problem of evil Flashcards
what is moral evil?
moral evil refers to the harm of suffering caused by the actions of free agents/human beings
what is natural evil?
refers to harm of suffering not caused by the actions of human beings but is rather the result of natural/physical events and processes.
what is the logical problem of evil?
p1) god is omnipotent
p2) god is wholly evil
p3) evil exists
p4) a good being eliminates evil as far as it can be seen
p4a) every good things always eliminates every evil that it knows about and can eliminate
p5) there are no limits to what an omnipotent being can do
c) these propositions cannot be held simultaneously
what is the evidential problem of evil?
there is an infinitely powerful, wholly god who created to world
OR
there is no god
what is FWD?
p1) if god exists then god is omnipotent
p2) an omnipotent being would be able to prevent/eliminate all evil
p3) if god exists then god is wholly good
p4) a wholly good being would be opposed to evil and would prevent evil
p5) if god exists then god omniscient
p6) an omniscient being would know that evil exists and that it is about to come into existence
p7) therefore if god exists then evil would not exist
p8) evil exists
c) therefore, god does not exist
what does fwd lead to?
p1) a world containing morally significant free creatures is better than a world without such creatures
c1) therefore, if god creates a world it must be a world with significantly free creatures
p2) if a world contains significantly free creatures, then moral evil is possible in that world
c2) therefore, if god creates a world with significantly free creatures then it must be a world in which moral evil is possible
c3) therefore, the existence of moral evil is logically compatible with the existence of god
what is a criticism of the fwd?
it only provides a reponse to moral evil
- humans are not responsible or the behaviour of wasps which lay eggs inside the bodies of their hosts
st augustine’s version of the fwd explains natural evil through sin from those given free will - natural evil is just a consequence of moral evil
what is flew’s criticism of augustine’s fwd?
god is not only omnipotent but also omnibenevolent and this would mean he would create the best possible world
- god could have created a world in which all humans had a nature that was good but they were free.
what is the logical formation of flew’s argument?
p1) it is logically possible for me to choose to do good on one occasion
p2) it is logically possible for me to choose to do good on every occasion
p3) it is logically possible for any individual to choose to do good throughout their life
p4) god is omnipotent and can create any logically possible world
p5) therefore, god could have created a world in which we were all genuinely free, yet we chose to do good
p6) god did not create such a world
c) therefore, either god is not omnipotent or he is not wholly good
what is the atheist’s response to the problem of evil?
god does not exist and there is not such omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent being and we should realise that humans just have to cope alone with the enormity of pain and suffering in the world
what is satre’s abandonment response?
once we realise that there is no god, we will have feelings of abandonment. his philosophy argues that we should stop deceiving ourselves and embrace our freedom.
- this must spur us on to think about what follows other than god and without a god, there is no moral system and so we can individually forge our own paths.
what is Midgeley’s response?
she argues that we need propertly to explore human nature and biology to achieve her goal of understanding the natural tendency towards wickedness.
- she believes that evil is the abscence of good - so wicked acts are not those done by evil people.
two types of wickedness - followers & instigators
what is the alternative theologies response of believers to POE?
god does exist and the enormity of pain and suffering in the world is real but we should realise that god is not omnipotent, omniscient and ominbenevolent.
what is the criticism of the alternative theologies response?
these types of solutions lead away from the christian teaching and so they are unnaceptable to many believers
- this is only acceptable to those who have spiritual leanings
what is the afterlife defence from POE?
god does exist and is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent but we should realise that the enormity of pain and suffering in this world is balanced by even greater good - justice in the next life.
- an eternal next life makes this evil seem lesser
what is the criticism of the afterlife defence?
it seems as if the existence of hell simply defers the problem of evil to the next life.
- if we found it difficult to reconcile the existence of a benevolent god with the existence of limited suffering in this life, the eternal suffering in the next life makes it more difficult
what is Plantinga’s free will defence?
p1) god is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent and can create significantly free beings but he cannot cause them to do what is morally right
p2) a world with significantly free beings is better (overall greater good) than a world containing no free creatures at all
c) so god created a world which there exists significantly free agents - which means they can do good or evil. therefore, the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent god is compatible with the existence of nature
what is the criticism of soul making?
the claim that evil exists as a means to some other good has been contested
- hick acknowledges the distribution of misery seems to be random and meaningless
