tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post2406919412556994909..comments2023-06-24T05:26:22.503-04:00Comments on Groves Honors Philosophy: #32 - Evil and its NatureGeoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-25541881310938249552010-04-14T18:31:20.920-04:002010-04-14T18:31:20.920-04:00#2. The other night while sitting at the dinner t...#2. The other night while sitting at the dinner table with my parents, I asked them what they believed God really was. They told me that they believed Him to be a loving and caring ruler who is forgiving and understanding. When I asked them about what they thought was the cause of all the cruel things that happen in this world, they answered that it was Satan's doing, not God's. After hearing this opinion, I felt like there was something wrong with this explanation and when I tried to introduce the possibility that God could be evil as well as kind, my parents recoiled and scolded me for saying such a thing. I explained to them that the reason that I thought this was because the Bible stated that humans were created in the image of Him. We have evil inside of us, so why can't our ruler have the same traits? Of course they told me that once again it was Satan that did this to us, but I still couldn't accept it. I do believe that God has to have an evil side to Him and that if he didn't then the awful things like what happened in Haiti and New Orleans wouldn't have happened. Of course that is just my opinion:)Clare andrew: hour #5noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-65714605064065603812010-01-26T07:52:16.124-05:002010-01-26T07:52:16.124-05:00Blog #32
1. I believe that promoting good in a so...Blog #32<br /><br />1. I believe that promoting good in a society would definitely be better and more beneficial to the people, rather than preventing evil. For one reason, humans have a natural want to rebel against what their told, seeing as why some people break the law to begin with. Also, if people were taught the things that they should not do, rather than what they should, people will get those bad ideas that were not previously there into their heads. If the example of evil was not put in front of them in the first place, that problem would clearly be taken care of. If you are taught what is good, and that you will be rewarded externally or internally for those decisions and actions you choose, you will be more likely to engage in such things. An idea of “evil” would probably rarely even come to mind.<br /><br />2. I personally believe that if there is a G-d/diety that they never really created good or evil. I think that evil is something that was created by man once put on Earth. People have decisions to make almost everyday where they can choose to do something good for others/themselves, or hurt the others around them. Although it is wrong, some people feel the need to choose the bad, or “evil,” route. I don’t think that this is something that a deity put into their heads, but rather their own decisions on how to live their lives and treat the other people surrounding them. With that being said, I do not think that a deity would even get rid of the evil in the world, because people need to react with each other and experience good, as well as bad, things so that they can learn from those occurrences. Without something bad, you can never appreciate the good.<br /><br />4. Although we as humans can conceive of evil or evil acts and thoughts, I do not believe that makes us evil by nature. To truly be evil, you have to act upon those thoughts in order to intentionally hurt the other people around you. Just because those ideas are thought of in the mind, that does not make the person evil. For example, if you think something bad or mean about a certain person, it just means that you are upset with them in that particular moment. To really be evil, you would have to come up with some crazy plan in order to hurt your friend in an unforgivable way, and then go through with this plan on purpose. I think that mankind is naturally good, but there are always a few exceptions. People also do make mistakes, and to make a mistake does not make you an evil person at all. <br /><br />Amanda S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-25090608092828810602010-01-25T09:12:27.607-05:002010-01-25T09:12:27.607-05:001. I don’t know how I am supposed to fully answer ...1. I don’t know how I am supposed to fully answer this question in the first place because it is assuming that I myself am making the rules and standards that I live by. I don’t have to make my rules and standards because I get my ‘moral code’ from the bible. If I look to my moral code that I already have though it would tell me that it is better to be promoting good. If everyone lived by the bible which is the only ‘moral code’ that is written down and followed (agnostics don’t have a moral code that they follow, as neither do atheists) would mean everyone would for the most part be promoting good which wouldn’t even leave much room for people to be doing as much evil so then it would be better to be promoting good.<br />2. I don’t agree with the problem of evil because God does allow for evil in our world in the sense that bad things do happen to people. <br />4. I wouldn’t say that we are evil by nature but I would say that we are sinful by nature because we are born with original sin. We were made perfect in the image of God but because of original sin we will do or conceive of evil because we aren’t perfect.Ben Goddard 4th Hournoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-15573714283430769362010-01-22T09:52:08.158-05:002010-01-22T09:52:08.158-05:00When making rules or standards to live by i feel t...When making rules or standards to live by i feel that each person has there own life style to live up to and what maybe evil to one might be good in the mind of another. When I make person standards to live by I decide them by pros and cons. I feel like most people do both prevent evil and promote good because thats the way most were taught. But, if someone always promotes good there will be a point where something evil is done. What is seen as evil isn't always done to be evil, but we have choice and that gives us the power to choose between good and evil. So it is better to make standard rules preventing evil than promoting good because by preventing evil you know what is right and wrong. Sometimes when promoting good a situation comes up that is evil and before you know it, you've been sucked into it. So when thinking of rules it is better to try and not do evil then to always make sure everything that is done is good. Yes, I do believe a benevolent, omnipotent diety wouldn't allow evil becasue they have the power to walk away and not be tempted by it. When someone has set certain morals or principles they abide by and if they stick to them then that person will not allow evil to come into there lives and ruin it. I think humans think of evil because they choose too. Humans can do right and give themselves the power to do good, but they let the temptation take over them. Everyone is not born with evil, evil is either taught to someone or that person has choosen that way of life. <br /><br />Samantha T.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-35300130287589153532010-01-22T09:36:54.790-05:002010-01-22T09:36:54.790-05:004: I think that if we humans do evil acts or have ...4: I think that if we humans do evil acts or have evil thoughts, we are still not evil by nature. I believe this because even if someone has evil thoughts or does an evil act, I don’t believe that God –or any other higher power- would see the person as being evil by nature. God did not make any one human being evil to begin with. I think that if a group of humans –like the people in charge of 911- were to do an evil act, then if does not make that whole group, or minority evil by nature. Because of 911 we think that all Israelis are evil and they get dirty and suspicious looks wherever they go. I think that this is wrong. Just because one group does an evil act, it doesn’t make the whole “human race” evil by nature. <br /> 1: I think that it is better to promote good rather than to prevent evil. Prevent evil just “stops” the evil acts that are going on at the time. If we were to make rules geared more towards promoting good, then that would be like killing two birds with one stone. It would –hopefully- stop some evil acts and it would ALSO help the community and the people because it would have more good acts happening. <br /> 2: I don’t think I agree with this problem of evil, but I don’t really understand the problem exactly. I do believe, however, that God would have to allow some evil because if we didn’t have evil in the world then we wouldn’t know right form wrong… because there wouldn’t be any wrong. There would be nothing to learn from. I think that God does need to allow some evil in the world, but he needs to keep the evil in check and make sure that it doesn’t get out of hand.<br />Carleigh<br />-4thAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-20711944262537849882010-01-22T09:33:37.271-05:002010-01-22T09:33:37.271-05:001. Yes I believe it’s better to promote good...1. Yes I believe it’s better to promote good than to prevent evil. If you are promoting the good in a way you are preventing evil. By encouraging others to do the right things and setting an example your promoting good and preventing evil in the same essence. That person may take your inspiring or encouraging words and think before they do something considered “evil.” In a way you can’t prevent evil, but it depends on your definition of evil. <br />2. As a human just because you conceive evil thoughts doesn’t mean you’re evil. A person that is considered evil can have good thoughts, but are they a good person. Good thoughts are not always to preoccupy your mind. There are times you will have what are considered to be “evil” thoughts I don’t think that makes you evil just based off of your thought. Now whether you act on those thoughts is something totally different. I don’t believe in a conspiracy charged, being charged with thinking of the crime but not committing it. How can someone judge or define you of your thoughts alone?<br />3. Yes in a way I do believe we tend to make this more complicated than it has to be. I think we can reduce it to the simplest explanation of God’s doing. At the end of the day were never going to be able to get to the bottom, it going to be question after question but never an explanation for evil. <br /><br />Alyssa T. -4thAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-41241753553162205712010-01-22T00:04:32.841-05:002010-01-22T00:04:32.841-05:001. I believe that it is more effective to promote ...1. I believe that it is more effective to promote less evil then it is to promote more good. We see it today with all of our laws that try to deter or prevent someone from doing something evil. I believe these laws work better to promote the common welfare of society then say a reward for 1000 to not kill anyone. We will still find as many sociopaths that feel the need to commit crimes but now there will be no punishment.<br /><br />3. I do believe that the concept of evil is looked at too closely and needs the be addressed in more broad terms. If not done many arguments can be thrown away with a simple what if? I also believe that good and evil are not ideas that can be picked apart and .are extremely subjective terms<br /><br />4.I do not believe that people are necessarily born evil but acquire these traits throughout there lives. A rough childhood where a person does not learn the immoralities of stealing can cause that person to become a thief at a later age. This person was not born evil but through his environmental interactions was made to become evil.stephan cass 4thnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-40426937611781322202010-01-21T20:41:03.322-05:002010-01-21T20:41:03.322-05:001. If you want to create standards to live by then...1. If you want to create standards to live by then you must promote the good rather then prevent the bad. If you only promote the good then people only know of and therefore follow the good standards because there is nothing to compare it to. But also if you only promote the good and dismiss preventing the bad you may have begun a backlash against the very morals you promote.<br />2. I believe that the concept of evil is purely human-made, if there is an omnipotent deity I believe it only created life and the Universe, evil only exists because we do. If an omnipotent deity were to be aware of evil and not do anything about it I think that the deity itself would be evil.<br />4. Yes, if humans have thought of evil then we must be evil or else how could we even develop the concept. I believe also that we are as evil as we choose to be, definitions vary depending on culture and region so anything and anyone can potentially be evil. We can also choose to be good if we completely denounce or completely ignore the evil principles we have made. If because we can conceive of evil we are in fact evil, then it is equally possible that overcoming the evil in us is the best way to fulfill the omnipotent deity.<br />Claire Holton 5th hourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-74245429459510283282010-01-21T19:17:47.844-05:002010-01-21T19:17:47.844-05:001. I feel that in order to have a society that isn...1. I feel that in order to have a society that isn’t running mad there needs to be structure; it has to be structure with a positive connotation. By trying to prevent evil we would waste too much time on locking people up because of what they did wrong that we found as “evil”. Also, when you tell people what they can and cannot do, they are more likely to act out, which typically results in crime. When you promote good, you’re promoting happiness and people who want to do good. <br />3. I think we’re making it more complicated than what it should be; evil things happen because we live in a world were there are evil people. For the most of the population we have good people who try to protect us and look out for others, but we also have the bad guys. Evil happens because of the devil and good happens because of God and his angles, I believe when evil occurs it’s because and angel lets his guard down for one second, and within that second the devil was able to come in and do damage. Of course God doesn’t like it so he has his angels come down and hell whoever or whatever it was that had damage done to it. World has evil because our world is not perfect and neither are the people in it.<br />4. Just because one can conceive evil thoughts are acts does not mean that one is evil by nature. We were not born murders. In order to do evil we must know evil and to do that we must either be around it or learned. A baby doesn’t come out of the womb wanting to kill, it’s only until it starts to grow up and its brain starts receiving evil thoughts or images due to a movie or hearing of some evil. To conclude, I feel that’s its one’s surrounding that turns an innocent child into a murder, not a mother’s womb. <br /><br />Bianca KeaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-5937255547267077152010-01-21T17:13:12.730-05:002010-01-21T17:13:12.730-05:001.Rules or living standards should be made to prev...1.Rules or living standards should be made to prevent evil. The reason for this is because rules are made to prevent evil, or tell you what you shouldn't do for the good of other as well as yourself. If they were to promote good, there would be no restrictions on how you may go about a certain action. For instance, lets analyze the laws on driving a motor vehicle. Some may consider cars evil because it pollutes the air the more someone drives it or a moving metal death trap, because it has the possibility of killing others. We have set laws that restrict what you can do with the car to prevent those evils. An example of the prevention is that each road, highway, or street has a set speed limit depending on the number of people around. These rules are set with the intent to prevent evil, and in doing so, they create a safer community for others.<br /><br />2.I agree that evil is a problem and that it exists; a benevolent, omnipotent deity, if in existence, would not allow evil. We were all born with a sense of what it is good and bad. Although, we all try to prevent evil, evil may still prevail at times and no one or nothing can do anything about it. That's life, we must take the good with the bad. Everything is made with a balance of good and evil. We love the good, and hate the bad.<br /><br />4. Because humans are capable of evil acts and thoughts does not mean we're are truly evil. Evil can also be described in the eye of the beholder; it differs between each person and what their ethics are. If we are evil, then what is good? <br /><br />Timothy Weerakoon, 4th HourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-30620430880540827062010-01-21T12:31:21.226-05:002010-01-21T12:31:21.226-05:00Marcus Johnson 5th Hour
1. I feel that no matter ...Marcus Johnson 5th Hour<br /><br />1. I feel that no matter what rules are made there is always someone who is going to break them. Rules may be made to prevent evil but at the sometime it provokes it. This makes me go back to when I was a kid and my mom would tell me not to touch the hot stove but I did anyways, I feel this is what happens with rules. We break them to see what happens.<br /><br />2. No, I think that a deity would allow evil. I feel that by there being evil in the world a natural balance is made throughout the planet. I think that a benevolent deity condones most acts of evil because I feel that the deity made us to be imperfect and have flaws as well as act in those flaws causing evil. It’s as if evil is the deity’s way of making a more stable way of life because if life were a complete utopia or dystopia the world would crumble in my opinion.<br /><br />4. No, just because we commit evil acts doesn’t mean we are evil. All humans being have good and evil components in my opinion and certain situations bring certain components out of us. It’s not that we are in whole evil. It is that we need some sort of opposing force to keep the world in full swing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-47457680778483906712010-01-21T11:44:06.321-05:002010-01-21T11:44:06.321-05:001. I think it’s better to prevent evil rather than...1. I think it’s better to prevent evil rather than promote good because once you prevent evil you can create a platform for good. Let’s just say that what you do actually works. If nothing is evil there is a base that you can build good off of with some in between and some great while staying completely away of what evil is. If you promote good and that works than who knows exactly how far people can go. Preventing evil sets a clear line for what people are supposed to do. Promoting good just says reach for the stars but doesn’t say how low the stars can be.<br />3. I think that the idea that the conclusion based on the fewest assumptions is most likely the right one is not necessarily true but I think it’s how people many people should view the world. So often people let these philosophical questions that sometimes it might be best to let them be unanswered or answer them as simply as you can<br />4. The age long debate about humans being naturally evil or good is one that can never be answered. I believe that humans are naturally a blank slate. When a baby is born it is an empty canvas that can be painted by anything and everything around them. I do think that parents personality traits are given to their children. The environment they were brought up in effects them and their attitude when they grow up and are away from their parents but I don’t think anyone is naturally born with personality tendencies.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16064539822170235477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-38263984178222466192010-01-21T11:27:38.621-05:002010-01-21T11:27:38.621-05:001) I think it is better to prevent evil than to pr...1) I think it is better to prevent evil than to promote good. Everyone needs some structure in their lives, and that’s why there are rules that should be followed. I’ve grown up learning that I get punished for evil, and for good behavior or actions, I usually don’t get anything in return. Just knowing that I will get in trouble for doing something bad prevents me from doing it. But I don’t always do the right thing because I’m expecting something in return. I do it because I either want to, or feel like I have to. <br />2) No, I don’t agree with the problem of evil. I believe that a benevolent, omnipotent deity created evil so mankind could choose which path to take for themselves. Each action a person takes, whether it is good or evil, is their own decision. It isn’t something that was chosen for them. Creating both good and evil gives mankind the power to choose for themselves.<br />4) I think that everyone can be evil. The difference of being evil by nature and acting evil on occasion, is that being evil by nature means you can’t control your actions of evil. The thing is, is that most of us have the power to act evil, but we restrain ourselves and do good deeds. I truly think that no one is evil by nature. The people that seem that way are because something triggered that unhappiness or sadness to create evil. <br />Hilary Sircus<br />4th hourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-91448687452954860202010-01-21T11:20:00.972-05:002010-01-21T11:20:00.972-05:001. Well, one way to look at it, and the way I’m ...1. Well, one way to look at it, and the way I’m sure many people look at it, is that by making rules and standards to live by that prevent evil is, in itself, a way of promoting good. But the way I look at it connects to what I learned about behavioral psychology last year in psych class. There are two methods of shaping a person’s behavior. One is through negative reinforcement, where a punishment is received for doing the wrong thing, like when someone goes to jail for a crime. The other way is through positive reinforcement, where a reward is given for doing the right thing, like when you get a good grade on a test that you studied extremely hard for. At this point in time, I think the easiest way to promote good on a large scale is through negative reinforcement, but to make a truly good person, both types of reinforcement are necessary, so that they not only know what’s wrong, but also are aware of what the right thing to do is.<br />2. No, I don’t agree that a benevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent deity wouldn’t allow evil. Especially if this same deity created man and gave us our free will. And I think that anyone who truly believes this has not yet learned the values of balance and moderation. Just because a deity is benevolent doesn’t mean that deity cannot allow evil. If that deity is omniscient, certainly it would know the value of balance in all things, and therefore would allow evil to occur. It would allow this because it created man and gave us our free will, which allows us to have equal potential for both good and evil. And even if this benevolent deity decided that evil shouldn’t exist, in its omniscience, it would understand the value of “everything in moderation”, and therefore would not necessarily use its omnipotence to eliminate and prevent all evil.<br />4. True, we are capable of conceiving of evil and evil acts. But that does not at all mean we are evil by nature. Just as we are capable of conceiving of evil and acts of evil, we are equally capable of conceiving of good and acts of good. As I said in my answer to #2, man is equipped with this thing called free will, and by its nature, is allowed to employ it however we so choose. So mankind is not evil by nature, but it’s not good by nature either. Instead, it is free by nature, and is given an equal potential for both good and evil through the decisions it makes by employing its free will.<br /><br />Drew FisherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-52210060799288602302010-01-21T11:13:27.304-05:002010-01-21T11:13:27.304-05:00Ian perfitt says..............
1. Promoting good ...Ian perfitt says..............<br /><br />1. Promoting good is better than preventing evil because I don’t think that humans can prevent evil. We can’t prevent nature events of evil like hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes; however, we can promote good with those acts of evil by encouraging people to donate to the Red Cross and helping out victims of evil. <br />2. There is no way that a good deity would allow evil on our earth. If there was a good deity, then there would be no such thing as evil. Evil things happen naturally and I think that it is very hard to prevent. I think that evil can bring out the good in people and encourage them to encourage others to be good. It happens like a chain reaction. Even though evil brings good out in people, evil is still evil and there’s no way that some kind of god would allow it. <br />4. I think that some people are born evil and that some people are born good. Everyone, however, still has the potential to become both good and evil, no matter which way they were born. Just because we think of evil things doesn’t make us evil. If we think of good things, that doesn’t make us good either. It all depends on whether we act on those thoughts or not.<br /><br /><br />.......said Ian Perfitt<br />4th hourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-24550456176124934512010-01-21T11:03:29.129-05:002010-01-21T11:03:29.129-05:00I think it is better to prevent evil than set up r...I think it is better to prevent evil than set up rules or standards to live by. In societies there are always rules, such as laws, that are broken all the time, from J-walking to murder. If we set up rules and standards we are only setting ourselves up for failure because rules will always be broken. Sop preventing evil would be the best way to counter this problem. I believe that a benevolent, omnipotent deity would allow evil to occur. If it didn’t want this to happen it would have been able to stop us from conceiving thoughts of evil. This being allows evil because it’s natural, and all mankind is born good with thoughts of evil. I feel that this deity allows this because it allows us to choose our own path and has given us a sense of good and evil. If it didn’t allow us to do evil we would never know what good is. I think since mankind can conceive evil or evil acts, it means that mankind has a dark design to its nature. Humans can be consumed by the seven deadly sins, which mean they can be evil. Since they can be evil, I believe mankind can have an evil nature.<br /><br />Raphael EgziabherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-53289850130859969452010-01-21T11:03:02.797-05:002010-01-21T11:03:02.797-05:001. I think it is better to prevent evil than promo...1. I think it is better to prevent evil than promote good. I believe that all humans are born good and that we become evil depending on what kind of events happen in our lives. Because humans are naturally good, it is unnecessary to promote good. Promoting good would be a waste of time and we should strictly focus of preventing evil and finding ways in which we can prevent people from acquiring evilness. If we prevent good, then humans will establish certain ideas about what exactly is good and bad. They will gain knowledge about what is considered bad instead of focusing on what is good.<br /><br />2. I don’t agree that there is a problem of evil because I don’t believe that there is some kind of good deity or god. I believe that an extremely long time ago, some kind of higher power created matter, causing the big bang, causing a really long road of science to bring us where we are today. I think that evil is just a way to show us what good is. Seeing acts of evilness allows us to determine just how good we can be. However, if there was some kind of good deity, then there would be no such thing as evil. Why would god do such horrible things like the earthquake in Haiti? This is what leaves me to believe that there is no god.<br /><br />4.I don’t think people are evil by nature, I think that all humans are born good and we become evil based on certain experiences that we go through in our life time. Everything that happens to a human shapes them in some way depending on how they handle it. Even the littlest things can trigger someone to become evil but I don’t think we are born that way. Just because we can think in evil ways doesn’t mean that we are evil. If we act in evil ways, then we become evil but we are not born that way.<br /><br /><br />JULES ASHE<br />4th hour<br />Jago MaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-81168823209441664372010-01-21T11:02:23.626-05:002010-01-21T11:02:23.626-05:00Noah Saperstein
Preventing evil is much more impo...Noah Saperstein<br /><br />Preventing evil is much more important than to promote good. Almost everyone in the world can be good, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, so on and so forth, but if there is just one evil person he/she can change everything. Look at Germany just after World War 2. The German people were persuaded, brainwashed and misled by Hitler. A country that promotes good is doing nothing to counteract evil but a country which is preventing evil has less of a need to promote good.<br />IF there is a higher being of some sort, god or whatever you want to call it, why would it allow evil. Why would the higher being, so called higher intelligence allow genocide, slavery, war to all happen. Tens of millions killed, billions more never created because of it, why would a higher being let this happen. Allow such acts of violence and hate occur. There are three possible answers, one there is no higher being, two the higher being doesn’t care and left us on our own or third, the higher being is watching us for its own amusement. We may be nothing but a form of entertainment, a live action soap opera if you will. Just something to kill time until the misses comes home from whatever the higher being(s) do(es). <br />As humans we can obviously conceive the idea or evil. We are aware that many acts are inherently evil such as genocide and mass murder, but the ability to understand evil does by no means make people inherently evil. The ability to comprehend and idea does not make humans the idea. We can understand pregnancy but that doesn’t make mankind all pregnant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-80389852000891001962010-01-21T11:00:21.154-05:002010-01-21T11:00:21.154-05:001. I think it is more important to prevent evil th...1. I think it is more important to prevent evil than to promote good. As history has shown people are prone to great acts of evil and kindness. The fact is however that recently evil has been more predominant than good. This is why we must attempt to thwart evil at every turn. If people see that evil is punished they will be less inclined to commit evil acts and thus be more likely to do a good turn daily.<br />2. I do believe that an omnipotent being would not allow evil if this being watched over us at all times. I believe that “god” created us and then left us to do our own bidding. If he actually had a hand in everything that happened he would not allow us to suffer or do evil upon others. <br />3. Just because we think of an evil act does not mean we are evil. I believe it is following through on our evil thoughts that make people evil. Just because I consider stealing a pack of gum doesn’t make me evil, to the contrary it makes me seem better because I fought the evil urges and remained true to my own morals.Dan Mooneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-17789645335333811452010-01-21T10:25:00.848-05:002010-01-21T10:25:00.848-05:002. First off I’m not so sure there is such a thin...2. First off I’m not so sure there is such a thing as a perfect deity, however I don’t think that if God is real I think he would allow evil because that gives people something to be scared of, something to keep them making good decisions. He made people flawed and societies flawed so why not have something evil in the world, he would want life to be real, not a perfect dream.<br />3. I agree with Occam’s razor when he says that the conclusion based on the least assumptions is most likely the right one. I think we do tend to over complicate things, but it’s because our race has a very sophisticated mind that allows our thoughts to wonder and for these topics to be in question. It’s not a black and white topic to me, good vs. evil, everyone’s perception of what’s evil is different and I think it’s a bit harsh to call someone evil. However, I don’t think that we should reduce it to the simplest form because some things aren’t so simple.<br />4. I don’t think the fact that humans can conceive evil necessarily makes us evil, it just means we can go there if something makes us. I do think that we have evil in our nature though, because it’s not really a learned thing to want to get back at those who wrong you, if anything we’re taught to talk it out in order to solve the problem. I would definitely not call the human race evil; I would just say we are all capable of evil thoughts and acts.<br /><br />Jessica Keyes<br />4th hourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-92219785281885156382010-01-21T08:09:40.076-05:002010-01-21T08:09:40.076-05:00Jake Ozar
1-21-10
Blog #32
Honors philosophy
1. ...Jake Ozar<br />1-21-10<br />Blog #32<br />Honors philosophy<br /><br />1. Yes it’s good to promote good because we need a positive role model. Giving positive rules is better than preventing evil from happening. If people grow up in an evil society they have to find pure otherwise they will grow up corrupt and evil if they have no morals. It would be better to help people grow up in a positive optimistic society than a negative pessimistic society. <br /><br />2. A benevolent, omnipotent deity would allow evil because good and evil have to balance out without that balance the world would be perfect and the humans would reject the perfect society As Agent smith said if the world was perfect we would have our free will taken away and humans need a world with flaws because we are not perfect why do we deserve a perfect world.<br /><br />4. If humans can conceive of evil or evil acts that doesn’t make us evil. In the book The Lord of The flies that story is about the evil that lies inside man. As Mrs. Petrino said when parents are away teenage boys will act a certain way than if their parents were around. Christians were born into this world with ‘original sin’ Because of Adam and Eve and the temptation God put on them because of the fruit they were forbidden from eating. Then the serpent aka Satin told eve she could hence forth creating original sin. Just because we can conceive evil doesn’t make us evil.<br /><br />Jake OzarAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-52492276002459932272010-01-21T07:39:58.185-05:002010-01-21T07:39:58.185-05:00Veronica says..
1.Promoting good by making more ru...Veronica says..<br />1.Promoting good by making more rules and standards would be a back fire plan to prevent evil. This is because people both rebel towards rules (by breaking laws they don't believe in) or some people just have devilish ways,laws can't change a person.<br />4.Just because humans have evil thoughts and such does not mean that they are evil by nature that means that were humans by nature! The explanation also ties into "ID,ego,Superego" ID is the "devil"on the shoulder and superego is the "angel" and you weigh the two with the ego and morally decide, the evil thought or the morally correct thought.<br />2. i don't believe in the problem of evil, because it's not that the man upstairs created evil, he left people with a mind that makes decisions, and he expects you to follow his word.you decide to follow his word,have trust,faith and honor to it and he sees the people who really do feel that way towards his word by seeing the decisions they make. He feels that if you read the bible and truly believe in him&word then evil thoughts won't lead you in, you may have them but you won't fall through.<br />Veronica Washington 5thAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-12636806925322597232010-01-21T07:11:44.910-05:002010-01-21T07:11:44.910-05:00Yes, it is better to prevent evil then promote goo...Yes, it is better to prevent evil then promote good when deciding rules we can live by, because order is maintained by laws that protect against evil and harm. Although, laws can be broken, enforcement can make it much harder to do cause harm towards others and therefore evil should try to be blocked as much as possible with laws and enforcement of these laws. People do not always know what is wrong unless it is told to them, so merely promoting good behaviors will lead to more bad deeds by people. I believe that a benevolent omnipotent deity could allow a concept of evil because everything in life is balanced and has an opposite. Just like Plotinus’s concept of opposite poles (light and dark, good and bad) there is an opposite to God that evil takes place. Bad things happening to people are also trials, which they must overcome and learn valuable lessons from. Some people however fail to see the good these bad situations bring and therefore cant learn from them and grow. Humans can conceive evil thoughts but unless they act upon these and cause purposeful malice to others they are not evil. Thinking about harming others in some way is not evil until the deed is committed.Katie Weednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-19315613232533877232010-01-20T23:30:30.448-05:002010-01-20T23:30:30.448-05:00When making rules to live by, I think that it is m...When making rules to live by, I think that it is more important to focus on promoting evil. In any society it is a good idea to decide what common things the people see as evil. If the evil things can be decided upon and prevented, it leaves much more decisions for each individual person. If I were told that according to the US constitution that I was required to do certain things that were considered “good” I would have a much harder time listening to authority than I do with a list of things that I cannot do. I do not agree with the problem of evil. I think that all evil and good are relative. What may be evil to one person may be just a little bit distasteful to the next. If there were no evil things in the world there would just be good and slightly less good. The slightly less good things would start to be considered evil to people. If evil did not exist, then neither would good. I think that right now in the world that the good outweighs the evil, and therefore evil is sort of a good thing. I also don’t think that just because we recognize evil when we see it that that makes us evil. I think that makes us good. I think that someone who does evil things and doesn’t see any problem with it and doesn’t recognize it as evil then that person is more evil than the person who recognizes the evil in their acts. <br />Megan Walsh <br />4thAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-20238198179639701662010-01-20T23:13:07.503-05:002010-01-20T23:13:07.503-05:001.It is better to prevent evil opposed to promotin...1.It is better to prevent evil opposed to promoting good when making rules or standards to live by because if good is only promoted, how is anyone supposed to know what extent to evil is acceptable? Obviously, evil should be avoided at all costs and there is no “good” evil, but some evils are more tolerable than others; for instance, a little white lie is more reasonable to live with rather than murdering someone else. If one does not have standards as to how far you can go with evil, it could be ruthless and people cannot determine what degree of sin they are living in. Sure, if good was promoted there would be many people who demonstrate acts of kindness, sharing, helping, loving, etc., but evil has the potential of going just as deep as the promoted good. However, I also believe promoting good means preventing evil, making this question irrefutable.<br />2.I do not agree with the problem of evil because I presume that a higher, divine being created evil so one is not blind to what is good. If everything was good, nothing could be appreciated such as donations, or helping a friend in need. That poses the same thought that if there was no sadness, would there be happiness? I believe there needs to be an opposite to everything so you know what something isn’t.<br />4. From a religious perspective, I do believe that we as humans are evil. We, as said, are born with original sin thanks to Adam and Eve. Even after baptism or confession, we are not “good”. We still have temptations developed by the devil, Satan, and for every good decision we make, there is the option of the evil decision. I imagine that Satan follows your every move taunting, tempting you to defy God and live in sin. People of the Muslim or Jewish religion may have other views, all of which I am open to.Dayna Kozlowskinoreply@blogger.com