School talk:Philosophy/Message board

Someone has probably thought of this before, but what do you think on this question/answer:

Why is there so much evil in the world?

Do you think this explanation is possible:

Consider the people that believe in God versus people who do not believe (in reality, in their heart of hearts).

If one does not believe in God, it would be natural to see mankind as the pinnacle of [the natural world]. Therefore, that group of people, the non-believers, would be motivated to have children, because, they are in effect creating gods of their own. There would be no point in delaying this activity, because of no pressing need for contemplation or purification to face God.

Therefore ungodly people would tend to multiply and fill up the world (assuming actual deep-down non-believers are the majority). 76.26.140.180 06:23, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I have to take exception to the above-stated proposition:

"If one does not believe in God, it would be natural to see mankind as the pinnacle of [the natural world]."

The implied belief that atheists would be extreme humanists is not born out by either history or current events. Starting with the atheistic French Revolution, people who failed to go along with the revolutionists' program were liquidated en masse, which reflects a point of view of humans as all too disposable, rather than any sort of "pinnacle," to use your term. Subsequent atheistic regimes, such as Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union, have only increased the rates of mass-killings, as well as their unsubtle premise that humans are, essentially, trash. So, contrary to your assertion that atheistic humans would tend to over-value themselves, lacking any reason to view themselves as unique, their ultimate self-assessment would be negative.