1 problem of evil

Question 1

how to define evil

Answer 1

profoundly immoral and wicked

Question 2

logical problem of evil definition brief

Answer 2

a priori, deductive, evil & classical god cant exist together

Question 3

evidential problem of evil definition brief

Answer 3

a posteriori, inductive, evidence of evil in the world makes belief in god unjustified

Question 4

strengths x3 of logical problem of evil

Answer 4

• empirical evidence of evil, existence of widespread suffering in world is observable and undeniable. empirical basis = hard to dismiss
• clear contradiction in the inconsistent triad (epicureas coined) makes it seem some attributes are false
• follows deductive reasoning

Question 5

weaknesses of the logical problem of evil x4

Answer 5

• free will defence. god allows evil because its a consequence of granting humans free will
• “greater goods” argument - posits god allows evil to exist because it leads to greater goods (virtues like compassion, courage) = moral growth
• WP Alston - we cannot unstand god because human perspective is limited. we cant see full picture.
• Plantinga - god chooses to limit himself to allow free will.

Question 6

WP Alston critique of the logical problem of evil

Answer 6

we cannot understand god because human perspective is limited, we cant see full picture

Question 7

Plantinga critique of logical problem of evil

Answer 7

god chooses to limit himself to allow free will

Question 8

Mill’s argument on the problem of evil

Answer 8

cruelty observed in the natural world contradicts the idea of a benevolent and omnipotent deity.

Question 9

what supports mill’s problem of evil

Answer 9

darwin- Ichneumonidae wasps
nature is “not cruel, only pitilessly indifferent”

Question 10

2 arguments against mill’s theory for problem of evil

Answer 10

• irenean theodicy, suffering in nature promoted spiritual growth. suffering can bring out the best in people => developmental + part of god’s plan
• free will and natural laws, suffering is a necessary result of genuine freedom

Question 11

who are the main scholars on LPOE

Answer 11

JL Mackie
Epicureas
Hume

Question 12

main aspects of the LPOE

Answer 12

• deductive
• a priori
• inconsistent triad (epicurean hypothesis)
• natural and moral evil

Question 13

scholars for EPOE

Answer 13

JS Mill
William Rowe
Gregory S Paul

Question 14

why did Rowe reject LPOE

Answer 14

• he recognised there are grounds on which the premises could be challenged and therefore as a deductive argument, it fails.
  only “pointless and unecessary suffering” that “occurs daily and in great plentitude” counts against a god

Question 15

what are the variables for EPOE

Answer 15

• magnitude
• duration
• distribution
  = quality of evil

Question 16

Rowe’s two examples of “pointless and unecessary suffering”

Answer 16

• 5 year old girl raped and beaten to death
• fawn dying slowly in a forest fire

Question 17

Daniel Howard-Snyder and WP Alston’s criticism of Rowe

and what is it shut down from

Answer 17

builds on Aquinas
as humans, we are unable to understand god’s divine rational and plan for humanity

shut down from Rowe’s 5 year old girl example. this extent of suffering to an innocent child cannot be permissible from a loving God.

Question 18

quote from the holocaust prisoner

Answer 18

“if there is a god he will have to beg for my forgiveness”

Question 19

JL Mackie POE

Answer 19

proposed that a truly loving god could just make our choices solely good - instead of creating a struggle between good and sin, where humans are able to commit atrocities

=> also the fact that humanity was created with the propensity to sin, even subjecting innocent others to suffering and loss

Question 20

what to mention examples x2

Answer 20

atrocities eg nagasaki or the holocause

Question 21

what does the EPOE do basically

Answer 21

challenges why the magnitude of evil is so great. and how a loving and powerful god could allow evil on such a grand scale

Question 22

rowe quote main

Answer 22

“unecessary and pointless evil”

Question 23

rowe examples x2

Answer 23

fawn dying in forest fire = silent, no purpose
5 year old girl beaten and raped

Question 24

who and what does Mill reference

Answer 24

Darwins Ichneumonidae wasps - who eat caterpillars slowly from the inside out
=> how beings in our universe were seemingly created to impart suffering or suffer

Question 25

Irenaeus main ideas 2.5

Answer 25

Spiritual maturity freedom to choose (humans chose evil tho)

Question 26

how is irenaeus nuanced in his perspective

Answer 26

he admits that God is partly responsible for evil as he created a situation where evil was possible. BUT it is humans who choose it

Question 27

irenaeus spiritual maturity

Answer 27

genesis 1:26 "let us make man in our image" god's image made humans have intelligence, morality but we lack completion this can only be attained through **transformation** into god's likeness (Anne Jordan) => suffering develops humanity

Question 28

who coined the term "vale of soul-making"

Answer 28

Keats

Question 29

what did Keats say

Answer 29

"vale of soul-making"

Question 30

what aspect hinges on irenaeus' views

Answer 30

for us to develop, this must be out of free will "willing cooperation of human individuals" it could not be bestowed but has to be developed.

Question 31

irenaeus other argument (contrast arg) quote

Answer 31

"how, if we had no knowledge of the contrary, could we have instruction in that which is good?"

Question 32

irenaeus eschatological justification

Answer 32

The soul-making process continues after death if not completed in this life All humans will eventually achieve perfection and be admitted to the kingdom of God In the final state, there will be no more evil, as its purpose in facilitating human development will have been fulfilled. => HE WANTS UNIVERSAL SALVATION

Question 33

Hick book

Answer 33

his theodicy : Evil and the God of Love

Question 34

how does hick develop upon irenaeus

Answer 34

counter-factual hypothesis if God created a utopia, we would be like **"automatons"** without real choice

Question 35

where does Vardy chime in

Answer 35

he offers the example of the King and the Peasant girl a king could easily force a peasant girl to marry him, but their union would be much more meaningful if their love was genuine.

Question 36

Hick main two phrases and explain

Answer 36

- epistemic distance for humans to be geniunely free, they needed to be created at an epistemic distance from God. - religiously ambiguous as a result, the world is religiously ambiguous, means different people can look at the world and find different religious conclusions => if God was a present, clear creator, we would not be truly free to choose god.

Question 37

Hick example for religiously ambiguous and epistemic distance

Answer 37

in his story of the road to the celestial city

Question 38

how does hick develop on irenaeus' eschatological justification

Answer 38

he is a universalist, all people will be transformed by the love of god, whether in this life or the next.

Question 39

what is the counter-factual hypothesis

Answer 39

claims that a static, utopian world where there is no moral consequences to our action would not licit moral growth. we would be like **automatons**, our love would be valueless.

Question 40

what is a weakness of hick's universal salvation

Answer 40

it isnt a meritocracy

Question 41

swinburne input into POE

Answer 41

contrast argument natural evils are logically necessary for people to know how to create evil or prevent it essentially you need to know evil to do good

Question 42

swinburne main quote x2 and book

Answer 42

God should not make a **"toy world"** **"he'd be like the over-protective parent"** book - The Existence of God

Question 43

augustine on POE reasoning w quote

Answer 43

Evil exists because we created it and deserve it. **“Evil is either sin or punishment for sin”.** Adam and Eve created original sin – a corruption in human nature giving us an irresistible temptation to sin (moral evil) – which was created by Adam and Eve’s sin against God. They were also forced to live in a fallen world which is full of evil, as punishment. Evil is ‘privatio boni’ – an absence of good. Evil doesn’t actually exist, Augustine says it is like blindness – not a thing in itself, just the absence of sight. Evil is merely the result of our falling away from God’s goodness.

Question 44

irenaeus book

Answer 44

Against Heresies