the problem of evil Flashcards
the logical problem of evil
the existence of evil and suffering in the world is logically compatible with the idea of god
the evidential problem of evil
the amount of evil and suffering in the world is evidence that god does not exist
the problem
p1. if god is supremely good, then he has the desire to eliminate evil
p2. if god is omnipotent then he is able to eliminate evil
p3. if god is omnsicent then he knows evil exists and how to eliminate it
c1. therefore, if god exists and is all the Os, he will eliminate evil
c2. therefore if god exists evil does not
p4. evil exists
c3. therefore god does not exist
issue: good can’t exist without evil
- good is comparative, if we had no evil to compare it to then there would be no good
- if it is logically impossible for good to exist without evil, then god could not make good without some evil
- so he can still exist
response to good can’t exist without evil
- good could exist without evil, even if we didn’t notice it because we didn’t have evil to compare it to
- it is not our understanding of good as opposed to evil that is the problem, it is that evil exists at all
- surely an omnipotent god would make an entirely good world?
the free-will theodicy
theodicy: a reason why an omnipotent, benevolent, omniscient God would allow evil
- without free will we would be unable to have a meaningful relationship with God, because any relationship would not be willingly and freely entered into
- God creates a world with moral significance, and so human free-will
- being morally imperfect, we do not always use our free-will for good, but sometimes bring about evil (the price that must be paid for free-will), which would be a morally meaningless world
- so the existence of evil isn’t morally compatible with the existence of God, since it is the result of free-will, which is such a significant good that it outweighs the evil that we bring about
objection to free-will theodicy
- why doesn’t god just choose what is good and just create a world with free-will but without evil?
- theodicy says this isn’t logically possible, to be free is for ones choices not to be determined if god made us choose good then our choices would be determined and we wouldn’t be free
Platinga’s free-will defence
p1. a world containing creatures that are significantly free is better than a world containing no free creatures
p2. god can create significantly free creatures
p3. to be significantly free is to be capable of both moral good and moral evil
p4. if significantly free creatures were caused to do only what is right, they would not be free
c1. therefore god cannot cause significantly free creatures to do what is right
c2. therefore god cannot create a world containing creatures that are significantly free but which contains no evil
c3. therefore god can only eliminate the moral evil done by significantly free creatures, by eliminating the greater good of significantly free creatures
natural evil
bad things, pain and suffering, that arise as a result of natural processes
difference between a defence and a theodicy
defence is an argument to show that there is no inconsistency between the existence of evil and the existence of God because it is possible that God would allow evils that arise from free-will in order for us to have it
a theodicy is an attempt to explain why god would allow the presence of evil in the world
moral evil
bad thins that arise as the result of the actions of free agents
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THEODICY AND DEFENSE ONLY ADDRESS MORAL EVIL
more on natural evil:
- natural evil is the result of the free will of Satan and demons
- devil was an angel created by god endowed with free-will, but rebelled and brought evil into the world
- natural evil is actually a form of moral evil
Hick’s soul making theodicy
- argues the existence of evil is necessary for us to become good people, to grow morally and spiritually
- the world is not intended to achieve the greatest balance of pleasure over pain, but to provide an environment in which our souls can develop
- humans are unfinished, we exist, have free-will and are capable of a relationship with god, but there is a second stage to our development
- we don’t have the personal, ethical and spiritual values a loving God would want us to have, we are all on individual journeys to reach this stage
- we can’t develop virtues unless there is evil in the world
- we respond to natural evil with virtue and moral with meaningful choice
- a perfect world would be fine with perfect creatures, but it’s useless to us, we need an imperfect world so we can perfect ourselves
- evil allows us to complete our souls and be the kind of beings God wants us to be
