Stoic-Spinozist View Of Evil

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Evil. One word has caused a massive debate that humans and philosophers have argued over for centuries. It is such an abstract idea that we struggle to understand what it is and how it is to be handled. Over time there have been many opinions and philosophical ideas formed over this very topic. To better understand the idea of evil one must understand these philosophical views that have been formed throughout history on a deeper level. They need to be examined on a person by person basis for each individual to create a definition of what evil means to them. As there is not a definite definition of evil each person must decide for themselves what evil is. This essay will serve as an exploration of one of those ideas of evil as proposed by the…show more content…
According to the Stoic- Spinozist view evil is nothing but an illusion. According to Spinoza evil only appears to exist. In all reality however, the humanistic view of evil is just the frustration encountered when our desires are not satisfied by circumstances that occur. Our desires may be misdirected and therefore frustration may occur as we realize our self misdirection. However, Spinoza also believed that said desires could be controlled through self control and understanding oneself. The idea of evil being illusory directly links to the issues facing the Socratic view of evil as the Socratic view is unable to account for the idea of evil. However, with the Stoic- Spinozist view because evil does not exist this question is…show more content…
The question is often asked if there is a God and he is wholly good and is all powerful how could he allow create or allow evil. This seems at first to be a contradictory statement. How could an all powerful being allow something totally against his nature. The answer lies in the Stoic-Spinozist view. While it is not plausible for an all powerful perfect being to create evil it is possible that evil does not exist. Many times in our lives we face frustration and attribute it to evil or something being against us. However, if the Stoic-Spinozist view is examined this frustration we encounter does not come from evil but from realization the the desires we seek are misguided. In this way the explanation of evil as illusory is capable of solving this

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