Counterarguments (blog 6)

In blog 5 I stated that evil is necessary for the developement of moral character. Some people believe that if we did not have evil in the world then we would have a world filled with nothing but good people. I do not think this is a valid argument. First of all, we wouldn't even have "good" without evil existing. That would be like saying, if left did not exist, everyone would be right handed. You cannot have one without the other. Furthermore, people only have the opportunity to be good if evil is also an option.

Is evil necessary for the development of moral character? (blog 5)

Evil is certainly necessary for the development of our character. The only way for us to build character is through overcoming adversities. Rachels describes how if we lived in a perfect world, with no evil whatsoever, then we would not have many of the good characteristics that we have today. In a world with no hunger, no crime, and no ill effects, we would never have a reason to help anyone or do anything “good” because there would be nothing to overcome. A person could never be brave if there was nothing to fear, could never be heroic if there was no one that needed saving, and could never help someone who is sick if there were no diseases. If there were no adversities to overcome, there would be no way to build a good moral character. (36-37) When you really think about it, would you even want to live in a world without evil? I d not think that I would.

Works Cited
Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. Problems from Philosophy. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Blog 4

Below are some concepts from philosophy, their definitions, and a few words about their relevance to my topic.

1. The Problem of Evil

Definition: “The God of classical theism is believed to be omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good. Many thoughtful people maintain that such beliefs are in tension with certain beliefs about evil.” (90)

Relevance: This is going to be the basis of my topic. Everything else will have to revolve around the idea of whether a wholly good God could have a way or a reason to create evil.

2. The Free Will Defense

Definition: Although some may think this has something to do with defending our right to make our own decisions, it is actually part of a philosophical argument that claims our God-given free will as a reason for evil.

Relevance: This will be a helpful part of my paper because so many people want to believe that they have free will. They do not want to think that they are “destined” to do things in life. They do not want to feel like they are robots, doing what they are programmed to do and nothing more.

3. The Evidential Problem of Gratuitous Evil

Definition: A philosophical argument that probes the question that even if some evil has to exist, why does so much pointless evil exist?

Relevance: Basically an expansion upon the argument that says evil is necessary. Without evil there would be no good, obviously. Why so much evil then? Couldn’t we have a little less?

4. The Task of Theodicy

Definition: Describes how theodicy must explain evil using elements “drawn from Scripture, church doctrine, our common moral experience, etc.” (95-96)

Relevance: Will be relevant to the topic because since all the arguments are based on the existence of God, they must be addressed from a religious stand point.

5. The Existential Problem of Evil

Definition: “…happy people who do not regret their own individual existence cannot meaningfully raise a problem of evil…” (97)

Relevance: Will tie in nicely to show that the problem of evil does not necessarily exist for everyone.

Work Cited

Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. The Truth about the World. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

This is a video that displays why evil is necessary. The video assumes that God created the earth, but even if the world came into being some other way, the facts are still relevant. This is a very good example of why we need evil in the world.

Evil (Blog 2)

Evil is all around us. It takes many forms. Many have argued that evil is a direct result of God giving humans free will. Because we have free will, one of the choices is evil. The problem with this argument is that it does not account for all evil in the world. It explains moral evil, “evil or suffering that results from the immoral choices of free creatures” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm#H6), but not natural evil. Why do earthquakes exist at all? Why do floods kill people? Could these natural evils exist for another reason? “God allows or brings about evil as punishment for sin”. (https://www.uvm.edu/~phildept/pereboom/PEFin.pdf) There are many sins that go unpunished and many righteous that are hurt from natural evils. It does not follow then, that punishment is a logical explanation. Pain and suffering are argued to be “ useful warning signals”. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pain/) Why then doesn’t the pain stop once we have been “warned” and are aware of the problem? Also, what about instances where we do not feel pain? Suppose someone contracts the HIV virus while having sex. They will not feel any pain as the virus infects them. So this argument is not sound. So why do we have evil?

Top 2 Topics (Blog 1)

“God and the Origin of the Universe” is a topic that interests me because I was raised in a very religious home. I was taught that God exists and that is that. Why would anyone question it? It’s a known fact. Well if someone were to ask me right now whether or not I could say with 100% certainty whether or not God exists, the answer would be no. I have a very open mind, and I would like to see what I can learn on this subject through this class. I look forward to reading more on this subject in the weeks that follow.
http://www.doesgodexist.org/ or http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/doesgodexist.htm


“The Problem of Evil” is another topic that interests me, perhaps for a more diabolical reason. There can be no light without darkness, no up without down, and no good without evil. Does it not stand to reason that evil must be, at least at some time and to some degree, necessary? I sometimes find joy in doing “evil” so it would be nice to have the argument that what I am doing could actually help bring about some good. I mean really, who wants to be good all the time? It just gets boring after a while, doesn’t it?
http://imabbb.wordpress.com/2008/01/06/is-evil-necessary-for-good-to-exist/

What Is Philosophy?

I do not know if life can be summed up in any number of words. There are many sayings and many cliches that hold true (life is what you make of it, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, what goes around comes around, do unto others..). But I'm not sure if there is one all-encompassing philosophy. Things are as they are. Is anyone really sure why? There are many theories, many ideas. When it comes down to it, rather than a statement of philosophy, it may be a question. I believe in treating others with respect. I believe in always striving to better yourself. Ultimately, we should all strive to act in a way that will have a positve impact on the world around us.