Page 72 - 112-2小論文

The Dialectical Interaction between God and Satan –
Exploring Modern Western Humanism in Literature through Satanism

“The history of ideas recognizes, therefore, two levels of contradiction:
that of appearances, which is resolved in the profound unity of discourse;
and that of foundations, which gives rise to discourse itself.” (Michel Foucault,

1972)

Therefore, when we create, based on ideals, a god or morally empowered human (the

level of appearances), and grant them the authority to punish others for what is defined as
their morally degenerated behavior, the subconscious unease within us compels us to invent
beings that understand and sympathize with these base inclinations (the level of foundations).

And this is why the supreme perfect being called God has been preserved through time,

regardless of the hardships and crises Christianity has gone through, such as the Babylonian
captivity and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and why, at the same time, there has to be an
antagonist who stands for everything opposite to what this supreme perfect being represents

by evolving his image from a creature without feet, a horned demon, to a unique being that is
increasingly human (or humanized).

In this research, the researcher has come to a conclusion that modern western humanism is
a result of the dialectical interaction between two antithetical forces that have long existed in

Christianity.

“A unifying attribute of all Satanists is our embrace of our outsider status. In

addition, Satanists adhere to the principles of individual sovereignty and the
rejection of tyrannical authority. These concerns are of paramount importance to
us, but are not fundamental components of Humanism.”(The Satanic Temple, n.d. )

From Milton’s work to the Satanic Temple, Although ideologies and methods are

constantly changing, the spirit of “Eternal Rebel” endures.

VI. References

(I) Books

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche .(2016). Ecce Homo

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52190/52190-h/52190-h.html
John Milton.(1991). Paradise Lost
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/20/pg20-images.html

Percy Bysshe Shelley.(1892). Prometheus Unbound
7