more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 2120

[filed under theme 29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 3. Problem of Evil / d. Natural Evil ]

Full Idea

God and God alone must be held responsible for the good things, but responsibility for bad things must be looked for elsewhere, and not attributed to God.

Gist of Idea

God is responsible for the good things, but we must look elsewhere for the cause of the bad things

Source

Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 379c)

Book Ref

Plato: 'Republic', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1993], p.74


The 10 ideas with the same theme [possible explanations of why natural disasters occur]:

God is responsible for the good things, but we must look elsewhere for the cause of the bad things [Plato]
There is a rationale in terrible disasters; they are useful to the whole, and make good possible [Chrysippus]
If God foresaw evil he would presumably prevent it, and if he only foresees some things, why those things? [Sext.Empiricus]
If we ask whether God's works are perfect, we must not take a narrow viewpoint, but look at the universe as a whole [Descartes]
If sin is not just physical, we don't consider God the origin of sin because he causes physical events [Berkeley]
Nature dispenses cruelty with no concern for either mercy or justice [Mill]
Killing is a human crime, but nature kills everyone, and often with great tortures [Mill]
Nature makes childbirth a miserable experience, often leading to the death of the mother [Mill]
Hurricanes, locusts, floods and blight can starve a million people to death [Mill]
It is logically possible that natural evil like earthquakes is caused by Satan [Plantinga, by PG]