The Suffering of An Idealist
The Stoic philosophers teach that pain in and of itself is neither good nor evil. I tend to agree with them, because pain can be a means to a good, “no pain no gain”. Suffering is not the mere feeling of pain, it is a painful realization that some good is being or has been destroyed.
When I was a youth, I believed very strongly in justice, viz. that good shall ultimately triumph over evil, and injustice, real or perceived, was the only cause of suffering in my otherwise pampered life. This is perhaps one of the main reasons why I became enamoured of Plato’s Republic as an adult. I mentioned previously on this blog that I grew up as a materialist. It never occurred to me that materialism provides no rational ground for my belief in justice. I never asked myself why I believed so strongly in justice when there was so much injustice in the world. It seems that the desire for justice is one of the basic characteristics of humanity.
I Suffer therefore God Is
Contrary to popular opinion, I think suffering, far from being an evidence against God, is actually evidence for God. In saying this, I’m following the line of reasoning taken by the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, whose philosophy can be summarized in his two dictums, “I think therefore I am.” and “I am therefore God is.” I would elaborate on the Cartesian argument as follows:
Our feeling of pain is evidence that we are alive, that we exist as sentient beings. Suffering is evidence that good exists, for we suffer when we experience the destruction of such good. The greater the good, the greater the suffering. We realize that it is not in our power to create or preserve such great good. Consequently, a feeling of utter helplessness ensues. What follows logically, however, is that this great good which we cannot create and preserve for ourselves has been created by a benevolent Being greater than us, and freely bestowed upon us. And He, who has the power to create, also has the power to preserve.
By the same token, our strong sense of injustice is evidence that the justice which we have no power to attain or maintain in this world is derived from a moral Being greater than us, and freely bestowed upon us as a good of the soul. And He who is Just in Himself, also has the power to execute Justice.
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