Creating the Best Possible World: Some Problems from Parfit |
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Authors: | Daniel Cohen |
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Institution: | (1) Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678, Australia |
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Abstract: | It is sometimes argued that if God were to exist, then the actual world would be the best possible world. However, given that
the actual world is clearly not the best possible world, then God doesn’t exist. In response, some have argued that the world
could always be improved with the creation of new people and that there is thus no best possible world. I argue that this
reasoning gives rise to an instance of Parfit’s mere addition paradox and should thus be rejected. Others (Robert Adams, in particular) have argued that the actual world may, in fact, be the
best possible world, at least for all actual people. I argue that this reasoning gives rise to Parfit’s non-identity problem and should thus be rejected.
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Keywords: | Best possible world Derek Parfit Richard Swinburne R M Adams |
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