Creighton Sullivan

Is Death a Misfortune?

Adopt childHire actors to portray Harry Potter universeGo through “traditional” motions (choose a

wand, magic textbooks, etc)Take child to train station and instruct to run

through a pillar to reach “hidden platform”Child runs into wall, you reveal that magic

isn’t real and return child to orphanage

Thought Experiment

Out of all the children at the orphanage, one particular child got to spend time with someone that truly cared for and loved them (or so they think)

How is this ok?

Only after being fortunate enough to experience this event was the child wronged. It is a propitious misfortune

There is a God, which designed the universe and everything in it (including us)

There is no divine creator and humanity came about through natural processes

Human life came into existence in two possible ways

A God would have had many optionsThe God chose this scenario, in which not

only humanity exists, but each of us individuals exist

Option 1: There is a God

We are lucky that all conditions were so perfect to allow humanity to come about

We are lucky that each of us individuals exist

Option 2: Evolutionary events created us

In either case, we were all granted an unearned fortune that we had no rights to. To lose this is no misfortune, as we had to be fortunate enough in the first place to exist

Leibniz theorized that this is the best of all possible worlds

The best world requiresOur lifeOur death

Leibniz

Taxes are a burden, but only to those lucky enough to live in an established society.

Death is like taxes, only those lucky enough to be born are fortunate enough to experience it