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Year 12 - Philosophy > Problem of Evil > Flashcards

Problem of Evil Flashcards

1
Q

Is the Inconsistent Triad logical or evidential?

A

Inconsistent Triad = Logical

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2
Q

Name the three sides to the Inconsistent Triad.

A
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3
Q

What is the Inconsistent Triad?

A

The idea that God is, omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omnscient, yet allows evil to exist.

Take away one quality and either God doesnt exist or he isn’t the God of classical theism.

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4
Q

What is Mackie’s argument in reguards to the Inconsistent Triad?

A

God is (a) omnisicent/omnipotent and (b) omnibenevolent. However (c) still exists.

This means that either (a) or (b) must be logically inconsistent and therefore wrong.

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5
Q

Give evidence in reguards to Mackie to the Inconsistent Triad.

A

“A good omnipotent thing eliminates evil.”

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6
Q

What is Hume’s argument in regaurds to the Inconsistent Triad?

A

Either God is not omnipotent/omniscient or God is not omnibenevolent or evil does not exist and since evil does exist, then God does not.

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7
Q

Give evidence in reguards to Hume to the Inconsistent Triad argument.

A

“If God is omnipotent, omniscien and wholly good, whence evil?”

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8
Q

Give evidence in reguards to Epicurus to the Inconsistent Triad.

A

“Is he both able and willing? Then whence evil?”

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9
Q

4 solutions to the problem of evil

A
  1. Punishment : Augustine said we all inherited Original Sin from Adam and Eve so, evil is our punishment.
  2. Perspective : If no one is in danger, a volcanic eruption can be seen as beauty.
  3. Test of faith
  4. God’s plan : Greater plan of love, this links to unanswered prayers.
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10
Q

2 problems with the solutions to evil.

A

Solution One = Deny God’s quality

Problem One = This is unthinkable for most Christians

Solution Two = Deny evil’s existence

Problem Two = Most people have experienced the power of evil.

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11
Q

What is a problem with the LOGICAL problem of evil?

A

Since God is omnisciencent , all events that happen are known to God before the universe is created, meaning God would have known about the evil and suffering that was going to occur.

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12
Q

What are the 2 types of evidential evil?

A
  1. Evil that is overwhelming in quanity and quality.
  2. Evil that is pointless because it serves no useful purpose.
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13
Q

Give evidence for NATURAL evil for the evidential problem.

A

The Triassic Extinction

90% of marine species disappeared

79% of land species disappeared

natural disasters & asteroid strike

“some perpetrator committed murder on a scale of unequated in the history of the world.” - NASA

Perpetrator = God

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14
Q

Give evidence for MORAL evil for the evidential problem.

A

Rebellion - The Brother’s Karomazor

You can’t excuse evil from children as we have all inherited Original sin.

Evil in children doesn’t have a purpose.

“They’ve eaten the apple and know good and evil.” - Dostoyevsky

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15
Q

What is a problem with the EVIDENTIAL problem of evil?

A

An omniscient creator would know that both overwhelming and pointless evils would occur.

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16
Q

What is free will?

A

The idea that human beings are free to make their own choices in life.

17
Q

What is a problem with free will?

A

Genuine free will necessarily includes:

  1. Permission to do evil.
  2. Ability to do evil.
  3. The opportunity to do evil.

Problem:

Take any of these three away, and free will in relation to God is an illusion.

18
Q

Summarise Mackie’s Free Will Defence.

A

First Order Goods/evils = how you feel

Second Order Goods/evils = how you respond

Third Order Goods/evils = freedom

Second Order Goods minimise First Order Evils

Second Order Goods maximise First Order Goods

19
Q

What does Mackie’s Free Will Defence teach us?

A

It teaches us to be morally responsible.

20
Q

Summarise Mackie’s rejection of the Free Will Defence.

A
  • Logically possible for a person to make free good choices all the time.
  • God could have created free humans that only choose good.
  • God didn’t do so.
  • Either God is not omnipotent or omnibenevolent, either way, Free Will Defence fails.
21
Q

Evidence for Mackie’s rejection of the Free Will Defence.

A

“His failure to avail himself of this possibility is inconsistent with His being omnipotent and wholly good.”

God could have done better.

22
Q

What is Swinburne’s response to the Free Will Defence?

A
  • Free will is allowed = risk of evil is worth it
  • Remove evil = Remove free will
  • Free will = Choice
  • Moral Evil = Mistreating free will
23
Q

Give evidence to Swinburne’s response to the Free Will Defence

A

“The less He allows men to bring about large-scale horrors, the less freedom and responsibilty He gives them.”

24
Q

Plantinga’s response to the Free Will Defence.

A

If God designed us to always choose good, we would be like robots as our choices would be predetermined.

God may not intervene in certain situations because to do so would violate our free will.

25
Q

5 strengths of the Free Will Defence.

A
  • It’s logically possible.
  • Even an omnipotent being could not do the logically impossible.
  • Natural evils bring about second order goods.
  • A world with free creatures is more valuable than a world without them.
  • Humans value the risk of pain.
26
Q

3 Weaknesses of the Free Will Defence.

A
  • It is logically incoherent but does not prove it is true.
  • The Libertarian account of free will cannot be proved, only assumed.
  • It simply fails to convince.
27
Q

Summarise the Augustinian Theodicy

A
  • Evil and suffering do not disprove the existence of an all-loving God.
  • Evil didn’t come from God it came from Adam and Eve eating the apple which created Original Sin, therefore evil is punishment for this.
  • Evil is a privation of good/absence of good.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was good.”

28
Q

Reason AGAINST the Augustinian Theodicy

(Schleiermacker)

A
  • If God created a perfectly good world it could never go wrong.
  • If humans are able to choose evil, then evil must have already existed.
  • If evil existed, then it wasn’t perfect.
  • Evil and suffering must have existed in the first place.
  • If the world was not perfect to start with, then God is to blame for evil abd suffering.
29
Q

Give evidence against the Augustinian Theodicy.

A

“Lead us not into temptation.”

30
Q

Summarise the Irenaean Theodicy.

A
  • God created the world so humans can develop perfection.
  • We have a choice to be imperfect.
  • God allows us to choose good or evil.
  • So, God had to permit evil and suffering to occur.
31
Q

5 strengths to the Irenaean Theodicy

A
  1. Evil is evident.
  2. Doesn’t lessen God’s qualities.
  3. Shows God knows we would misuse our free will.
  4. Gives evil a purpose.
  5. Shows purpose to free will.
32
Q

4 weaknesses to the Irenaean Theodicy

A
  1. Suffering doesn’t always result in positive human development.
  2. Suffering can produce nothing but misery.
  3. Why are there such extremes of suffering and do such happenings really produce good?
  4. D.Z. Phillips said love can never be expressed by allowing suffering to happen.
33
Q

Give evidence against the Irenaean Theodicy

A

“What are we to say of the child dying of cancer? … If God is this kind of agent … His evil nature is revealed.”

D. Z. Phillips

34
Q

Differences between the Augustinian Theodicy and the Irenaean Theodicy.

A

Year 12 - Philosophy (5 decks)

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