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Single Idea 19330
[filed under theme 28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / b. Euthyphro question
]
Full Idea
The three dogmas (1) that the nature of justice is arbitrary, (2) it is fixed, but not certain God will observe it, or (3) the justice we know is not that which God observes, destroy our confidence in the love of God.
Gist of Idea
If justice is arbitrary, or fixed but not observed, or not human justice, this undermines God
Source
Gottfried Leibniz (The Theodicy [1710], p.237), quoted by Franklin Perkins - Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed 2.III
Book Ref
Perkins,Franklin: 'Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed' [Continuum 2007], p.28
A Reaction
Leibniz proceeds to carefully refute these three responses to the dilemma about how justice relates to God.
The
16 ideas
from 'The Theodicy'
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19437
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Prayers are useful, because God foresaw them in his great plan
[Leibniz]
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19337
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How can an all-good, wise and powerful being allow evil, sin and apparent injustice?
[Leibniz]
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19345
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Being confident of God's goodness, we disregard the apparent local evils in the visible world
[Leibniz]
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19325
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God is the first reason of things; our experiences are contingent, and contain no necessity
[Leibniz]
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19326
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God must be intelligible, to select the actual world from the possibilities
[Leibniz]
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19327
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The intelligent cause must be unique and all-perfect, to handle all the interconnected possibilities
[Leibniz]
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19346
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Most people facing death would happily re-live a similar life, with just a bit of variety
[Leibniz]
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19340
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Metaphysical evil is imperfection; physical evil is suffering; moral evil is sin
[Leibniz]
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19331
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Will is an inclination to pursue something good
[Leibniz]
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19367
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Saying we must will whatever we decide to will leads to an infinite regress
[Leibniz]
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19351
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Perfections of soul subordinate the body, but imperfections of soul submit to the body
[Leibniz]
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19344
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God prefers men to lions, but might not exterminate lions to save one man
[Leibniz]
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19335
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Reasonings have a natural ordering in God's understanding, but only a temporal order in ours
[Leibniz]
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19330
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If justice is arbitrary, or fixed but not observed, or not human justice, this undermines God
[Leibniz]
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19329
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The laws of physics are wonderful evidence of an intelligent and free being
[Leibniz]
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19366
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You can't assess moral actions without referring to the qualities of character that produce them
[Leibniz]
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