The Problem of Evil: Swinburne's Theodicy and the Justification of God's Allowance of Evil, Study notes of German

Download The Problem of Evil: Swinburne's Theodicy and the Justification of God's Allowance of Evil and more Study notes German in PDF only on Docsity! The Problem of Evil Why would a good God create a world where bad things happen? The Theist’s Response •  “God has a plan ….” – Theism has many responses to the problem of evil. – But they all seem to involve, in some way, arguing that... •  What looks evil (to us) •  Isn’t really evil (if we knew everything that God knows). THE PROBLEM: The Problem of Evil: •  An all-powerful being would be able to prevent evil from happening in the world. •  An all-good being would want to prevent evil from happening in the world. •  Evil happens in the world. •  Therefore, it must not be the case that any being is both all-powerful and all-good. The Problem of Evil •  On most definitions, by “God” we mean a being that is all-good, all-powerful, and all- knowing. –  If so, then the existence of evil in the world provides evidence that there cannot be any such God, i.e., any being that is both all good and all powerful. Swinburne’s Theodicy [p. 106] •  Not pre-supposing the existence of God, but claiming that “if there is a God, it is to be expected that he would do certain things… •  “Of course thrills of pleasure and periods of contentment are good things,” but there are even greater things that God can give us, like responsibility for ourselves. •  “The problem is that God cannot give us these goods … without allowing much evil on the way.” Swinburne’s Theodicy •  The maximum amount of good that God can give us requires the existence of some evil. •  Does this call God’s being all-powerful into doubt? – Does (maximum) goodness logically require (some) evil, the way a valley requires a mountain? LACK OF TOTAL GOOD VS. PRESENCE OF REAL EVIL : The Glass is Half Empty … •  The problem of evil concerns not the lack of perfect goodness in the world –  (that “our glass is only half full”), •  but the presence of real badness –  (that there is “filth” in the water in our glass). •  Where does this “real badness” come from, if the world was created by an all-good God? Positive Evil •  It is only the existence in the world of “positive evil” that the theist must explain. – These explanations, recall, are called “theodicies.” •  Swinburne divides “positive badness” into to categories (and offers a different theodicy or explanation for each). They are: – Moral Evil, and – Natural Evil. MORAL EVIL VS. NATURAL EVIL: MORAL EVIL AND THE FREE WILL DEFENSE: The Free Will Defense (regarding moral evil) •  “…it is a great good that humans have a … free will …[called] free and responsible choice….” [p. 107] •  But this necessitates “the natural possibility of moral evil.” •  “It is not logically possible…that God could give us such free will and yet ensure that we always use it in the right way.” The Free Will Defense (regarding moral evil) •  “The possibility of humans bringing about significant evil is a logical consequence of their having this free and responsible choice. Not even God could give us this choice without the possibility of resulting evil.” – on this view, God does not create (moral) evil: •  we do. NATURAL EVIL: “Natural evil is not to be accounted for along the same lines as moral evil.” •  Natural Evil makes “… it possible for humans to have the kind of choice the free-will defense extols, and to make available to humans specially worthwhile kinds of choice.” Ways in which natural evil gives humans choices •  “…the operation of natural laws producing evils gives human knowledge … of how to bring about such evils themselves.” –  and how to prevent them. •  “… it makes possible certain kinds of [moral] action…” such as enduring suffering, showing compassion to the suffering of others, and showing courage.” Do Swinburne’s Views Deny the Existence of Evil? •  “Moral Evil” is caused by human freewill, not by God. – So, the “badness” humans cause is “outweighed” by the goodness of our having free will. •  “Natural Evil” is allowed by God because it is needed in order for us to achieve a greater amount of goodness. – So, again, it’s “badness” is outweighed by a greater goodness. Best of All Possible Worlds? •  German philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz, turned the whole “problem” on it’s head: –  There are many different ways that God could have created the world. –  Being all knowing, God foresaw everything that would ever happen in each of these (infinitely many) “possible worlds.” –  Being all good, the one God chose to create must have been the one with the maximum amount of goodness. –  So, it not only follows that there isn’t any real evil, but that we live in the best of all possible worlds! NATURAL EVIL: ANIMAL SUFFERING