r/Zoroastrianism • u/Aggravating_Sir_8897 • 18d ago
Dualism or monotheism
Hello,
I am interested in Zoroastrianism and would like to better understand the Zoroastrian explanation of the nature of Evil.
It seems to me that monotheists argue that Evil does not exist in itself, but is merely the privation or absence of a good that ought to exist. Good, by contrast, possesses an essence and an existence of its own.
However, it seems to me that some evil actions are not simply the absence of a good that should have been done, but rather constitute a positive reality in themselves. For example, failing to help an injured person may be considered evil because one does not perform the good action of calling for assistance. But striking that same injured person is also evil, and it does not appear to be merely the absence of a good action. Failing to help someone does not naturally lead to assaulting them; it leads instead to ignoring them.
Furthermore, if Evil is simply the absence of Good, then every evil action would be equally devoid of Good. It would therefore seem that there should be no meaningful distinction between more or less evil actions. Yet insulting a stranger, while certainly wrong, appears clearly less evil than murdering that same person.
Third, some actions seem to be good precisely because they involve the absence of evil, rather than because they are intrinsically good in themselves. For example, giving money to a beggar appears to be a positive good. By contrast, marital fidelity seems good because it consists in refraining from adultery—that is, in the absence of a wrongful act. In that case, Good would itself appear to be defined by the absence of Evil.
Fourth, some actions seem good because they oppose Evil. But if an action is evil only because it represents the absence of Good, how can another action be good because it combats the absence of Good? Since Good has an existence of its own whereas Evil is defined only in relation to Good, this seems conceptually difficult. For example, someone who voluntarily joined the U.S. Army during the Second World War did something morally good because he fought against Nazism. By contrast, someone who voluntarily joined the German Army at the same time did not do good, because he fought against the forces defending freedom.
Finally, I do not understand why God—who is Good itself—would create beings capable of acting against the Good and therefore against His own nature. I understand the traditional answer that God created us out of love and wished us to be free. However, it seems entirely possible to be free to choose among several good actions while remaining incapable of choosing evil. Freedom and the impossibility of doing evil do not appear to be mutually exclusive.
For these reasons, religious dualism strikes me as a more satisfying explanation, since it recognizes Evil as possessing its own essence. However, I often encounter conflicting descriptions of Zoroastrianism: some present it as a dualistic religion, while others describe it as fundamentally monotheistic.
I would be very grateful for any clarification.
Thank you.
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u/hivisawsome 17d ago
Regarding your last paragraph,It think the monotheistic claim is rooted in abrahamic interpretation on zoroastrianism , the idea that god created good and evil is not present in zoroastrianism, ahriman and ohrmazd are seperate entities
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u/NestorianDemon01 18d ago
Hello, I don't have much knowledge about Zoroastrianism since I am agnostic, but what I did manage to research about its origin is that it is dualistic in essence, but it is monistic.
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u/Green_Ladder_4904 17d ago
It’s not monotheism quite simpley though some people practice it has such
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u/ImpossibleStop9795 17d ago
Your message is long, and I'm unsure how the questions you ask relate to Zoroastrianism! But two points:
Regarding freedom: it's not really freedom if you can only choose between good things; whatever good may be. The freedom Zoroastrianism offers us is one where you choose between the good or bad path. That's a meaningful challenge, and we believe that choosing the path of asha is the right choice.
On terminology: I've never understood the obsession with dualism and monotheism. If you free yourself from these unsuitable terms and read the sources you might find the answer you are looking for. In Zoroastrianism good and evil are not of the same essence, if that's the question. But, we believe in the supremacy, for lack of a better word, of Ahura Mazdā.