Benjamin Cain
Dec 20, 2023

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If you do think there's a natural kind of evil (rather than, say, a supernatural devil), that can be given a Schopenhaurian reading. The conflict would be between the species (or the genes) and the individual, with natural selection prizing the former over the latter. A utilitarian logic sacrifices most individuals for the good of the collective.

The moral language is tricky, though, when applied to nature since nature is amoral. The results of the conflict might seem to us evil, but there's no evil intention there on nature's part. Nature gave us life, too, after all. Instead, there's monstrous, inhuman indifference towards the fate of every individual, a Lovecraftian trivialization of our concerns.

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Benjamin Cain
Benjamin Cain

Written by Benjamin Cain

Ph.D. in philosophy / Knowledge condemns. Art redeems. / https://benjamincain.substack.com / https://ko-fi.com/benjamincain / benjamincain8@gmailDOTcom

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