About the Ethics of the Red Right Hand

“Or what if God, from on high, should once again arm his red right hand with vengeance to torment us?" — John Milton, Paradise Lost (Book 2)

John Milton’s epic poem "Paradise Lost" describes how humanity falls from grace after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. It is about the collapse of mankind, and the consequences of that are those of sin and the struggle between good and evil.

In Milton’s poem, evil is not the absence of good but rather an active force that seeks to corrupt and destroy. In this regard, Satan is the embodiment of evil, and he is portrayed as a powerful and intelligent being who is determined to annihilate humanity.

If this were true, some evildoer would be making decisions on our behalf, and we would not be able to do anything about it. We would be like puppets whose actions are dictated by forces beyond our control.

So, if we are not free to choose our actions, then we cannot be held morally responsible for them. If our actions are predetermined, then we are not blameworthy for our wrongdoing, nor are we deserving of praise for our good deeds.

In that sense, a punishment from God’s red right hand would be unjust and morally reprehensible and make us rethink our understanding of the nature of human agency, morality, and consciousness. While determinism may offer a tidy and parsimonious explanation of the universe, it comes at a high price: the loss of free will, moral responsibility, and the very meaning of our lives.

I, for starters, chose free will…