Monism, Dualism, Evil, and Science: Philosophical Perspectives

Monism and Dualism

Monism claims that there is no composition in human reality, so that death becomes the absolute limit of existence. Dualism argues that human beings are constituted by two kinds of reality: a material body and a spiritual body, the soul. These theories often view death as the separation of the components. In these cases, death is like a transit. There are a variety of conceptions about what happens to the soul after its separation from the body: from the possibility of achieving ultimate happiness to the belief in the need to purify the soul, incarnated successively in several bodies.

The Question of Evil

The term "theodicy" was introduced by Leibniz. From the etymological point of view, it refers both to the holiness of God and to evil as God's own righteousness. Philosophers have sought to justify the existence of evil in a world whose principle is God, and at times have sensed in God the only way to triumph over evil.

Justification of a Good God and Evil

Types of Evil

• Metaphysical evil is identified with the finitude of things.
• Physical evil comes from the operation of natural laws.
• Moral evil is rooted ultimately in the freedom of human beings to choose between different forms of action.

Metaphysical Evil and Moral Evil

The question of evil arises over conscience in metaphysical reflection, so we can find more evidence of a response in practical reason than in theoretical reason.

Evil as Justice

The perplexity that the reality of evil causes us appears mainly when we become aware of the absurdity of the suffering of the righteous. The suffering of the evil can be justified, but not that of the righteous. This question was posed by Job and Seneca. Job turns to mystery, and Seneca uses the immanent logos. "Whenever one is able to achieve an attitude of nonchalance."

God as the Guarantor of Justice

In modern times, the absurdity is that evil has the last word in history.

The Question for Science

Different Conceptions of Science

From a concept that believes that science provides objective, true, and reliable knowledge, to a design that does not distinguish between the contributions of modern science and those of myth or magic.

Falsificationism Against Inductivism

Anything that cannot be confirmed or verified empirically is unscientific and meaningless. This view faces the problem of induction, which consists of it not being clear that we gain threefold as scientific laws valid for all phenomena of the same type without checking every possible case. One way to check the position of extreme inductivism is by defending that the laws obtained by induction alone are probably true. The falsificationist proposal saves the problem of induction because no universal conclusions are derived from singular statements, but the falsity of singular statements deductively concludes the falsity of universal statements. Scientific knowledge is objective but is considered probable and not true. Science is a process of gradual approximation to the truth.

The Historical and Sociological Twist of Science