| Arostar Biograhpy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Where is God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
BALDUNG GRIEN, Hans (b. 1484/85, Schw�bisch-Gm�nd, d. 1545, Strasbourg) Biography German painter and graphic artist. He probably trained with D�rer in Nuremberg, but his brilliant color, expressive use of distortion, and taste for the gruesome bring him closer in spirit to his other great German contemporary, Gr�newald. His output was varied and extensive, including religious works, allegories and mythologies, portraits, designs for stained glass and tapestries, and a large body of graphic work, particularly book illustrations. He was active mainly in Strasburg, but from 1512 to 1517 he lived in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, where he worked on his masterpiece, the high altar for Freiburg Cathedral, the centre panel of which is a radiant Coronation of the Virgin. His most characteristic paintings, however, are fairly small in scale--erotic allegories such as Death and the Maiden, a subject he treated several times. Eroticism is often strongly present in his engravings, the best known of which is The Bewitched Stable Boy (1544), which has been interpreted as an allegory of lust. // Please send your comments, sign our guestbook and send a postcard. � Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Kren and Daniel Marx. This property was reserved by Vuhoangcssr I'm from Texas, USA. Our Global Purpose in the New Millennium Now that the third millennium is upon us, many people are hoping that the "New Millennium" will usher in momentous improvements in the human condition. Human potential is too great to allow famine, disease, war and exploitation to impede mankind's progress. It is also time to bring an end to the strife of the soul, and to empower the spirit, the essence of Being within us. However, it really does not matter whether a historical event takes place during the year of 1999, 2000, or 2009- the important thing is that the event does occur and that it brings forth a desirable change in mankind's Global Purpose. What is the Global Purpose? The Global Purpose signifies thinking and acting on the premise that life has appeared and evolved on Earth (and anywhere else throughout the universe) for a definite purpose. If we wish to be regarded as intelligent beings, representing the most outstanding achievement of our planet's evolution, then we ought to reexamine our role and our destiny in the universe. We have not been created by accident and sent a drift in a random world. We (and possibly other intelligent beings throughout the universe) have evolved out of necessity. If it were not for consciousness and intelligence, the universe would make no sense. The world must be apprehended, experienced and affirmed and the only way it can prevail as such is through an instrumentality of consciousness and intelligence. Should a lifeless, conscienceless universe come about by sheer chance, it would have to be judged as a perishable material entity, a mere transient being, eventually crumbling into sub nuclear particles. Consciousness and intelligence are absolutely necessary because the world make no sense without it. The very existence of the universe can be ascertained only if it encompasses consciousness and intelligence. This is why man's presence in the vast and violent universe is so fundamentally unique. The sooner we recognize the requisite circumstances of man's origin and of his unique potentialities, the faster we eliminate the evils plaguing human society and put in on track of genuinely creative evolvement. By virtue of our uniqueness, we bear direct responsibility for channeling our evolution throughout the universe into "cosmos," the collective qualitative creative evolvement. There are good many people who search for the meaning of their existence. Conversely, many lack any interest in existential questions. Some folks waste their substance in aimless and often harmful pursuits while others find comfort in organized religions. Unfortunately, formalistic rituals and the inward deistic orientations offer them no practical answers for solving society's problems. Our present day society is unable to offer effectual answers for people who cannot find their way out of their futility. Sadly, success is frequently measured by financial gain. This gain is often achieved through a loss of ethical and humane behaviors. Unless we are determined to reshape our economic, political and educational institutions in the direction of the rewarding qualitative growth, we will not be able to stop the gradual decline of our civilization. We shall become the embodiment and extension of Being by forwarding positive and creative solutions to our planet's woes. What can be done to initiate people's creativity and thus contribute to society's positive growth? Only people who think and act in the positive, creative way will transfigure the world around them in the mode of Being, which is to say, in the lifestyle of creative growth. This is the only way our civilization, our qualitative evolution, will prevail. We will have to think and act in accordance with those qualities which are best in us. Love and respect for our fellow man, as well as other virtues come to mind. They are worthy qualities that have triumphed throughout mankind's tumultuous history. This does not mean that each person will always think and act in a creative way. The harsh realities of day-to-day life will often monopolize our attention and our commitment to altruistic ideals. However, no matter how inventive and successful we are in our daily lives, our activities are of little positive consequence unless we direct our work toward mankind's well-being, no matter how modestly. Historically, many people unwittingly support harmful autocratic ideologies. What is needed is a common understanding that only humanistic values that insure the qualities of every person's lives be taken into account. We must acknowledge that there is a real world, a reality about us which must be perceived and experienced by intelligent, creative beings such as human beings. Without consciousness, perception and intelligence there would be no world, no universe. We are surrounded by perishable entities or objects I call beings which are only physical things of form and substance. These items constitute the physical universe. In contrast, there is Being, an imperishable entity denoting creative evolution or "cosmos." Our perceptive intelligent minds will be able to ensure mankind's survival and, moreover, to transform the universe into cosmos. We shall become the embodiment and extension of Being forwarding positive creative solutions to our planet's woes. How can we alleviate the problems associated with poverty and hunger ? Most people agree that some change in the human condition must be forthcoming. Too many people on this planet are dying of hunger. It appears that the main problem, at least at the present time, is not so much the lack of the world food as it is its availability and distribution. It is be believed that some countries are able to produce so much food that they might possibly feed the whole world. But how can one persuade a rich country to produce a tremendous amount of food and other necessities without making a nominal profit? What is obviously needed is "unified global association" in charge of this task. There are simply not enough trucks, railroad cars and ships to transport food and other materials. Moreover, there are too many middlemen and competing national interests who would rather let the food rot in the warehouses than give it away. If nothing is done about the equitable distribution of mankind's basic necessities and about producing enough food, our current shortages will only accelerate as the population grows and the consequences will be tragic. It is difficult for people endowed with a comfortable way of life to perceive the ravages of hunger, diseases, and of despair inflicted upon human beings who are forever shackled to abject poverty. We must however, make a resolve that each and every person on this planet, regardless of where they live is entitled to the earth's bounty and the resources that we all need for sustenance. There is only one way we can hope to alleviate human suffering - act now and act resolutely. There are two factors in our favor. We must utilize our global purpose and awesome advances in technology to ensure the quality of our existence. Some people like to describe the rapid advance of technology as a dehumanizing determinant in what is considered to be progress. They feel that we are worshipping science and machinery and neglecting the worth of the human soul. Yet technology need not be a demonic or alien force. After all, it is a product of human intelligence and creativity. So let us examine the potentiality for a better life, combining science and technology with ethics and values and let us proceed from there. Agricultural researchers are already attempting to discover and provide means to grow protein rich food and other vital necessities for the multitudes of undernourished people. Technology will provide substantial assistance in solving problems of distribution and transportation of food and other needs. Most of the earth is not densely populated, rather, we have chosen to live in specific areas of the planet. Our new technologies can aid in our creation of new settlements in areas that have been previously thought of as uninhabitable. The oceans around us have also been considered as great places for future food sources yet unused, and for expansion of the population. As fantastic as it may have seemed 30 years ago, we can now assume that in the future a good many people will be able to move throughout the galaxy and not only for the sake of satisfying their need for adventure and exploration. Expansion to outer space will provide room for our ever expanding population and to put an end to the despoliation of nature. Perhaps hundreds of years from now satellites as huge as Manhattan will circle the Earth. The satellite inhabitants will be able to create the atmosphere, provide water, grow and manufacture food and their other necessities. Mother Earth will be spared the destruction and incessant pollution of its green and watery mantle. And, who knows, the Earth may become an Interplanetary Park. Meanwhile we will be fulfilling our destiny by propagating the embodiment of the enhanced Being throughout the universe. How can we unite people to work toward the betterment of our world society? Of course, one ought to help out wherever help is needed. All life is precious. Every bit of life helps to form the wondrous tapestry of Being so it won't be moth-eaten by Undoing which is to say, by malevolence, crime and self obsession. It does not matter if an act of goodness appears paltry. What matters is that one thinks and acts positively. Just as a tiniest grain of sand contributes to the expanse and the beauty of the beach, so does life and its sustaining positive action add to the wholeness and to the substance of Being. As soon as we realize the truth of this metaphor, the meaning of mankind's existence and its evolution become unmistakably clear. Man's existence and his evolution are absolutely necessary because the world, the universe, would make no sense without it. The very existence of the universe can only be ascertained it encompasses consciousness and intelligence. This is why man's presence in this universe is so fundamentally unique. The sooner we recognize the requisite circumstances of man's origin and of his unique potentialities, the faster we eliminate the evils plaguing human society and put it on the track of genuinely creative evolvement. Therefore, we ought not get discouraged by the apparent widespread disinterest, if not apathy, concerning mankind's cultural evolution. Little by little, perhaps in an agonizingly slow progression, things will begin to change as more people are examining the staying power of their virtues and of the potentialities that will affect their future. Let us hope that as many of us as possible will soon, with the onset of the Third Millennium as a road mark, succeed in the transformation to an evolving, progressive, virtue oriented society. Let us once and for all apprehend that it is our mandate and mission to create the conditions under which each person has an equal opportunity to become constructive, loving and genuinely happy. Together, we will be united in the endeavor to further the advancement of creativity and in turn, promote the ultimate enhancement of Being. The preceding text is an excerpt from the collective philosophical project, Thoughts On Man's Origin and His Cosmic Purpose - a philosophy for the new millennium by Frank Velek. Follow this link for other essays and poetry by this author. Your opinion on this text would be greatly appreciated. Please send any comments, or questions to: [email protected] additional texts in the series also available. Please feel free also to contact the author at: [email protected] Selections from- Thoughts On Man's Origin and Cosmic Purpose- a philosophy for the new millennium by Frank Velek Being- Does God Exist? Being is an affirmative word that denotes a positive, gradually progressing entity forever evolving toward perfection. Being signifies evolutionary advancement from all forms of matter to consciousness, intelligence and finally to creativeness of infinite complexity. Thus Being betokens mankind's evolutionary progress as well as the advance and betterment in the lives of individual persons. Being also implies individual contributions in the fields of culture and of communal welfare and consequently the cultural and economic enrichment of mankind's civilization. Any such positive conceptual and qualitative activities can only signify the enhancement of Being. The more a person promotes what is best in him, the more he and his contemporaries benefit. And no matter how meager his contributions may seem to appear, the whole, which is to say, Being, will become enhanced. The continually enhanced Being is to be distinguished from the perishable "being," which is an object or event whose eventual end leaves no mark or evidence. Any objects or activities such as material aggrandizement that eventuate no betterment in anyone's life will leave no mark in the remembered or recorded memory. The status of Being will remain unchanged. When intended harm is committed or lack of concern, neglect and apathy prevails in the face of suffering and when the urgently needed corrective action or assistance is ignored, Being is bound to be diminished. It is evident that Being necessarily constitutes the essential nature of reality; in fact, it can be said that Being is reality. If there were no Being, which is to say, no consciousness and intelligence, there would be no reality. Therefore it can be also said that consciousness and intelligence are synonymous with Being. This means that mankind' progressive evolution as well as the evolution of intelligent, creative beings anywhere else in the universe is synonymous with the enhancement of Being. What it also means is that without the existence and constructive evolution of intelligent beings the universe would make no sense. In fact, the universe could not exist. It would represent a perishable state of affairs, a perishable being. While every being, i.e., every object or event must have a beginning and end, Being is timeless. If Being, meaning anything that is gaining in value, were not timeless and spatially unlimited, its opposite, namely Nonbeing, would have to prevail. But to say that Nonbeing would follow, replace or surround Being is illogical because in a total void, in total nonexistence there would no entity, no consciousness and no intellect that could assert or experience Nonbeing or resurrect or bring back Being. Unless, of course, one believes that there exists an almighty, self-determined, self-created God, who is not germane and answerable to any force or entity, but who is a truly inquisitive God hiding behind a coulisse and observing creatures He brought to life on the planet Earth. But such a God, who is truly omnipotent and all loving, would have to be judged as immoral and cruel if He did not put an end to the suffering and painful death of innocent human beings. It is therefore more logical to believe in God who is all-loving but not omnipotent It is more logical to believe in a God, defined as Being, who needs to end human suffering and promotes the ministry and the mission of prophets, saviors and social reformers. It is said that God dwells in the soul of every human being. Therefore it can be also asserted that God, as Being, is synonymous with consciousness and intelligence. As such, consciousness and intelligence is bound to be timeless and limitless. What this means is that intelligent creative beings will always be present all over the universe. We, the human beings on this planet Earth, as well as all other intelligent beings who are likely to exist in the cosmos, ought to be cognizant of the uniqueness of the perceiving mind in the vastness of the universe and of its inevitable creative evolution toward the goal of "God-like" immense potentialities. What are these God-like potentialities, you may wish to ask. Their meaning is implicit in mankind's progressive evolution. It is evident in the spectacular advancement in all the fields of human achievements. In spite of the repeated negative, harmful conduct such as warfare, crime and exploitation which is bound to decline in time, man's increasing mental capacities and tremendously advanced technology will enable the human race to evolve into what may be best called a "cosmic mind." Its power and direction to substantiate Being will make it possible for the cosmic mind to recreate the universe. Initially, man's endeavors will result in generating genuine civic responsibilities and in the united efforts among all the nations to alleviate world hunger, warfare and diseases. Secondly, mankind's creative activities will bring about increasing enrichment of aesthetic values and expanding theoretical knowledge, science and technology. These endeavors will inevitably serve man's spiritual and material needs. And lastly, we shall be able to fully understand why man's positive achievements will mark the fulfillment of his noetic evolution and in his attainment of cosmic potentialities. This is what Being is about. It is about gaining the highest possible quality in the human soul and its reflection in the substance and meaning of the universe itself. The existence and the re-creation of the universe with its intelligent progeny is therefore an absolute necessity for the existence and enhancement of Being itself. (please read Our Global Purpose in the New Millenium, Happiness and The Frank Philosopher to futher understand BEING and Man's relationship) Above are links to more by Frank Velek. The Frank Philosopher Welcomes your Comments - Thoughts On Man's Origin and Cosmic Purpose - a philosophy for the new millennium, by Frank Velek As we approach the dawn of the New Millennium, we wish to take the time to thank the many people who have taken the time to respond to this project, people of like thought and people with diverging views. The essays by author/poet/philosopher Frank Velek, pertaining to mankind's role, destiny and obligation to our universe, and the relationship of man with the "supreme entity" are very provocative and we do encourage all responses. Links to Frank Velek's selections from the collective work, Thoughts on Man's Origin and Cosmic Purpose - a philosophy for the new millennium: Our Global Purpose in the New Millennium The Philosophy of Happiness The Frank Philosopher And Still They Hunger Fin De Siecle: The Age of Need, Grief and Greed Poetic Conscience Flares Up Step Into The Sunlight And Dazzle Golden Dandelion The Lord's Entreaty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Frank Philosopher Frank Velek, author/poet/philosopher [email protected] [email protected] linda grace, editor,web design [email protected] all rights reserved, copyright 1998, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gandhi Phylosophy Materials | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence [email protected] Phone: 901-452-2824 Fax: 901-452-2775 Welcome to The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence! The Mission of the Gandhi Institute ... is to promote and apply the principles of nonviolence locally, nationally, and globally, to prevent violence and resolve personal and public conflicts through research, education, and programming. The Institute, founded by Arun Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi's grandson) and his wife Sunanda, was established to promote and teach the philosophy and practice of nonviolence to help reduce the violence that consumes our hearts, our homes, and our societies. We hope the contents of our website will be both informational and inspirational to all who wish to learn more about M.K. Gandhi and Nonviolence. At the Gandhi Institute we continue to build upon Mahatma Gandhi's teachings through our many programs, seminars, talks, and events. For an overview of the contents of this website at a glance, please see our Site Index. Please contact us if you have further questions. Our sustaining funds come from contributions to the Institute and from our books, program fees, and modest grants. The Institute is hosted by Christian Brothers University which graciously provides offices for our work. Thank you for your interest in the M.K. Gandhi Institute and practicing the principles of Nonviolence. You can make a difference and be a part of 'the change we wish to see!' What's New?: Article: Learn about the relevance of "Nonviolence in the 21st Century" by Arun Gandhi Links Section M.K. Gandhi Speaks! - an audio excerpt from one of Gandhiji's historical speeches. This site is best viewed using Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher, and hi-color resolution. [About the Institute] [Articles] [About M.K. Gandhi] [Features] [Books & More] [Site Index] Web Design by: J. Joe Copyright M.K. Gandhi Institute 1998-99 Last Update: 3 April 1999 I will be moving my belongings in shortly. In the meantime why not check out the link below to get your own 20MB of free webspace? Free Beings and the Decision to do Good or Evil In his discussion on the problem of evil, John Mackie claims that the free will defense is not an adequate response because an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God would want to create beings such that they would always use their free will to choose good actions. In order to critically evaluate this position, I think we first must determine what we mean by the terms free will and good actions. In section I, I will explain Mackie's position. In section II, I will develop an idea from contemporary moral theology known as the fundamental option. In section III, I will attempt to illustrate the concept of the fundamental option that the idea of beings who always choose good is incompatible with those beings having free will. Section IV will attempt to answer some possible objections and section V will offer some concluding remarks. Section I: Mackie's Response to the Free Will Defense In arguing for a version of the free will defense, philosophers and theologians will often say that in creating human beings God was faced with a choice of creating "innocent automata" would always choose good actions or free beings who would sometimes choose evil actions. It is better, they assert, that human beings have gree will, even if we will sometimes choose evil actions. However, according to Mackie, God did not need to make this choice. He says, "If there is no logical impossibility in a man's freely choosing the good on one, or on several occasions, there cannot be a logical impossibility in his freely chooseing the good on every occasion. God was not, then, faced with a choice between making innocent automata and making beings who, in acting freely, would sometimes go wrong: there was open to him the obviously better possibility of making beings who would act freely but always do right. Clearly, his failure to avail himself of this possibility is inconsistent with his being both omnipotent and wholly good." On this ground, then, Mackie rejects the free will defense as a solution to the problem of evil. Section II: Goodness and Free Will: The Fundamental Option Even if we decide to grant the claim that there is no logical contradiction in the idea of God creating beings who would only choose between a set of "good" actions, I do believe that these beings, while not being automata confined to acting exactly as God commands, would still not be truely free moral agents. In order to properly speak of humans as moral agents, I believe we must be able to exercise freedom in moral matters, that is, we need to have the ability to make moral decisions. For example, parents often threaten to punish children if they do not perform what the parents consider morally good actions. We say this is appropriate action for children because "they don't know any better", but as a child becomes an adult we expect her to perform morally good actions on her own without fear of punishment as motivation. When the child goes along with the wishes of her parents, we don't say that she has made a moral decision, but rather a prudent one (avoiding punishment). Obviously, consideration of consequences is an important factor in making any decision, including moral decisions, but when someone considers only or predominantly the consequences for herself (i.e., the reward or punishment) it is not proper to say that the person has made the decision based on moral principles. So, what does it mean to be able to exercise freedom in moral matters? What sorts of things to we need to make moral decisions about? The criteria for being a free moral agent are twofold. (1) The freedom to choose the actions we are going to perform and (2) the freedom to choose the sort of person we would like to become.[1] Both of these criteria are necessary because we cannot separate actions from the character of the person performing the action. Actions are a reflection of character but they are also very importantin the formation of character. "To get to the true meaning of our actions as expressions of ourselves, we need to look beneath the surface of observable behavior to the attitudes and convictions of the person. These give expression to the fundamental direction of our lives and seek concrete embodiment in particular actions."[2] That is why we are not satisfied when a person performs a moral act, but does so only out of fear of punishment or hope of reward. We may approve of the act itself, but not of the person who performs the act. It is true that not all of our actions spring from such a depth of our being to have a significant impact in revealing or shaping our moral character. A choice which does have a significant impact on our character is called a fundamental option by contemporary Christian moral theologians.[3] Examples of fundamental options include: "A decision that is the test of deep and true friendship or of self-giving love,"[4] a choice of profession when that choice involves a firm commitment to improving the lives of others, or the decision to put one's faith in God and have a meaningful relationship with the Deity. This last example is perhaps most meaningful. The decision a person makes about her beliefs in God (or lack thereof) are profound decisions about what we believe to be the ultimate nature of reality and are bound to have a significant impact on future decisions. Section III: A Response to Mackie If we consider the idea of the fundamental option in relation to our beliefs about God, I do not think we can say that a being who by its nature will always choose the good is really a free being. If, as the theists claim, God is wholly good and also the creator of all things, then is follows that a creature who will always choose a good action, will always choose to fundamentally orient himself towards God, the source of goodness. This creature, then, is unable to exercise his fundamental option since there is no other option available except to orient himself towards God, towards the good. Therefore, this creature is not morally free. I have attempted to show that Mackie's "third option" for God in the creation of other beings is not as good as Mackie claims it is. The freedom of these beings cannot be maintained because these creatures do not have the option of turning away from God and pursuing their own moral path. So it seems that the possibilities which God had when creating beings to populate the world were: (1) To create innocent automata who would always perform exactly the option that God chose for them. (2) To create beings who could choose from actions both good and evil, thereby allowing them a choice in their fundamental option. (3) To create beings who could choose from a range of actions limited to only good actions. The first and third choices lack freedom, but there should not exist any suffering since no one would commit any evil.[5] Now we must consider why Mackie's third option is not better than the other two. The first option is unsatisfactory since the beings totally lack any freedom whatsoever, as if God had made a bunch of robots, programmed them and then let them go to watch the outcome. If God were to restrict the beings to only good actions, it is preferable that they have at least freedom of choice, but this freedom is really empty, since it leaves them unable to exercise their fundamental option, or freedom of self-determination, to try to live a life of goodness. It remains to be shown then, whether freedom of self-determination can justify both the presence of evil and the amount which we observe in our world. I would argue that the ability to love God by free choice is better than if we were made so that we would always love God. As John Hick notes, "virtues which have been formed within the agent as a hard won deposit of his own right decisions in situations of challenge and temptation, are intrinsically more valuable that virtues created within him and without any effort on his own part."[6] Indeed I do not think that the concept of goodness is coherent without the possibility to not be good. Ninian Smart argues for such a view by saying: the concept goodness is applied to beings of a certain sort, beings who are liable to temptations, possess inclinations, have fears, tend to asert themselves and so forth; and if they were to be immunized from evil they would have to be built in a different way. But it soon becomes apparent that to rebuild them would mean that the ascription of goodness would become unintelligible, for the reasons why men are called good and bad have a connection with human nature as it is empirically discovered to be.[7] Therfore, is seems that some amount of evil is necessary in order to provide free beings to love and serve their God. Section IV: Responses to Some Possible Objections Even if we accept that some evil is necessary for the existence of morally free beings, there remains the porblem of whether we can justify the amounts of evil that we experience in our world. Indeed, it seems that the amount of evil is at times gratuitous and unnecessary, especially if we consider physical evil. John Hick has suggested that the amount and intensity of the evil in the world is really relative. Imagine, for example, that God chose to forbid the most awful of moral evils (e.g., torturing innocent children) and eliminated one of the world physical evils (e.g., a disease such as cancer). We might say that this would mean a world "more appropriate to God's love and care for us," but the suggestion gets us nowhere. For certainly, some other evil would be considered the worst and we would ask how God could allow such a thing to happen. This could continue until all evil is eliminated, but this brings us back to the consideration of whether evil is necessary at all, and we have concluded that it is. So, in the case of physical evil, the idea that a dynamic changing world where there occur "evils" such as hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. is necessary in order to provide a world where it is possible for people to exercise their fundamental option to choose to live a good moral life. Still someone might argue that the distribution of evil in this world is unnecessary. Why is it that innocent children must suffer and die, apparently without purpose since many do not ever reach an age where they come to really make genuine moral decisions? This is a difficult question to which I will offer a solution from Hick: If suffering was distributed in direct proportion to the moral evil the people committed, this would serve to undermine the moral freedom of humans. Again, like the child in section II, we would not be making moral decisions, but rather prudential ones for the sake of avoiding punishment. Another possible objection would be to suggest that human beings are not totally free anyway, we are bound to certain set actions by our nature, so how is it really different if our nature binds us to a set of actions consisting of only morally good ones? There is a certain amount of truth in this objection in that the nature of human freedom lies somewhere between total freedom and total determinism. Our existence as finite creatures does impose on us certain boundaries for our actions, but again, the difference lies in the ability to exercies the fundamental option. We must be careful not to treat morality as actions apart from moral character. In any case, our existence as finite creatures seems to me to work against the notion that we could only perform good actions. It is sometimes said the "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Putting aside the notion of hell, it is true that many actions which result in suffering are the result of honest attempts at doing moral good or at least of the thought that the action was morally neutral. For example, consider the consumer good which we buy without consideration of their source. What if it turned out that, say, a certain brand of sneakers were produced in sweatshops exploiting children as cheap labor? Our purchase of this product would contribute to the continuation of these sweatshops. But how in the world can we possible keep track of the hiring practicies of the companies who sell every product we buy? Surely, there will be tims when things go, for a time at least, unnoticed. Similarly, attempts at moral good such as comforting a depressed friend may result only in deepening his depair because we did not know that complete nature of his difficulties. Section V: Concluding remarks In the end, we are rejecting the creation of beings who always do good based upon the argument that it is better for God to have maximized freedom, even at the expense of the possibility, indeed, the necessity of human suffering. It should be recognized that there is an inherent value judgement in this argument. It may be that others consider this trade-off to be unjustified, but an extensive defense of this judgement is beyond the scope of this paper. Bibliography Gula, Richard. Reason Informed by Faith: Foundations of Catholic Morality. New York: Paulist Press, 1989. Mackie, J. L. "Evil and Omnipotence" from Mind, 64: 200-12, April 1955. Whitney, Barry. What Are They Saying About God and Evil? New York: Paulist Press, 1989. Footnotes [1] Here we should distinguish between morally relevant and morally irrelevant decisions. Whether we decide to pursue a career such as a doctor or a philosopher will certainly affect the sort of person we are likely to become, but this decision is not necessarily a morally relevant one, although it can be. Therefore, when I say "the sort of person we will become" I mean to include only the aspects of our personality which are morally relevant, such as a selfish person, or a kind or generous person. [2] Richard M. Gula, Reason Informed By Faith: Foundations of Catholic Morality (New York: Paulist Press, 1989). [3] I'll limit myself to discussing the Christian religious tradition, since this is the only tradition that I know enough about to accurately represent. [4] Bernard Haring, Free and Faithful in Christ, Vol. 1: General Moral Theology (New York: The Seabury Press, 1978), p. 189. [5] This evil does not include physical evil, caused by natural disasters or other factors beyond human control. [6] John Hicki, Evil and the God of Love, second edition (New York: Harper and Row, 1978). [7] Ninian Smart, "Omnipotence, Evil, and Supermen," 107. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| One Colleges in San Antonio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Looking for the best schools? Go where the best schools are looking for you. Saint Philip's College Get Recruited! Continue Exploring Colleges Table of Contents Page 1: School Description Profile General Contact Information School Identification Codes School Facilities Environment and Transportation Page 2: Admissions Admissions Criteria Course Requirements Standardized Test Requirements Special Admission Requirements to Certain Programs Application Procedures Special Application Procedures Deferring Admission Transfer Students International Applicant Procedures Academic Placement Tests Profile of Freshman Class Test Scores of Enrolled Transfer Students Page 3: Curriculum Student Body Statistics Degrees Offered Majors Offered Other Programs Faculty Profile Page 4: Student Body Undergraduate Student Body Profile Key Undergraduate Statistics Freshman Class Profile Information about Graduates On and Off Campus Jobs for Undergraduates Page 5: Student Life Housing Activities Campus Organizations Campus and Community Fun Regulations Sports Student Services Page 6: Cost/Financial Aid Tuition, Room and Board Expenses Deposits Financial Aid Procedures Profile of Students Receiving Financial Aid Scholarships and Grants Loans and Payment Plans Saint Philip's College Details Page 1 of 6: School Description Profile Address: Saint Philip's College 1801 Martin Luther King Drive San Antonio, TX 78203 General profile: Year Founded: 1898 Two-year programs offered Public school Academic Calendar:Semester system Semester/term begin dates: August 24. School offers day classes School offers evening classes School offers weekend classes Number and length of summer sessions: Three summer sessions, one of eight weeks and two of six weeks each. General Contact Information Back to top Main Phone: 210 531-3200 President: Name: Dr. Charles A. Taylor Title: President President's E-mail: [email protected] Admissions Contact Information: Admissions Phone: 210 531-4833 Admissions Fax: 210 531-4836 Admissions E-mail: [email protected] Admissions Officer: Name: Sylvia Robinson Title: Coordinator of Admissions/Enrollment Services E-mail: [email protected] Financial Aid Contact Information: Financial Aid Phone: 210 531-3274 Financial Aid E-mail: [email protected] Financial Aid Official: Name: Diego B. Bernal Title: Director of Student Financial Aid E-mail: [email protected] Generic year for information entered:1997 School Identification Codes Back to top FICE Number: 3608 FAFSA Number: 003608 School Facilities Back to top School has a library on campus. Library Facilities: Books, serial backfiles, and government documents (including bound periodicals and newspapers): 93,303 Current serials (including periodicals and newspapers): 396 Microforms: 723,145 Video and audio: 8,317 Computer Facilities: Computer equipment provided in library Computer equipment provided in computer center Internet access is provided to all students School provides e-mail services/accounts for students. Total number of microcomputers available to students:255 Environment and Transportation Back to top The majority of U.S. students come from: Southwest Campus size: 46 acre(s) Campus is within one mile of city/town. Campus is served by public transportation. Location/Environment: 46-acre, urban campus in San Antonio (population: 936,000). Served by air, bus, and train. Public transportation serves campus. Campus is in a major city (pop. 300,000 or more) or within its metropolitan area (approx. 25-mile radius) City where nearest international airport located: San Antonio Distance of international airport from campus: 10 mile(s) City where nearest passenger train service is located: San Antonio Distance of train station from campus: 2 mile(s) City where nearest passenger bus service is located: San Antonio Distance of bus station from campus: 2 mile(s) Public transportation serves campus. Next Page �1996-1998 SNAP Technologies, Inc., makers of CollegeEdge All rights reserved. Details data source: Wintergreen/Orchard House Annual Survey, 1998
|
Favourite links
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
This page has been visited
|