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Full Idea
If good frequently comes out of evil, the converse fact, evil coming out of good, is equally common.
Gist of Idea
Evil comes from good just as often as good comes from evil
Source
John Stuart Mill (Nature and Utility of Religion [1874], p.117)
Book Ref
'The Existence of God', ed/tr. Hick,John [Macmillan 1964], p.117
A Reaction
Mill surmises that on the whole good comes from good, and evil from evil, but the point is that the evidence doesn't favour the production of increased good.
| 21335 | Belief that an afterlife is required for justice is an admission that this life is very unjust [Mill] |
| 21329 | Nature dispenses cruelty with no concern for either mercy or justice [Mill] |
| 21328 | Killing is a human crime, but nature kills everyone, and often with great tortures [Mill] |
| 21331 | Hurricanes, locusts, floods and blight can starve a million people to death [Mill] |
| 21330 | Nature makes childbirth a miserable experience, often leading to the death of the mother [Mill] |
| 21332 | We don't get a love of 'order' from nature - which is thoroughly chaotic [Mill] |
| 21333 | Evil comes from good just as often as good comes from evil [Mill] |
| 21334 | No necessity ties an omnipotent Creator, so he evidently wills human misery [Mill] |