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Young Goodman Brown seems to come to the conclusion that everyone around him carries the taint of real or potential "sin" or "evil" (Hawthorne 7) which he tries to distance himself from.
3. Considering 2c the working conclusion the character Young Goodman Brown draws given the directly stated evidence that Brown spent the rest of his life "suspicious" and "gloomy" (Hawthorne 8) after the vision related in the story, without interpretation or assignment of value to those terms from modern standpoints,
a. Trying to prevent the Goody Cloyse from corrupting the young girl is not good or bad but inconsistent with a conclusion drawn by Young Goodman Brown (2.c. above)
i. If humans are inherently sinful the little girl is doomed anyway
ii. Preventing this incident will not prevent future incidents of corruption etc.
b. If 2c, then raising a family simply contributes more sinfulness to the world
i. If the character knowingly accepts 2c then adding more sin to the world is itself a sinful action
ii. If the character Young Goodman Brown was convinced every one else was or had the capacity to be inherently "evil" (Hawthorne 7) to some degree, remaining in and adding to the community the...
If these actions are inconsistent with 2c, then there is reason to doubt that Young Goodman Brown (the character only, without drawing any conclusions about Hawthorne or attempting to imply or derive any conclusions about the author's motive or values) actually believed 2c
i. If the character Young Goodman Brown did not believe 2c, preventing the little girl from talking to Goody Cloyse (Hawthorne 8) becomes consistent because it implies the little girl's corruption is preventable
ii. If not 2c, then raising a family into a community the character distrusted does not necessarily remain inconsistent if the possibility they are not inherently evil remains plausible.
5. Conclusion
a. Either Young Goodman Brown does not fully believe 2c, in which case his actions become more consistent with one likely conclusion apparently drawn from the actions and direct speech of the characters in the story without any interpretation modern or otherwise, or
b. If Young Goodman Brown believes 2c, his actions (attempting to save the girl; raising a family; et al.) become inconsistent with 2c
c. 5a
If all falls are "lucky," then we truly live in the best of all possible worlds. While we may avoid accusations of Candidean naivete by announcing that "God" must not exist, this all-or-nothing stance lacks rigor. The persistence of evil is incompatible with certain ideas of God, but in itself this only indicates that our ideas are imperfectly refined. At its best, this approach deepens our definitions of the divine
Evil and Suffering The logical problem of evil is that if God is all-good then evil should not exist. Perhaps one can argue, then, that evil is a creation of man and that God cannot not prevent that, but God being Omnipotent, and, therefore, by definition able to accomplish all should be capable of preventing if not destructing evil. Either then God is not all good, or he is not all
.. The superior man is broad and fair; the inferior man takes sides and is petty... A superior man shapes the good in man; he does not shape the bad in him. It is said that a disciple once asked Confucius to define the conduct of one's entire life with a single word. The Chinese philosopher replied: "Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself
46). These ideas are actually in direct contradiction to the prevailing religious philosophies of the time. Machiavelli does not seed men judged by God, or even by other men -- but instead by whether the deed one sought was accomplished or not; and if that deed has eventual ramifications that may be good. This Prince may come to power through evil means from himself, from others, or through historical forces.
" Defenses against it may be equally inconclusive, but in their fertility they at least promise a solution some day. Bibliography Adams, Marilyn McCord. Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999. Belliotti, Raymond a. Roman Philosophy and the Good Life. Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2009. DeRose, Keith. "Plantinga, Presumption, Possibility, and the Problem of Evil," Canadian Journal of Philosophy 21 (1991), 497-512. Draper, Paul. "Probabilistic Arguments from Evil," Religious Studies 28
Problem of Evil Natural Evil vs. Moral Evil Natural evil is a term that embraces theodicy, in the sense that there are devastating earthquakes, and tornados, tsunamis, and hurricanes, and other terrible weather situations that harm people and communities (Philosophy of Religion). God created the planet and in doing so He never promised to always have fair weather with puffy white clouds and rays of sunshine every day. The planet is