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    A distinct entity requires positive being, but evil is de... — Carmelics
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    Supports→evil is a privation of goodness

    A distinct entity requires positive being, but evil is defined entirely by what it lacks, not by any intrinsic properties it possesses.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Only things with positive properties can be causally efficacious or constitute distinct substances in metaphysics.
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    • 2.Evil manifests only as absence: cruelty lacks compassion, injustice lacks fairness. These are privations, not entities.
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    • 3.If evil were positively real, it would require its own explanation and ground, but we only explain it by reference to good.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Pain, suffering, and malice have measurable physical correlates and neurological bases that constitute positive properties.
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    • 2.A 'lack' of compassion in a cruel act is itself something positive: an active intention or choice, not mere absence.
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    • 3.The privation account requires appealing to 'good' as fundamental, yet good and evil may be equally fundamental or independent.
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    Related

    A 'lack' of compassion in a cruel act is itself something positive: an active in...Evil manifests only as absence: cruelty lacks compassion, injustice lacks fairne...If evil were positively real, it would require its own explanation and ground, b...Only things with positive properties can be causally efficacious or constitute d...
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    Pain, suffering, and malice have measurable physical correlates and neurological...The privation account requires appealing to 'good' as fundamental, yet good and ...evil is a privation of goodness

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit