3.3 The free will defence

Question 1

Why is it important that humans have free will?

Answer 1

• God does not want humans to act like robots
• God wants a real relationship with individuals who can accept or reject Him
• humans need to be free to choose to accept God’s will than live without any freedom in a perfect world
• humans must have the freedom to make moral choices; the existence of evil is a necessary consequence of free will
• Alvin Plantinga’s contribution: ‘the idea that a world with free will & some evil is better than a world with no free will & no evil’

Question 2

Fully explain the free will defence

Answer 2

• a modern answer to the problem of evil & suffering has become known as the ‘free will defence’. Richard Swinburne explained it as follows”

1. the world is the logically necessary environment for humans to develop
2. it provides freedom to make choices, both good & evil
3. without such choices, people would not be free
4. God cannot intervene because to do would interfere with human freedom

• “The less he allows men to bring about large-scales horrors, the lesson freedom and responsibility he gives them” (Swinburne, The Existence of God)
• Swinburne makes a point of people needing to take our responsibilities seriously: “If there is always another chance, there is no risk”

Question 3

Explain how ‘epistemic distance’ relates to the free will defence

Answer 3

epistemic distance is God purposely distancing himself from humanity in order for us to develop

Question 4

What is the etymology of ‘epistemic’?

Answer 4

epistemic: branch of knowledge

Question 5

What would be the opposite of ‘epistemic distance’ & how does it relate to the free will defence?

Answer 5

counter-factual hypothesis: if God does not distance Himself, it hinders the development of humans

Question 6

How does the free will defence ‘solve’ the moral problem of evil?

Question 7

Is God justified in allowing evil in the universe? Provide reasons

Question 8

Explain why Mackie rejects the FWD

Question 9

Fully explain the strengths of the free will defence

Answer 9

1. a world with genuine free will is much valuable than one without free will (the alternative would effectively be humans acting as robots): Plantinga asserts that God has created “the best of all possible worlds”; therefore this world contains free will because this is much more valuable than one without it; additionally St Augustine wrote, ‘a runaway horse is better than a stone’ i.e. horse is active, stone is passive; in this way, evil & suffering is therefore the ‘price’ that is paid for the greater good of genuine free will
2. it satisfactorily explains moral evil - the criminal justice system works on the assumption we have free will: the defence satisfactorily explains the existence of moral evil as the result of human free choices, this is consistent with the legal system, which holds people accountable for what is understood as freely chosen actions; people are held criminally liable for their actions, suggesting they are personally responsible for them
3. it is consistent with St Augustine’s traditional teachings on the cause of Natural Evil (The Fall), American theologist Lois Malcolm noted that “[For Augustine]… Natural evils, such as diseases, are divinely ordained consequences of a primeval fall: St Augustine (354-430) is one of the most influential Christian theologians in history; his idea of Original Sin remains popular today

Question 10

Fully explain the weaknesses of the free will defence

Answer 10

1. some believe it does not sufficiently explain the existence of Natural Evil: natural disasters are not caused by human beings - they cannot be held morally responsible/criminally liable for hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes etc; Plantinga’s explanation (that natural evil is the consequence of Adam & Eve’s actions) requires a literalist reading of Genesis; for many theists, Genesis is seen as being literally/historically