Confessions by Leo Tolstoy

1.In his "Confessions," Tolstoy describes an Eastern fable (page 80, in ML). What is the point of the fable and how does it illustrate his telling us, "In my search for answers to the questions of life, I felt just like a man who is lost in a wood"? Does Tolstoy help to illuminate the issue of faith?

2.Tolstoy embraces faith as providing meaning to his life, but he does not say if that includes moral meaning. Can faith alone solve the philosophical dilemma faced by the authoritarian?

3.The first part of the philosophical dilemma says that if God created morality, God could have ruled that killing and stealing are right. Suppose the religious authoritarian responds that God would never say that! Does that solve the dilemma?

4.The second part of the philosophical dilemma admits a role for moral authority. Why then need we continue in our search for a normative theory?