Problem of Evil and Suffering Flashcards
1
Q
Moral Evil
A
- acts committed by human beings, such as murder, theft, rape etc.
- can also some from human inaction, eg someone not helping a person in danger
2
Q
the inconsistent triad (all three cannot be true)s
A
- god is omnipotent (all-powerful)
- god is omnibenevolent (all-loving)
- evil exists
3
Q
how can the logical problem be solved?
A
- deny god’s existence
- deny god’s omnibenevolence
- deny evil exists (Augustine)
- there is a sufficient reason why god allows evil to exist
4
Q
natural evil - st augustine
A
- refers to evil caused by the natural state of things
- such as the 2018 Indonesian earthquake
5
Q
moral evil - st augustine
A
- moral evil refers to evil which has been caused by direct human intentions and choices - such as the Las Vegas 91 music festival shooting in 2017
6
Q
evidential problem of evil
A
- there are known facts about evil are evidence against the existence of god
7
Q
’ the great dying’
A
- 90% of marine species and 79% of land species disappeared, probably though different natural disasters
- NASA described it as murder committed on a scale unequalled in the history of the world
8
Q
William Rowe: Fawn in a forest
A
- suppose that in some distant forest a lightening strike causes a forest fire. a fawn is trapped in the fire, horribly burned and lies in agony for several days before dying
- fawn’s agony appears to be pointless; suffers and dies alone and does not lead to the ‘greater good’ at all
- we can now see the force of the evidential problem of evil, since the fawn’s intense suffering is preventable and apparently pointless, where are moments of intense suffering that an omnipotent god could prevent
9
Q
god’s omniscience argument - William Rowe
A
- if god knew how much overwhelming and purposeless evil would occur, why did god bother to create the universe?
- leads us to question god’s omniscience
10
Q
Free Will Defence - theodicy, augustine
A
- argument that for humans to have a meaningful relationship with god, love cannot be compelled; it must be earned
- argument that for has given humans free will to bring about a greater good
11
Q
those who defend the free will defence have to prove..
A
1) that free will necessarily leads to moral evil - its not possible to have free will and not moral evil in the world
2) that the results of having free will are worth the price
12
Q
free will defence criticism - mackie
A
- it is logically possible for a person to make free, good choices all the time
- god could of made humans to make only free, good choices
- therefore god lacks the powers to do so (not omnipotent), or god is not loving enough to do so (not omnibenevolent)
- so free will defence fails
13
Q
strengths of augustine free will argument
A
- for christians, it aligns well with the bible - form main theodicy of the Catholic Church
- free will justifies the presence of evil, as faith would be determined and not freely given
- many scholars will agree as evil is ‘privatio boni’, the privation of good - evil not originally apart of god’s creative work
14
Q
weaknesses of augustine free will argument
A
- natural evils predate humanity; not caused by humans
- does not deal with logical problem of evil; why would an omnipotent and omnibenevolent god allow for evil?
- inherited sin problem; augustine argues evil came into the world through misuse of free will, however its seen as unfair as humanity suffers of Adam and eve’s actions, which challenges the idea of divine justice
15
Q
st augustine - soul deciding theodicy
A
- all humans are born sinful (original sin), because they ‘inherit’ sin from Adam & Eve, who ate from the tree in the Garden of Eden (the fall)
- consequences for humanity
- we therefore depend on god’s grace to be saved from out sin, form of Jesus’s crucifixion on the cross
- not everyone saved
16
Q
st irenaus - soul making theodicy (disagreed w irenaus)
A
- humans did not ‘fall’ from perfection, god intentionally created us imperfect
- throughout our lives, we will ‘grow’ into perfect beings which are capable of entering heaven, if we follow the teachings of Jesus
- we develop through the soul making process into ‘children of god’
17
Q
hick soul-making theodicy
A
- inspired by irenaus (humans are created imperfect, rise to perfection)
- world is a place of soul-making, humans can develop virtues such as courage, sympathy and compassion
- these second-order virtues are qualities which we can become the ‘children of god’ our suffering, is what makes us virtuous and christ-like
- emphasises idea of god the father, which cannot force children to love him, develop children’s care by teaching how to live responsibly int his world
- god set an epistemic distance -> we dont understand why evil and suffering exist, having loving relationship with god is a choice
18
Q
theodicy definition
A
theological attempt to justify god’s goodness despite the existence of evil, tries to show that god has morally sufficient reasons for allowing evil and suffering within the world
19
Q
j.l mackie - problem of evil
A
- existence of evil is logically inconsistent within existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent god
- claims religious believers must either deny god’s power, or existence of evil to resolve the contradiction
- rejects free will defence, god could have created beings with free will who always choose god
20
Q
swinburne argument about evil and free will
A
- supported the free will defence, claiming that free will is a great good which requires the possibility of choosing evil
- argues natural evil provides opportunities for moral development and courage
-claimed god allows suffering as removing it would compromise human freedom/moral responsibility
21
Q
how does evidential problem of evil challenge theodicies?
A
- even if free-will or soul-making explains some evil, the sheer amount of intensity and suffering (eg genocide, natural disasters) makes it unlikely that all suffering is necessary
- casting doubt on god’s omnipotence/omnibenevolence
