Philosophy

• What are the 2 versions of the problem of evil?

  Logical and evidential
• What is the problem of evil?

  It is difficult to believe in an omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient God due to the quality and quantity of evil and suffering in the world.
• What are the 2 versions of evil?

  Natural evil - natural disasters, not created by humans and Moral Evil- evil created by humans
• What is the inconsistent triad? ( logical POE)

  The idea that it is logically impossible for God to be omnibenevolent and omnipotent and for evil to exist at the same time - cannot all be true + quote by Epicurus
• What is the evidential problem of evil?

  Determining whether and ,if so, to what extent the existence of evil constitutes evidence against the existence of God / There are known facts about evil that are evidence against the existence of God - 1. evil that is overwhelming in quantity and quality 2. evil that is pointless because it serves no useful purpose
• Examples for evidential POE

  1. The great dying 2. William Rowe- Fawn in a forest
• What is the issue of the evidential POE?

  If God is omniscient and knew the amount of overwhelming and purposeless evil that would occur, why did he bother creating the universe?
• What is the Free Will defence?

  The argument that God has given humans free will to bring about greater good - we must be placed in situations that require us to make decisions and learn their consequences. Pain is the stimulus for this development. If we have the FW to choose good then evil must exist as an option
• What did Augustine say regarding the FWD?

  A runaway horse ( has free will) is better than a stone ( does nothing)
• What did CS Lewis say regarding the FWD?


  Free will, though it makes evil possible, also makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having
• What did Swinburne say in regards to the FWD?

  The less [God] allows men to bring about large scale horrors, the less freedom and responsibility he gives them
• Who was John Mackie?


  Australian philosopher , atheist, 20th century , rejected FWD but ended up doing opposite
• What was Mackie's FWD?


  First order good (happiness and pleasure) and First order evils (suffering and evil), Second order goods and evil (choosing to increase or decrease first order goods or evils) , third order good : free will, Fourth order good: God. God is justified in allowing evil since it permits the freedom to choose or reject the good- teaches us to be morally responsible
• What did Alvin Plantinga say about the FWD?


  .
• How does Mackie reject the FWD?

  It is logically possible for God to create humans that will always freely choose to do good. "If God has made men such that in their free choices they sometimes prefer what is good and sometimes what is evil, why could he not have made men such that they always freely choose the good?"
• What does Mackie say about God not creating humans that always freely choose to do good?

  Either he does not have the power to do so ( is not omnipotent ) or he is not loving enough to do so ( is not omnibenevolent). Either way the FWD fails and Mackie concludes that God does not exist.
• What is a strength of the FWD?

  A world with genuine free will is much more valuable than one without , where humans are in effect robots. Plantinga asserts that God has created the 'best of all possible worlds' where it contains FW because it is more valuable. Evil and suffering is the price that is paid for the greater good of genuine free will. 'A runaway horse is better than a stone'
• What is another strength of the FWD?

  It satisfactorily explains the existence of moral evil as the result of human free choices- the criminal justice system works on the assumption that we have free will and holds people accountable for what are understood as freely chosen actions.
• What is a weakness of the FWD?

  Some believe it does not sufficiently explain the existence of natural evil. Natural disasters are not cause by humans and they cannot be held morally responsible. Plantinga's explanation that natural evil is the consequence of Adam and Eve's actions requires a literalist reading of Genesis. For many theists, Genesis is seen as being historically/ literally true but for many it is simply metaphorical and this dependency causes a weakness in his argument.
• What are the three sources of wisdom and authority?

  Jesus, The Church and The Bible
• What does the Bible consist of?

  Old testament (contains writings shared with Jewish scripture) and new testament (contains only Christian writings including the four gospels and St Paul's letters )
• Who was John Hick?

  20th century, English, Christian philosopher
• Hick's soul making theodicy


  A theodicy that argues the world is a place of soul making so must contain a full range of moral and natural evil so humans can develop virtues such as courage, sympathy, empathy and compassion
• Hick's soul making theodicy

  • Was inspired by St Irenaeus (2nd century, bishop of Lyon, Christian)
  • Irenaeus argued that humans are created imperfect and then have to 'rise to perfection' and work towards achieving the likeness of God during their lives on Earth (Genesis 1:26)
  • Emphasises idea of God as a Father - a Father cannot force his children to love him, children love their parents as a free response to their care
  • Hick is a universalist who believes that everyone will eventually be saved and be brought to heaven
  • God set an epistemic distance between himself and humans (distance in knowledge so that humans cannot know for sure whether there is a God) therefore having a relationship with God is a choice that we freely make
• Luke 14:27: '"And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple"'
• These second order virtues are the qualities by which we become 'children of God'
• The world is a place of soul making so must contain full range of moral and natural evil so humans can develop virtues such as courage, sympathy, empathy and compassion
• Who is Griffin?


  20th century , American Philosopher - based ideas on AN whitehead