Evil According To HUme Essay, Research Paper

What is the problem of evil according to Hume. Does the problem of evil present an insuperable difficulty to belief in God or can it be answered?

Defend your answer.

I think the statements presented in the dialogues to prove or describe the existence of evil does not interfere with the possibility of believing in God.

In my opinion the meaning of evil or its existence is relative and not an absolute.

The difficulty to belief in God in this dialogue is the lack of a reasonable explanation to understand the miseries of life and the unhappiness of humans including famine, illness and death, all under the category of evil, which is the problem of evil according to Hume.

In my opinion there are certain elements that need to be considered in defining evil. As Philo expresses in one of the dialogues, man can create their own imaginary enemies, evil being a product of the disorders of our own mind.

All complaints or suffering comes from a discontent mind and a ?anxious disposicion . . . ? Is it possible then, that evil is a product of our own creation? Or maybe evil is an interpretation of our own reality under a distressed circumstance? Are we the creators of evil? I believe that our minds, based on our experiences, emotions and beliefs are responsible for what many call evil.

At the same time I believe we all have the seeds of evil and good inside and they manifest according to our morals, principles, education, environment, and values.

Philo goes on in the dialogue saying: ?Man is the greatest enemy of man. Oppression, injustice, contempt, contumely, violence, sedition, war, calumny, treachery, fraud;? All these negative attributes and behaviors are created by man.

The explanation of God remains a mystery and it might not be denied.

In the past it was more common to maintain that human life was ?vanity and misery and to exaggerate all the ills and pains?, but later on it was said to have more goods than evil, and more pleasures than pains. So who can measures and decides if the amount of evil in the world defines or denies the existence of a greater power or Divine absolute? It seems to me that our education, evolution and awareness will answer these questions differently throughout history.

Even though I agree with Cleanthes, who measures everything by human rule and standard, I also believe that there are mysteries that will remain unknown to us.

In Dialogue XI, four circumstances are explained as the caused of all evil and ills, which are considered necessary and unavoidable. The first talks about animal creation and self-preservation. The second circumstance talks about the general laws that rule the world. The third circumstance talks about the powers and faculties distributed to every being; and the fourth circumstance described as: ?the misery and ill of the universe is the inaccurate workmanship of all the springs and principles of the great machine of nature.? It goes on stating that there are few parts of the universe which seem not to serve some purpose. I disagree fully with this statement because my opinion about nature is that is perfect and balanced, as well as the creation of humans and animals. In both dialogues evil is refer as to illness and pain in humans and animals. I believe the perfection of nature needs to be acknowledge at all times, whether there is evil or not.

I believe illness and pain is part of the balance of the species and it should not be considered evil.

I disagree with evil being defined mainly as an accumulation of the pain and illness of the world.