> [!info] [[Susan Neiman]]'s reading of Rousseau on the problem of evil, from *[[Evil in Modern Thought]]*. ## Philosophy of Religion On the problem of evil, he connected natural evil with moral evil by arguing that moral virtues and vices bring about good and bad natural consequences necessarily — he calls this Providence. The responsibility against evil now lies in the human. ## Philosophy of Education A child ought to be raised in a “natural” environment, but “nature” seems like a not-so-helpful choice of word here. A child ought to be raised in a perfectly sensible — without arbitrariness — environmental where all good and bad actions follow good and bad consequences necessarily. A tutor has to “play God” in cases when that link is unclear, and act out Providence. In practice, the way a child is raised is very practical and not theoretical. The perfectly designed natural world is the classroom, the tutor is the guide that stands in for the creator — books are unnecessary till later in life (>20). ## Philosophy of love Romantic love is when the seemingly opposing motivations, self-interest and good-of-the-many, or selfishness and altruism are reconciled. For it is in a romantic relationship that in fulfilling the good of the other that I fulfill my good. ## Salvation The answer to salvation is not grace, but love. The natural world has potential for evil, but also for good. Proper utilization of nature saves. --- **Related:** [[History of Evil]] · [[Romantic Educational Visions]]