O covil do maligno

um diálogo entre Kant e o budismo acerca do mal no comportamento humano

Abstract

Kant advocates for a deontological ethics based on human rationality that emphasizes the validity of moral principles that can be universally applied. Buddhism, a religious and philosophical system in which ethical discussion plays a central role, maintains that its ethical doctrine is grounded in an objective understanding of human nature and the most basic psychological aspects of the mind. Now, if Kant and Buddhism affirm the possibility (and necessity) of the existence of universal ethical principles based on a rational mental operation common to all humans, we should expect that, if correct, these two philosophies should converge at some point along the paths they propose, notwithstanding having arisen in different historical and cultural contexts. The aim of this work is to conduct a comparative analysis of moral thought in Kant and Buddhist scriptures in order to confront their positions on the origin of evil in human behavior. In this dialogue, the work representing Kantian thought is "Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason," a text published during the maturity of the German philosopher in which he specifically addresses moral evil. Regarding Buddhism, we seek to confine ourselves to the context of Indian Buddhism, primarily drawing upon the collections of sutras in the Pāli Canon, along with Buddhist authors and scholars who assist in elucidating Buddhist concepts. Through these sources, it becomes apparent that Kant and Buddhism conceive that the existence of moral evil originates in the actions of free and rational individuals who, instead of acting in accordance with universal moral principles, choose to act based on material principles driven by egoic attachment to themselves. In seeking the root of evil, Buddhism and Kant locate it in the self-centered individual who makes self-love the criterion determining their actions. The primacy given to the self, according to the Buddha, is accompanied by desire for pleasure and indulgence which, fueled by ignorance, leads people to engage in malevolent acts tainted by greed, hatred, and delusion. Kant states that man makes the motives of self-love and inclinations thereof the condition for following the moral law, which is the cause of the malignity of human nature or the human heart. Kant and Buddhism assert that evil is always an attitude based on the individual's free will, as for Kant, nothing is morally bad except what is our own act, and Buddhism believes that negative karma is only generated when the harmful outcome of the act was already present in the agent's intention (cetana).In conclusion, we believe that this effort of confrontation contributes to opening a frank dialogue between Western and Eastern thought, which can result in mutual benefits of philosophical depth.