[Buddha-l] Five moral objections to karma

[Wong Weng Fai]

In

	W.R.P. Kaufman, "Karma, Rebirth, and the Problem of Evil,"
        Philosophy East and West, 55(1), pp. 15-32.

the author raised five moral objections to karma:

   1. The problem of memory
      "Justice demands that one who is being made to suffer for a past
       crime be made aware of his crime and understand why he is being
       punished for it." "Moreover, the memory problem renders the karmic
       process essentially useless as a means of moral education."

   2. The problem of proportionality
      "Given the kinds and degrees of suffering we see in this life, it
       is hard to see what sort of sins the sufferers could have committed
       to deserve such horrible punishment."

   3. Infinite regress
      Quotes Wendy O'Flaherty: "Karma 'solves' the problem of the origin
      of evil by saying that there is no origin... But this ignores rather
      than solves the problem."

   4. The problem of explaining death
      "death seems not to be presented as punishment for wrong, but rather
       is presupposed as the mechanism by which karma operates."

   5. The free will problem
      "can karma be squared at all with the existence of free moral
      agents?"

What are people's opinion?

W.F. Wong