Lana Beniko (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
unusual_sith) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2023-11-14 09:13 am
unusual_sith) wrote in fandomhigh2023-11-14 09:13 am
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Philosophies of Good and Evil, Tuesday
Lana welcomed them all to the class with a smile for the students and a coffee for Atton. Because sometimes the Force was helpful, and something told her he needed one.
She sipped her own and set it down to address the students. "Philosophy in this area of Earth has something called 'the problem of evil'. What it means is that since many of those here assume the existence of an all-powerful, omniscient, benevolent god, how do those people explain the existence of evil?" She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't understand the whole premise, so we can skip that part. Frankly, it's not necessary. If we assume that most individuals aren't evil, how do you explain evil?"
She spread her hands. "Of course, you may not believe that, either. And that's entirely fair. Is that how you explain evil - that there are more evil beings than good or neutral ones? Or are evil people stronger or more persuasive than good ones? Surely if most beings are either good, or at least self-interested enough not to want the universe to end, destruction shouldn't ever win. So, why does it? Do good people not care enough?" She leaned back against the desk. "Explain the existence of evil to me."
Atton clutched the coffee as if he needed it to live, which might not be entirely inaccurate. “You know, fix that millennia-old existential problem for us in the space of, oh, an hour,” he said. “Anyway, as far as I can deduce from some of you Earthers, the whole ‘omniscient god’ part of the issue is that you’d think that a guy with all the power in the world who just wanted to do good would just, I don’t know, prevent evil things from happening in the first place.” He sipped his coffee. “If you ask me? The actual answer is that the universe hates us and likes to watch us suffer. And people, on the whole, are self-involved morons who love tripping over each other’s feet.”
Beat.
“I guess that problem wasn’t hard after all.”
Lana rolled her eyes.
She sipped her own and set it down to address the students. "Philosophy in this area of Earth has something called 'the problem of evil'. What it means is that since many of those here assume the existence of an all-powerful, omniscient, benevolent god, how do those people explain the existence of evil?" She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't understand the whole premise, so we can skip that part. Frankly, it's not necessary. If we assume that most individuals aren't evil, how do you explain evil?"
She spread her hands. "Of course, you may not believe that, either. And that's entirely fair. Is that how you explain evil - that there are more evil beings than good or neutral ones? Or are evil people stronger or more persuasive than good ones? Surely if most beings are either good, or at least self-interested enough not to want the universe to end, destruction shouldn't ever win. So, why does it? Do good people not care enough?" She leaned back against the desk. "Explain the existence of evil to me."
Atton clutched the coffee as if he needed it to live, which might not be entirely inaccurate. “You know, fix that millennia-old existential problem for us in the space of, oh, an hour,” he said. “Anyway, as far as I can deduce from some of you Earthers, the whole ‘omniscient god’ part of the issue is that you’d think that a guy with all the power in the world who just wanted to do good would just, I don’t know, prevent evil things from happening in the first place.” He sipped his coffee. “If you ask me? The actual answer is that the universe hates us and likes to watch us suffer. And people, on the whole, are self-involved morons who love tripping over each other’s feet.”
Beat.
“I guess that problem wasn’t hard after all.”
Lana rolled her eyes.
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"I come from a world with many gods," she said slowly. "Evil has many divine faces.
It can be tangible. You can see one of the great evils, hear them, be in their presence, even speak to them if you dare. And I do not speak of the petty hatreds of humans."
"I have to chose to be good, every day, because a terrible man took my soul and literally gave half of it to magical embodiments of evil. I was made to be their key and their weapon, and my first impulses will always be to lash out with violence."
"But every day, I get up and I choose good," she said firmly. "I do not choose kind, or nice, because that is not who I am regardless of the state of my soul, but I chose helping over hurting. Evil devours for the sake of devouring, destroys because it can. At least terrible people usually have some desperate need they are trying to fill, be it right or wrong. True evil just does because that is what it is."
"Evil can be real, and people can suck, and neither one negates the evils of the other."
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He was currently clutching that coffee and sipping it frequently.
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OOC!