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Why is God, if He exists, assumed to be reasonable in most of philosophy?

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Final answer:

In philosophy, God is assumed to be reasonable as attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence imply operating within reason. Philosophical arguments for God's existence attribute perfection, including rationality, to God, framing God as the ultimate reasoned being.

Step-by-step explanation:

In philosophy, God is often assumed to be reasonable because a being posited as having qualities of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence would necessarily operate within the bounds of reason to be consistent with these perfections. The argument for God's existence involves various premises which assume that existence in itself is a perfection and therefore a perfect being must exist. This follows the notion set forth by figures such as Descartes, who argued that if God is a perfect being, God necessarily possesses all possible perfections, including existence.

The ontological and cosmological arguments for God's existence, often discussed in philosophy, rely on a core assumption that a perfect being would be logical and rational because these are seen as superior qualities. Moreover, the existence and nature of evil in the world raises questions about these attributes, but the assumption of reasonableness allows theologians and philosophers to explore solutions to the problem of evil that maintain the consistency of God's nature.

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