Augustine defends the god of theism by rejecting the existence of evil as a force or power opposed to god as it would reject the premise that god is omnipotent. Below are the ways in which he justifies moral and natural evil, which respectively mean evil caused by human acts, and evil events caused by the processes of nature. To justify evil, he solves the problem by defining evil as a ‘privation’ – which means when something is ‘evil’, it is not defined to contain bad qualities but is seen to be falling short of perfection, or what it is expected to be. Take a rapist as an example. Adopting Augustine’s idea of ‘evil’, we are to say that he is not living up to standards expected of human beings.
Locke’s Enlightenment and Civil and Political Rights is a Treatise of the beliefs of natural law and universal order which expresses his opinion finds, and progression of a material world but which also gives an scientific approach to political and social issues. In his reading Locke defends the proposition that government rest on popular consent and rebellion is permissible when government subverts the ends the protection of life, liberty, and property for which it is established. One of Locke’s main defenses is through the existence of God. According to Locke God has given nature to mankind in common, therefore if nature is given to mankind in common how the origin of property emerges. Why he includes a chapter
Surely and all loving (omnibenevolent) God wouldn’t allow this. Human Evil is where people cause harm to others and create chaos. Why would God create a world that consists of evil and cruelty? therefore Mill questions the idea of an omnibenevolent God, however if it is disagreed that God isn’t all loving then it could suggest that God doesn’t know of our suffering and could mean that omniscience cannot possibly be an attribute of God. Mill would say that if God is omniscient then surely he is aware of our suffering and would therefore intervene in the evil as he loves us all.
He insisted that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel. Locke believed that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. That everyone had natural rights from the moment that they were born. Natural rights were life, liberty, and property. He believed that the government had an obligation to protect the citizens natural rights.
a) Explain how Natural Moral Law theory can be used to help us decide what the right moral action is (25 marks) Natural Moral Law can be defined as a mainly deontological and absolute system of law determined by nature and interpreted by human reason. It proposes that there is a natural order to our world that should be followed. It is argued that we need to use human reason to try and understand in greater depth these laws so then we are in a better position to make the decision to obey or not to obey these rules that govern the universe through the actions we take everyday. There are four levels of Natural Moral Law ordered in a hierarchy. The ultimate law is Eternal Law.
Explain Natural Law theory Those who have an absolutist approach to ethics have an explanation of where they can get knowledge of morality from and how humans understand right and wrong. Thomas Aquinas was a Christian philosopher and he developed an argument for Natural Law from the work of Aristotle, who said that whatever is natural is unchangeable and has the same power and effect everywhere. His theory is absolutist and deontological as it is a strict guide to be followed no matter what the situation is, meaning it is focused on the ethics around actions. The Roman Catholic Church used it for help and guidance. Aristotle asked the question of ‘how does it happen?’ and believed that every object has a purpose.
He suggests that evil has an instrumental value in developing human virtues, he believes that sins are necessary many good things would be taken away if God permitted no evil to exist, ‘for fire would not be generated if air was corrupted’ therefore evil has some sort of good. For Aquinas God is good and knows about evil in the world however does not predetermine it. The world is not perfect but it is the best it can possibly be, God can still be omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient and still
The counter argument to this though, is that animals do not fall under his jurisdiction and so the brutality that is nature is out of his control. God can only then make humans all good; which is apparent to be untrue (war, rape, murder.) In effect, Gould has showed that there could very validly be no active god. Whichever way a person’s belief systems lean, this paper by Stephen Jay Gould is a very insightful read into one way of thinking. Whether that means it solely educates those who firmly believe in god that there are other views, or it converts a person to non religious views, it is a worthwhile read.
Josh Hasenberg Professor Staley Core 151 Ovid’s characterization of Jove in Metamorphoses can be compared to Virgil’s depiction of Jove in Aeneid by viewing them as illustrations of divine authority. In analyzing how each author uses Jove to depict divine authority, it becomes clear the two share similar ideas of how the divine use their authority. Both Ovid and Virgil use the main theme of human piety or impiety when exploring the ways in which the Gods choose to use their authority over mankind. The other main theme the two authors use in depicting divine authority is fate, which they closely associate with the will of Jove himself. Even though Ovid presents a story in which Jove uses his divine authority to punish, while Virgil, in contrast, displays a story in which Jove uses his divine authority to help and reassure, they both incorporate these two themes in very much the same way.
Moral evil is an act of mankind such as murder; natural evil would be something that is not caused by any specific agent but has victims such as would be produced by earthquakes. [1] Because of evil in the world, many argue against there being a creator God by attempting to show that the co-existence of evil and such a deity is unlikely or impossible. The attempts to justify the ways of God to man by proving that God can and does co-exist with evil, are known as theodicies and provide various responses to the problem of evil. Leibniz’s theodicy states that God did not choose the best in creating the world, but then God would be lacking in power, knowledge and goodness. Augustinian theodicy argues that God created the world and it was perfect, without any evil or suffering until man’s fall and Irenaean theodicy states God is partially responsible for evil and suffering as a process of soul building.