Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Why Do Good Things Happen to Good People?

The answerability of the familiar question 'Why do bad things happen to good people?' presupposes the answerability of the less common question 'Why do good things happen to good people?'  The answerability of the latter, in turn, presupposes the objective distinguishability between something good happening to a good person BECAUSE they are good, from it happening coincidentally.  However, neither empirical observation, nor faith, nor Kant's Reflective Judgment, i. e. a heuristic hypothesis, can adequately draw that distinction.  Hence, there are always at least two possible explanations for something good happening to a good person, which means that there is no definitive answer to the question 'Why do good things happen to good people?'  Accordingly, there is no conclusive answer to the question 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'  Furthermore, because a virtuous person can only speculate as to whether or not some good fortune is a reward, even granting Kant the possibility of his Highest Good, the actualization of it remains unknowable to a Moral agent, which means that complete Moral satisfaction remains impossible in his doctrine.

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