Alobha-adosa-amoha are not the mere Absence of Lobha-dosa-moha?

Abhidhamma
1

Venerable Maggavihari says something like the below in one of his Sinhala video lectures:

Alobha is not the absence of Lobha. It has a different function. Lobha is craving/attaching/holding and the Alobha is anti-craving/detaching/unholding. Likewise Adosa and Amoha.

These six cetasicas are called hetuppaccaya (root causes) in Abhidhamma. Roots means the cetasikas that support other Nama-dhammas to establish on the object well by taking the object hard.

Therefore the alobha, adosa and amoha also have to be functions that take the object hard. They are not the mere absence of Lobha-dosa-moha.

What do you think?

2

The Venerable is correct.
Each cetasika has its own function:

Atthasalini (I, Book I, Part IV, Chapter I, 127) on alobha:

absence of greed (alobha) has the characteristic of the mind being free from cupidity for an object of thought, or of its being detached, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. It has the function of not appropriating, like an emancipated monk, and the manifestation of detachment, like a man fallen into a foul place

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3

I also think that in the context he might also be saying that anusaya latent still exists.

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