If possible, I would like the Biblical, Talmudic, Koranic, Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto and humanist viewpoints on this issue as well as that gained from detailed study of existential philosophy & psychologyi.e. the writings of people like Sartre, Kant, heidegger, Jung, Freud, Derrida & Alain de Botton.
2006-09-04 07:39:58 · 37 answers · asked by Dalton C 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Blimey - Hi Stewpot! My answer exactly!!
From a Buddhist perspective - bad things/good things happen due to karma which may not be due to actions committed in this life, it may be due to previous lives.
From an Anglican point of view God cannot stop bad things happening to good people, but "he" will try to bless that person's mind to "deal" with the challenge.
Many religious "schools" believe that it may be an opportunity for a learning experience. So for example an angry, provocative person is an opportunity to develop patience.
I know of many people who thought they were patient people, and as soon as a difficult person arrived they could not deal with it. It is easy being a "spiritual" person in whatever school of thought you belong to, but without the practise and reminders we get no where.
Existentialism is about making decisions based on what life throws at you. It was a philosophical response to the general view from ancient greek times, that life was pre-destined. Existentialism gives you the opportunity to change the direction of life based on a decision.
Either way, how many people have learned major lessons in life when life was on the up and "perfect?" This could be the reason why bad things happen to good people.
2006-09-04 07:51:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as I am concerned bad things happen to bad people too !
That is the viewpoint I gained by reading Sartre,Kant Heidegger,Jung,Freud,Derrida & Alain de Botton !
2006-09-04 09:04:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Answering from the perspective of a devotee of Lord Krsna or Vaisnava:
Some people will say that everything is just random and there is no cause and effect, but this is not how they really live. It may be an interesting idea when you're just sitting around speculating, but when it comes to real life, we all expect, or at least have a reasonable hope, that when we work for something, say like at our job, we will get paid. If its all just random, then why work for money, why work for anything? Why not just sit in the street and maybe randomly money and a nice house will just appear?
It's a totally reasonable expectation to anticipate rewards for our actions because within we do know that the universe is totally under the laws of cause and effect and since we are just a part of the universal scheme, we are also subject to those laws. After all, isn't this what science is all about? We study science because we know that the laws of cause and effect do exist and are completely in control of this universe. And our lives are no exception.
To understand why bad things happen to good people, its necessary to go under the surface of what is readily apparent to us. Each of us is eternal, a spiritual spark of consciousness, a spirit soul and we have been in this material world for millenia, suffering and enjoying various situations according to the type of body and its circumstances. These circumstances are determined by our desires and activities. The so-called good people have not always been good people. In previous births they performed actions that give them the results they receive. Just as in the ordinary state justice system, criminal activities are punished by time in jail or fines, etc., the universal justice system punishes us for each transgression of the laws of nature by giving us either relatively comfortable or miserable situations. We see all around us living beings who are suffering and others who are more comfortable. Each of us gets exactly what we deserve at every moment. The witness to all of our activities is the Paramatma (Supersoul), a plenary expansion of the Lord who accompanies every living being in the heart. And it is also the Paramatma who directs the material nature to give us the results of our good and bad activities.
The system of universal justice is perfect because it is directly in the control of the Supreme Lord. If we investigate under the surface of things and delve deeper into the subject, its possible to know things as they are. I recommend the Bhagavad-gita if you desire to go into this further.
2006-09-04 12:30:00 · answer #3 · answered by Jagatkarta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is that quote? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Bad and good are such relative terms. If a car veers off the road in front of you, smashes into a pole and the driver dies, that sounds pretty bad, right? But, if in swerving the car avoided a head on collision with you in which you would've died, well, that's pretty good for you, isn't it?
I believe the shorter quote is "stuff happens" (and the word isn't stuff).
If, for example, you believe in karma, then it happens to you for something you did or did NOT do in a previous existence.
If you believe in the Bible, it happens to test your faith and loyalty to God (read about Job...phew!).
If, if, if.....
Personally, although I hate to admit it, I think stuff just happens. Random acts. And if you happen to be in the wrong place at the right time (then you could be in a Dr. John song...), then it happens to you.
2006-09-04 08:12:08 · answer #4 · answered by pat z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
who says the people are good?
who can judge that?
who says the things that happen are bad?
who can judge that?
who says they or you have the right idea of what is good?
who says they or you have the right idea of what is bad?
you put absolute unquestioning unthinking faith in some idea of what is good and what is bad - a blind man borrowing a blind man's eye
seek and you will find
dont seek and you wont find
unquestioning unthinking faith is not seeking
consequently you dont find
you just buy the first idea of good that comes along
so if you unthinkingly mindlessly thoughtlessly adopt a notion of goodness, why do you thoughfully mindfully ask questions based on this mindlessness?
maybe some very nice lovely person faints while crossing the road and gets run over by a bus - how do you know they suffered? - how do you know that they didnt get taken straight to heaven to sit in god's inner circle and chat and laugh happily for the rest of eternity?
what do you know?
so there is no proof that bad things happen to good people
assuming, for the sake of the discussion, that bad things do happen to good people
perhaps there is a god who is a sadist and he only makes anything good so he can take it away, only makes good people so he can be unjust to them, only makes bad people so he can be good to them - perhaps god is the biggest badass in the universe, and he gets a big kick out of doing badass things - like a bandit - perhaps he hates people going around assuming that if they are good, life will be good to them - perhaps he has never heard of anything so woollyassed and naive in his life - perhaps he hates stupid people who make assumptions - perhaps he only likes people who are as hard as nails and shoot first and drown everything living they can find and laugh like heck when they do so
what do you KNOW?
the false 'knowledge' of good and evil is the original sin -
dont judge - dont presume - dont assume - be still - just stop having opinions - start seeking, start experiencing, start learning - test everything and hold on to what seems good - and keep testing it, forever, in case you are wrong - get real - you dont know much at all - the only way to be real is to be seeking, investigating, questing, keeping an open mind, taking in, and never leaping to conclusions
humility is learning, having an ever-open mind, which is realistic for your [and our] ever-ignorant situation
discipline is learning, being a disciple, a learner, a student, being attentive, being alert and awake with questions, not asleep with assumptions, not cocooned in fake verities
2006-09-04 17:30:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
first of all, what do you mean by bad things? and what do you mean by good people?how do we determine at what point a person becomes good or bad, or at what point a thing is good or bad? if we are talking about extremities then the biblical viewpoint is that there is none good, we are all children of wrath and prone to evil, every 'good' thing comes from above. Situations are relative, for example,a good thing to a farmer who has planted a crop is rain, but not such a good thing to the bride and groom who are having an outdoor wedding reception, so you see everything is relative.
2006-09-05 00:45:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
People are basically all good - that is in their basic nature - and the differentiation between good and bad people is based on whether they DO more good than they do bad or are they being more destructive than they are constructive?
With that, being good doesn't mean being a 'clay pigeon'; and one
needs to know how to differentiate between the social and the antisocial so as to be able to protect himself and others from abuse and other evil acts.
Such a knowledge is vital if one intends to be practically and effectively good, and exert a positive influence.
2006-09-04 08:05:14 · answer #7 · answered by savamichler 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How sturdy or undesirable you're purely outcomes how others in society view you, and while you're undesirable adequate you're able to desire to get some judgment against you. yet on the completed it makes no distinction while you're sturdy or undesirable as some distance using fact the UNIVERSE is worried. I placed that throughout the time of all caps so human beings might observe that i'm not suggesting which you be undesirable. maximum folk attempt to be sturdy considering's what makes it elementary for us to have a society and get alongside with others. yet using fact the universe is the source of sturdy and undesirable issues that ensue to human beings, it may desire to care much less notwithstanding while you're socially nicely behaved or not.
2016-10-01 07:33:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as I'm concerned, it's coincidental if bad things do
happen to good people. You must understand that life is
always a constant struggle. The harder you tried it, the harder
it gets to you, but eventually you'll reach it and get your
reward in good time. So, it comes to believe, trust and hope in
yourself as well as in God in Heaven. The same principle still
applies whatever you do. Good and humble people doing good deeds don't expect anything in return.
2006-09-04 07:58:44 · answer #9 · answered by steplow33 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to the theory of karma the individual soul has to take birth[body] based on the action[physical and mental] done during the previous births in order to enjoy the results of good actions and suffer the consequences of bad actions.This is the universal law[dharma] and no one can escape from it.The law is same for good or bad people[though there is no absolutely good or bad people in this world]and so bad things may happen to good people due to their action done during previous births.The time when the results have to be experienced is also determined basing on various factors as each individual is a member of society and all experiences of one individual affect others directly or indirectly. due to the complex nature of innumerable physical and mental action taken by individuals at every moment of time. This theory of Hindus is not fatalistic as some people may consider.The theory invariably stress that you can change your future by proper action at the proper time done with the right mind and every action [physical[including speech]. and mental ]leaves an imprint in your mind to be worked out from birth to birth as a natural process..
Those whose karmas have been exhausted due to repeated births thereby gaining knowledge by undergoing the experiences or who are enlightened do not interfere with this law of the Almighty and suffer knowing full well that they suffer because of some past action. I n some cases they may take the sins[bad actions] of others and suffer on their behalf due to their compassion for the sufferers.
2006-09-04 09:11:34 · answer #10 · answered by REAL 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋