, does this contrary human creature not require "taming" for
its own good? 3. Assuming that every society is characterized by a balance between
the forces making for order and those making for freedom, what is the logical
link between one's theory of human nature and one's choice to emphasize either
the need for order or the need for freedom in a society?