The Philosophical Problem of Evil and Theistic Responses
The Traditional Problem of Evil
The existence of God has sometimes been justified from a cosmological point of view (based on the nature of the world). There are some features that serve as evidence that God exists, such as the complexity of world order and its manifestation. But while the world exhibits order and beauty, it is also full of misfortune, adversity, suffering, degradation, and injustice.
Much of this evil is practiced by some individuals against others. But there is also natural evil,
Read MorePlato’s Core Doctrines: Areté, Justice, and the Forms
Reminiscence and the World of Ideas
The soul has been in the World of Ideas and can remember it through reminiscence. Hence the famous statement: learning is remembering. Using Maieutics (Socratic method), truths that were asleep within us can be extracted. The soul is a receptacle of memory, a memory that comes from a previous life of which we are aware.
The Role of Eros (Love)
Human beings desire what is beautiful and good. The soul yearns for love and momentum back to the intelligible world to which
Read MoreDescartes, Idealism, and Materialism: Foundations of Reality
René Descartes and Cartesian Dualism
Descartes, a prominent modern philosopher of the 17th century (Baroque era), argues that there are two distinct realities: a mental reality, known as res cogitans (the soul or thinking substance), and a material reality, known as res extensa (extended substance). His primary aim was to dismantle the false knowledge acquired through traditional schooling.
The Method of Doubt
Descartes created a new method in philosophy: methodical doubt, which involves doubting
Read MoreCore Concepts of Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Levels, and Corporate Law
Fundamentals of Ethics and Moral Reasoning
Ethics is a branch of philosophy. It studies what is right or wrong, good or bad behavior, and moral duty.
Ethical evaluation involves:
- Evaluating actions to see if they are good or bad.
- Defining what we should do (moral obligations).
- Judging only free and voluntary actions ethically. (If someone is forced, or it’s an accident, the action is neither moral nor immoral.)
Example: If a company makes a mistake because of a software bug, it is not unethical if they
Read MorePhilosophical Arguments on God, Evil, and Faith
Pascal’s Wager: The Philosophical Argument
Pascal’s Wager is a philosophical argument presented by the seventeenth-century French philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and physicist, Blaise Pascal. It posits that human beings wager with their lives that God either exists or does not. Since we must make choices, we are essentially forced to make a bet regarding God’s existence.
Objections to Pascal’s Wager
Several important objections have been raised against Pascal’s Wager and the Ontological Argument:
Read MoreAristotle: Hylomorphism, Causes, and Forms of Government
Aristotelian Metaphysics: Substance and Change
Any substance, according to the Hylomorphic Theory, is comprised of two components:
- Matter (Hyle): The substrate or potentiality from which something is made.
- Form (Morphe): The essence, pattern, or idea that configures the matter (analogous to Plato’s Idea).
For example: In a table, the matter (Hyle) is the wood, and the form (Morphe) is the idea the carpenter held.
Dynamism: Potency and Act
Potency (Dynamis): The tendency of matter to acquire a new form;
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