Description
A /
Discuss below with 150 words
– Recall Augustine’s solution to the problem of evil. You probably heard me refer to it jokingly (but affectionately!) as “philosopher magic.” This is because, via a series of reasonably plausible argumentative steps, Augustine arrives at the implausible conclusion that evil simply doesn’t exist.
Of course, this is implausible precisely because we feel so intimately acquainted with many evils in our lives, from disease to betrayal. So here is a question for you:
Don’t worry for the moment about whether his argument is philosophically satisfying (there’s an essay prompt for that!); instead, do you find it personally satisfying? That is, does it make you feel comforted or assured? And, importantly, should we expect that out of a solution to the problem of evil, or is a philosophically robust answer enough?
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B/
Rebly on below with 50 words
– Augustine concludes that evil does not exist. I do not find it personally satisfying at all, I thought there would be more of a reason, than evil simply doesn’t exist. I agreed with evil and good being a force, something that just happened. I also thought heavily about if evil occurs for the greater good. Explaining that evil does not exist neglects everything bad that has occurred in our society and is occurring now. For example, Human tracking should not be occurring but it’s a problem that is continuing which is evil to me. Overall, Augustine’s solution does not make me feel comforted or assured. We should not expect a solution to the problem of evil because it is a force that will always happen. After all, we can not control everyone’s actions.
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C/
Discuss below with 150 words
– This week, we’ve taken a look at Mill’s argument in On Nature. His conclusion: nature doesn’t really offer us any guidance when it comes to the way we ought (in a moral sense) to live.
Yet, many people do think that it does! This week, I’d like you to find an example of this online. Maybe it’s an influencer talking about some natural health product, maybe it’s an argument that something the writer doesn’t like is “unnatural”—whatever you find, post a link (keep it SFW please) and explain a bit about how they use nature to justify their beliefs.
Then, say a little about why this is not as persuasive as they think it is, as Mill would point out.
