Flaws In Human Nature In Tartuffe

Through its contrasting scenes, Moliere’s “Tartuffe” illustrates the flaws in human nature with regard to the foundation of morals. Religious hypocrisy plays a major role in each of the characters’ lives. One character, Orgon, in particular falls subject to the deception of Tartuffe, who pretends to be a devout, pious, and humble man. Orgon is a firm believer that morals are derived from religion and that a strong religious conviction is the foundation for morality. He is so convinced that a religious person can do no wrong that he would sacrifice those he loves, as well as his worldly possessions as he is duped throughout most of the play. Most of the characters in the play do not agree with Orgon’s view and believe Tartuffe to be a fake

who continually uses religion as an excuse for his immoral acts. Although some believe that morality requires religious tenants, you do not have to be religious to have morals.

Morality does not depend upon religion although this is "an almost automatic assumption." (INSERT REF HERE 69) According to The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other. Conceptually and in principle, morality and a religious value system are two distinct kinds of value systems or action guides. (INSERT REF HERE 70) Facts, statistics, and expert evidence have demonstrated that morality can be found in Evolution, Secularism, and Modern Huminism (free thinking), to name a few, without the presence of religion.

I find it very hard to believe that 100,000 or 200,000 years ago, our ancestors did not believe in right and wrong, and did not punish bad behavior, did not care about fairness. Very long ago our ancestors had moral systems. There are clear predecessors of morality in non-human primates, but no precursors of religion. So it seems reasonable to assume that as humans evolved away from chimps, morality emerged first, followed by religion. Evidence has shown that animals can exhibit behavior we might classify as "moral" without religious orders to guide them. Dr. Frans de Waal, director of

the Living Links Center at Emory University, published a book called "The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates," which produces evidence that there are in fact biological roots in human fairness, and explores what that means for the role of religion in human societies. He argues that all social animals have had to limit or change their behavior in various ways for group living to be worthwhile. These constraints, evident in monkeys, are part of human inheritance too. Dr. de Waal sees human morality as having grown out of primate sociality, but with two extra levels of sophistication. People enforce their society’s moral codes much more carefully with rewards, punishments and reputation building. They also apply a degree of judgment and reason, for which there are no similarities in animals. Religion can be seen as an addition to human societies which emerged thousands of years after morality. And, morality itself has evolved throughout time based on norms that were accepted and adopted by rational groups. During the time of Moliere’s play, morals were different than they are in modern times. In Act xx, Scene, xxxxx states “xxxxxx.” This would not be considered acceptable behavior in today’s society. Another example of evolving morals is reflected in Act xx, scene x when xxxx tells Marianne that she is to marry Tartuffe “Yes, child, I'm resolved to graft Tartuffe into my family. So he must be your husband. That I've settled. And since your duty.” He goes on by saying “I don't ask your opinion on the matter. In short, the other is in Heaven's best graces, and that is riches quite beyond compare” (INSERT REF HERE). In today’s modern societies, forced marriage is considered illegal even though some cultures still do it. The United Nations (UN) defines forced marriage as the “union of two persons at least one of whom has not given their full and free consent to the marriage. The UN considers forced marriage to be a human rights violation because it violates the individual’s right to freedom and autonomy. (INSERT REF HERE). Throughout time evolution has shown the absence of religion in certain societies has proven to be just as effective with principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong.

Morality does not require religion as a guide because those with morals can also be found in secular societies.

There are those who believe religion approaches moral issues from the standpoint of faith, and according to according to Greg Epstein, "The idea that we can't be 'good without God' " has been with us for nearly 2,000 years. This idea is seen in various holy books, for example in Psalms14 of the Christian Bible: "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good ... not even one." (REFERENCE) During the time of Moliere’s play, King Louis XIV was in power and he was a strong believer that the Roman Catholic Church was an essential tool within France for defining morals to maintain control over the people. King Louis XIV appointed members of the church and believed that the church should speak on behalf of his ideas. This ultimate control over the church contradicts the idea that morals are derived from religious beliefs because it was a single man who defined what was right and what was wrong. Even in modern times, many people would still argue that religious beliefs are necessary to provide moral guidance and standards of honest conduct. However, research has shown that morality can found in secular societies. Secularism is defined by Wikipedia as “The principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious

dignitaries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism WIKIPEDIA). Secularism draws its roots as early as the Greek and Roman philosophers and has continued to modern day free thinkers and atheists. During one of the scenes (PUT THE SCENE HERE), Orgon states “Last week, his [Tartuffe’s] conscience was severely pricked because, while he was praying, he had caught a flea and killed it, so he felt, too wrathfully” (Moliere 26). Orgon is revealing his own misguided fixation on Tartuffe’s morals. An article, by Phil Zuckerman of Pitzer College, entitled "Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions" refutes the connection of religion and morals. Citing four different studies, Zuckerman states: "Murder rates are actually lower in more secular nations and higher in more religious nations where belief in God is widespread." He also states: "Of the top 50 safest cities in the world, nearly all are in relatively non-religious countries." He goes on to say that Denmark and Sweden, "which are probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world", enjoy "among the lowest violent crime rates in the world [and] the lowest levels of corruption in the world" (PUT THE REFERENCE 51 HERE). Zuckerman also reports that two studies show that, during the Holocaust, "the more secular people were, the more likely they were to rescue and help persecuted Jews." He also shows that Secularism also correlates to higher education levels. Atheists and other secular people are also much more likely to support women's rights and gender equality, as well as gay and lesbian rights. So, morality is an inevitable consequence of our species' history of social living, not religious commands. Phil Zuckerman's 2008 book, Society without God, notes that Denmark and Sweden, "which are probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world", enjoy "among the lowest violent crime rates in the world [and] the lowest levels of corruption in the world".[51][c]You cannot behave immorally in society and remain part of a group for very long. You will be detected and ousted. You will lose the benefits and resources of the group. The type of free thinkers that would live in such societies would be considered secular humanists.

Modern Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. The religious humanist believes, as the Humanist Manifesto states, that the religions of the world are outdated due to a vastly increased knowledge and experience, and are powerless to solve the problem of human living in this time. However, according to Edwords, “Modern Humanism, also called Naturalistic Humanism, Scientific Humanism is a philosophy that rejects all supernaturalism and relies primarily upon reason and science.” (INSERT REF 72 HERE). A further sub-category of Humanism is known as Secular Humanism. Secular humanists believe morality and meaning come from humanity and the natural world, not from God or the supernatural.