Zain's Guide to Overthinking Everything

  Notes on the Basics of Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche, a 19th-century German philosopher, is known for his radical and thought-provoking ideas that continue to influence modern philosophy. In this blog post, we will explore the fundamental concepts of Nietzsche's philosophy. Nietzsche constructed a genealogy for morality that is upheld in modern society. The initial form of morality was set by a warrior aristocracy and other ruling castes of ancient civilizations. Aristocratic values of good and bad coincided with their relationship to lower classes. Thus the moral values were that of strength and power. He believed that those who lacked power and authority resented those who held it, leading to a moral inversion. This inversion resulted in a society where once-weak qualities became virtues, and attributes of strength and pride were deemed immoral. This is known as the “Slave Revolt in Morality”. He believed that those who were historically powerless i.e slaves, such as the Jews a...

The Euthyphro Dilemma       If God commanded murder tomorrow, would the believer do it? If goodness is synthetic rather than analytical, the question is in virtue of what is the causal explanation for why God is good? If one appeals to God’s nature, goodness is either a standard that is external to God or it is arbitrary. If it is the former and God adheres to the standard of goodness but the theist provides and internal explanation for the standard coming from within God, is this enough to escape the dilemma? Is it possible for there to be a state of affairs in virtue of the good being external to God? Rather, it is within God’s nature to always be in accordance with that standard. There is an inherent primitive goodness in God as in His nature and that is the causal explanation for God’s moral commandment as good. Therefore, God’s nature is what sets the standard of goodness and God’s nature is the causal explanation. Why does goodness have to be an external proper...

 On God and Evil      One of the most cited arguments by atheists against God's existence is “The Problem of Evil” (TPE). The argument’s purpose is to present a logical contradiction in the nature of an all-good and all-powerful God with the idea of evil existing in the world.  “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” - Epicurus      In other words, why would an all-good and all-powerful God allow evil to exist? Either God is not all-powerful or not all-good and therefore not God. However, what is evil? Evil can be simplified to random acts of nature such as a tsunami killing hundreds of people or it can be committed by humans such as murder. What TPE fails to ignore is the other attributes of God such as all-knowing and all-wise. If God possesses these at...

Notes on Hegel “The truth is the whole”. Dialectics takes on several different meanings in philosophy. To look at a proposition, a thesis, and to find its opposite, the antithesis, and to combine them to create a brand-new idea, the synthesis, therefore the truth is the whole, a dynamic thinking. Truth is not found in isolated concepts or ideas, but in their relation to the broader context of reality or history. This idea is central to his dialectical method. Hegel's philosophy, dialectics is a method for resolving contradictions or oppositions within concepts or ideas. It involves a process of negation, sublation, and synthesis that is more complex than just finding an opposite and combining it. Hegel believed that history is the story of the geist , or absolute spirit, moving through human affairs and what mankind has become made aware of. The spirit is not a passive observer of history, but an active force that drives its development for self-expression or freedom. Hegel being...