Proving God’s Existence Using Kierkegaard

To me, defining evil is very much like trying to define one word only to have to use another which likely needs definition. It becomes one of those endless dictionary quests in which each definition contains a harder word which then must be looked up. The result of this pursuit is that the very best I could bring myself to do would be to phrase the definition of evil in logistical statements. Beyond this, and I guess something which I should get used to as a philosophy student, is providing my own personal opinion as to what for me constitutes evil. Providing such a personal definition is possible at least, even though it is barely any less complicated than the logic puzzle would be.

On top of being complicated, the endeavor is bound to make me feel like a scab, for as one who wishes to take all situations and points of view into fair consideration, placing something in such black and white terms feels like a betrayal. However, education is nothing if not intended to be challenging, and so I am choosing to challenge myself to define “evil.” First, though, before being able to define evil and relate it to the implications of the mortal pursuit of proving God’s existence or not, I must examine my feelings on whether or not mortals can come up with such a proof.

The idea of God was created out of the need to feel there was something bigger than ourselves. Those things which humans did not know, could not figure out, or could not even conceive of, could all then be set aside as knowledge only within the realm of God’s understanding. Humans did not know where they came from or why they were here, but by placing God in the position of creator, it was possible to believe that he knew the answers to these questions, and that he had a reason for everything – though we didn’t know it ourselves. Kierkegaard made the argument that trying to use rational thought to conceive of and prove the actuality of God is not one fairly made.

Whether any individual believes this to be true or not, in coming to a decision on this subject, it is now first necessary to examine what rationality is to begin with. (And the dictionary search continues to get more complicated.) Rationale’s most simple definition paraphrased is “based in logic”. Logic is the natural workings of the human brain towards finding solution or course of action. Therefore, to do something rationally, we must first use our minds. What a mind is, and how it works exactly, is another unanswerable question.