Epicurean POE

Question 1

epicurean argument for the problem of evil

Answer 1

0) God = powerful, good being
1) if god is powerful, he can remove evil
2) if god is good, he wills to remove evil
3) Evil exists (suffering exists)
4) god can and wills to remove evil
5) hence, evil does not exist
6) Contradiction

Question 2

can vs will?

Answer 2

can do x = has ability to x
to will x = inclination to perform x

Question 3

do theists believe that ‘does god achieve everything he wishes’

Answer 3

god wishes that there are not bad things, but there are

god wishes that genocide doesnt exist, but it does

Question 4

why must there exist a contradiction in the problem of evil

Answer 4

there must be exist a contradiction (4) as the argument is intended to counter theist beliefs

hence, the contradiction must be contrary to and call out theist beliefs. If theists do not believe the premises, the argument would fail.

Question 5

assumptions in the problem of evil?

Answer 5

extra assumption 1 (4): god does whatever god wills / god achieves everything he wishes

Extra assumption 2 (also in 4): god does right now whatever god wills right now

extra assumption 3: it makes sense to ascribe these things to god

Question 6

does the problem of evil hold true even if EA1 is granted? (god does whatever god wills / god achieves everything he wishes)

Answer 6

not necessarily, the argument does not give a time constraint

many theists believe in a judgment day, which could serve as the removal of all evil

Question 7

EA1 explained and importance in the validity of the problem of evil + Counters (god does whatever god wills / god achieves everything he wishes)

Answer 7

This assumption must be true for the argument as if God cannot do whatever god wills, there is no reason to assume that he can remove evil

Counter: Perhaps God is removing evil, there does not necessarily need to be a time constraint (this is where EA2 comes in)

Question 8

EA2 explained and importance in the validity of the problem of evil (god does right now whatever god wills right now)

Answer 8

This assumption must be true for the issue highlighted in the counter for EA1

Question 9

EA3 explained and importance in the validity of the problem of evil + Counters (it makes sense to ascribe these things to god)

Answer 9

It must make logical sense for God to have these traits, otherwise this whole argument doesn’t really mean anything

Counter: we cannot apply our own morals on God. God cannot ‘wish’ nor ‘achieve’ he is a greater being (descartes)