Augustine Flashcards
What are the 4 major themes
Theme 1: evil is a punishment- allows evil to exist as a punishment for original sin
Theme 2: free will defence- God is not to blame for moral evil because it occurs as a natural by- product of giving humans free will; free will is so valuable, the existence of evil is justified. Plantinga argues that natural evil occurs due to the the fallen angels
Theme 3- aesthetic theodicy- gods view is that all goodness and evil ultimately form a balance within the universe that creates a “moral beauty” - divine justice
Theme 4- contrast theodicy- evil is required in order for us to identify and act on what is “good”
Who are the two key thinkers
Plantinga and Augustine
Moral evil: what is our punishment for?
Original sin
Moral evil: by product of total free will we make…
Mistakes, not God. Our free freedom is more important than total goodness
What is the criticism of moral evil?
Unfair that we are still being punished for the original sin- where is the justice?!
Natural evil who causes it?
According to who?
Angels free will is not logically inconsistent but to some is superstations
Which natural evils can be caused directly by the fall
Child birth and death
What does Augustine argue about natural evil
Cause by the fall- disobedience so great it caused the disorder in the natural world
According to Augustine every generation is responsible for?
Natural evil
Natural evil as they were all seminary Present in Adam
What idea is unscientific in Augustine view of natural evil
The idea of the original sin being seminally present and the fall is unscientific
How to resolve the logical problem of evil? What do we have to remove?
Evil from the inconsistent triad as Augustine doesn’t believe it is a thing but the gap where good doesn’t exist
The logical problem of evil and omnibenevolence
Threatened:
1) punish all humans for Adam and Eve disobedience
2) existence of hell for those who don’t believe that Jesus died for our sins
3) aesthetic argument suggests that evil acts as a contribute to moral beauty can justify the account of evil
The logical problem of evil and omniscience
Threatened:
He should have forseen the fall and therefore all the evil from Adams and eve mistake
However this can be destroyed by the use or abuse of hicks concept of epistemic distance. We are not in a position to say what God knows
The logical problem of evil and omnipotence
Not threatened:
Augustine believes that God follows the world which has free will and evil in it rather than a perfect one with no free will.
Evil in the world is a question of choice not power
Evidential problem of evil and “the free will defence”
Plantinga accounts for suffering through his suggestion that angels use and abuse their free free will too.
God has a good reason not to intervene but humans would not see suffering as purposeful
The fall and the evidential problem of evil
Was so great that it shook the natural world and created disorder with it. So all the natural evil and suffering that happens to animals is still to the fall
Contrast and the logical problem of evil
Cannot be resolved: contrast can only be useful if both good and evil are seen by humans.
The logical problem of evil and aesthetics
States that from a much broader perspective: all suffering can contribute to moral the mora, beauty of the universe. Problem is that this beauty can only be seen by God which is why there seems to be meaningless suffering. To God it makes sense
What are the 5 strengths?
1) Augustine doesn’t see evil as a separate entity, he refers to it as a privation of good. Evil exists from the inconsistent triad, rendering the triad consistent. however, even if evil doesn’t exist, suffering still does!
2) appeals to conservative beliefs and who accept angels the fall and original sin- internally coherent
3) shifts the blame for evil and its prime existence from God onto created beings (humans and angels)
4) God made the world perfect and didn’t create evil and therefore can’t be responsible for it
5) Augustine free will defence- appeals to the best possible world
Why is Augustine’s theory incoherent for 3 reasons
1 evils isn’t a thing but at the same time a punishment
- God not responsible for evil in this word but allows people to be out into hell and experience terrible suffering- shifted to after life
- Blames humans for evil but says it’s useful as contributes to moral beauty
Weakness to the fal
Myth and unscientific- cannot be used as an explanation for any evil
The punishment of Adam and Eve is a weakness…
Unfair and unjust
What does theodicy not provide to humans
Comfort in personal levels
