criticism

• Plantinga debunks Mackie's theory against the free will defence
• MSR = morally sufficient reason
• MSR 1: if you take evil away, you reduce the value of moral choice
• MSR 2: God allowed evil to enter the world as a part of Adam + Eve's punishment for sinning
• Plantinga theorised three possible worlds
• PW1: people have free will; God doesn't determine decisions; there is evil + suffering (the world we live in)
• PW2: people do not have free will; God determines people's choices; there is no evil + suffering (robotic world, no value in choices, no growth)
• PW3: people have free will; God determines people to choose what is right; there is no evil + suffering (Mackie's argument - which is not logical)
• STRENGTHS of Plantinga's defence of the FWD

  • effectively refutes Mackie's argument
  • free will allows there to be value in actions - why would a loving God prevent this?
  • humans can value the risk of pain
• WEAKNESSES of Plantinga's defence of the FWD

  • provides no convincing response to the problem of natural evil
  • question of whether the price of evil is really worth it (Dostoyevsky)