Soul Searchin

Blog [SIX]- Counterarguments.

2008-06-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

In post numero cinco, I claimed that moral character is possible only as determined by the will. Some people believe that moral character and free will have no connection whatsoever. Basically, there are some people who believe that when it comes to free will, there are times that it can have absolutely no beneficial effects towards moral character. Their arguments rely on criminals and more into prevention and rehabilitation.

The argument is something I can understand, but it doesn't sound completely acceptable. I mean, there are some people who that like that, but those people are out of the norm.

Work Cited

Kane, Robert. Psychology of Free Will. University of Austin Texas. 2005. http://gfp.typepad.com/online_papers/files/psychology_of_fw_kane.doc

Blog [FIVE]- The Question.

2008-06-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

The big question in the chapter of the Problem of Evil is,

"What's the connection between free will & moral character?"

Moral character is possible, in my opinion, only as determined by the will. A person forms his own moral character by the free determination of his will. The range of moral character goes hand in hand with that of free will. Man is morally responsible only so far as in the exercise of his own free will he determines what he does and what he becomes and is. Man's moral character is hand in hand with his moral responsibility and therefore with the action of his free will.

Work Cited

Rachels, James, Problems from Philosophy. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Rachels, James, The Truth about the World. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Blog [FOUR]- Conceptual Clarifications

2008-06-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3- The Problem of Evil

1.) Evidentiary Problem of Evil- God and evil are logically compatible, the existence of evil is nonetheless evidence that God does exist.

2.) Logical Problem of Evil- the argument that it is logically impossible for an all powerful, all knowing and all benevolent God to exist if evil exists.

3.) Punishment- The point of punishment in the problem of is evil is that all of us are sinners, and our existence in a world of evil is somehow to be explained by that fact. We suffer because we bring it on ourselves.

4.) Moral Evil- the evil that people cause by their own actions-- murder, rape, war, and so on.

5.) Natural evil-- the evil that human beings do not cuase-- disease, earthquakes, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters.

Work Cited

Rachels, James, Problems from Philosophy. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Rachels, James, The Truth about the World. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Beebe, James. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Logical Problem of Evil, 2006.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.html

Blog [THREE]- Video Relation

2008-05-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

Video of Razi Zacharias- International Minister

Please turn off music on your right
hand side before watching this video.

In this video, an international minister by the name of Razi Zacharias explains the problem of evil in a philosophical manner. He states that you cannot allegedly know what evil is unless you know what is good, and to know what is good, there definitely must be evil. He also states that the problem of evil is "self-distructing" due to an objective rule between good and evil. Because of the objective rule between good and evil, moral rules actually do exist.

Blog [TWO]- The Decision Has Been Made

2008-05-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

Chosen Topic: Chapter 3- The Problem of Evil

1) Like Socrates, this website gives many arguments as to, "Why is there evil?" I learned that it is possible that God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil thus, making everything in this world happen for a reason. Even though we may find that our world is filled with countless instances of evil and suffering, God will find a way to end these evil and suffering challenges. I also learned that there were conflicts between the orthodox theist claim & evil/suffering that, "Is there even a perfectly good God?" which actually became known as the problem of evil.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy- http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm#H1

2) I actually learned a different arguement about the problems of evil on this website. It was really interesting how the argument contends that the biological role of pain and pleasure is much more likely on naturalism than theism. Which brings up lots of questions to me like, "Although naturalism takes place, doesn't something that takes place as pleasure such as drugs, sex, etc. be classified as evil?" Well, duh!

Internet Infidels- http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/nontheism/atheism/evil.html

3) So why does God allow evil? I've come to realize that the problem of evil is one that exists in nearly all cultures and all religions which all leads to these conclusions:

a) Everyone has free will; therefore evil exists.

b) God has a plan for everyone, which will eventually be made clear to us in time.

Shandon L. Guthrie- http://sguthrie.net/evil.htm

Blog [ONE]- Chapter VS Chapter

2008-05-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3- The Problem of Evil
Like many have said, “Everything happens for a reason.” There are so many types of “evil” that people overlook what is meant. For example, natural evil such as earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, etc. and moral evil which is crime, revenge, etc. But even as living organisms, we evolve and believe it or not but survival of the fittest is known to be evil. I just wanted to take this chance to clarify what is meant to be/happen as far as evil is involved.

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2007/01/free-will-causality-character-and-moral.html
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/nontheism/atheism/evil.html

Chapter 8- The Case Against Free Will
Traditionally, “free will” is just one of those things that is supposed to separate human beings from everything else in the universe. Human beings have free will, it is said, and nothing else does (except, perhaps, for God). Morality: It is often assumed that the possession of free will is a necessary condition for moral evaluation. Nonhuman animals do not have free will, it is said, and this is why it is meaningless to speak of their actions as being “right” or “wrong”. But, human beings can freely choose their actions, and so are subject to moral evaluation. Free will is said to be extremely valuable. Many people would say that life would not be worth living without it. So…what exactly is free will? Roughly, having free will is a matter of having control over one’s actions. This seems to imply that free will requires that our actions are not determined by outside forces.

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/hutchison/050210
http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/freewill.htm

My mother's philosophy.

2008-05-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow classmates! Since it's Mother's Day weekend, I've decided to post a video of Happy Slip which is a Filipina American that imitates her mom. It's really funny because it's true. My mom does the same exact thing! I guess it's her philosophy with some things in life. Anyways, enjoy the video and Happy Mother's Day to all the Baby Mamas out there!

phee-Law-soo-fee !

2008-05-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

"Philosophy- There is no universally accepted definition of precisely what range of inquiry the study of philosophy encompasses. The field has historically expanded and changed depending upon what kinds of questions were interesting or relevant in a given era. It is generally agreed that philosophy is a method, rather than a set of claims, propositions, or theories. Its investigations are based upon rational thinking, striving to make no unexamined assumptions nor leaps based on faith or pure analogy. Different philosophers have had varied ideas about the nature of reason."

Definition on Wikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia