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Evil and suffering Flashcards

1
Q

What are two types of evil that are evidence against the existence of God?

A

evil that is overwhelming in quantity and quality, and evil that is pointless

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2
Q

What are two types of evil that is overwhelming in quantity and quality?

A

Natural and moral evil

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3
Q

What is an example of natural evil?

A

The Great Dying

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4
Q

What is an example of moral evil?

A

Great, unspeakable cruelty towards children, as depicted in The Brothers Karamazov

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5
Q

What is an example of pointless evil?

A

suggest we suppose that in some distant forest, a lightening strike caused a forest fire. A fawn is trapped in the fire and lies in agony for several days before dying. It’s agony is pointless as it suffers alone with no human knowing so no eventual good comes from it. It neither preserves human free will nor builds character

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6
Q

What is Mackie’s FWD?

A
  • We can refer to happiness and pleasure as 1st order goods and unhappiness and pain 1st order evils
  • There are two reactions to a 1st order evil, we can show empathy in attempt to minimise their suffering or we can make their suffering worse through meanness and selfishness
  • Therefore these qualities are 2nd order goods and evils
  • Freedom is a 3rd order good as it gives us the ability to choose whether to put into place 1st and 2nd order goods and evils
  • God is therefore justified in allowing evil to exist as it permits the freedom to choose or reject the good, it teaches us to be morally responsible
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7
Q

How does Mackie reject the FWD as an explanation of the problem of evil?

A
  • It is logically possible for a person to make free, good choices all of the time
  • God could have created humans so that they would only make free, good choices
  • God did not do so
  • Therefore, god either lacks the power to do so
  • Or God is not loving enough to do so
  • Either way the FWD fails
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8
Q

How does Plantinga respond respond to Mackie?

A
  • Argues that it doesn’t work because it is logically impossible for God to create a world where people always make free, good choices
  • For a choice to be free there has to be options in the decision, there has to be the option to make bad choices to preserve freedom
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9
Q

What is Plantinga’s FWD?

A
  • Argues that God allows evil to exist for 2 Morally Sufficient Reasons (MoSuRs)
  • MoSuR 1 explains the logical problem of evil and MoSuR 2 explains natural evil
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10
Q

What is MoSuR1?

A
  • God could not eliminate much of the evil and suffering without eliminating the greater good of having persons with free will whom he can have relationships with and who are able to love one another
  • Eg, most mothers would allow the small pain of a needle to inflicted on their child because the pain brings the greater good of immunisation against disease
  • Agrees with a libertarian view of determinism: that it is false
  • According to Plantinga, this type of libertarian free will is morally significant because people are morally responsible for their own actions
  • Consider these three possible worlds that God could have created: PW1, PW2 and PW3
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11
Q

What is PW1?

A

God creates people will morally significant free will. God doesn’t causally determine people in every situation to choose what is right and avoid what is wrong. There is evil and suffering

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12
Q

What is PW2?

A

God doesn’t create people with morally significant free will. God causally determines people to always make the right decisions. There is no evil and suffering

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13
Q

What is PW3?

A

God creates people with morally significant free will. God causally determines people so they always make the right decision. There is no evil and suffering

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14
Q

What is MoSuR 2?

A
  • God allowed natural evil to enter the world as part of Adam and Eve’s punishment for original sin
  • This is ludicrous, it is unscientific and relies on the mythological narrative of Adam and Eve
  • But, however unlikely, it is logically possible that natural evil was created or allowed by God because of human sin the the Garden of Eden
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15
Q

What are the strengths of the FWD?

A
  • Plantinga’s account of the FWD shows that both his MoSuR 1 and 2 are logically possible, so he refutes Mackie
  • Plantinga is right to insist that PW3 is logically impossible, even the omnipotent can’t perform the logically impossible
  • Can even explain natural evil, as it can bring about 2nd order goods such as empathy and kindness
  • Establishes an important principle that a world with free creatures is more valuable than a world without them. Without freedom there is no real achievement or happiness
  • Humans value the risk of pain, for some where there is no risk there is no enjoyment
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16
Q

What are the weaknesses of the FWD?

A
  • Although MoSuR 1 and 2 show that the FWD is logically coherent, this doesn’t mean that it is true. MoSuR 2 elevates a mythical story to the status of a philosophical argument, which it is not
  • Relies on a libertarian account of free will. This account can’t be proved, it can only be assumed
  • No convincing response to evidential problem. Freedom is not worth its price tag. If God is omniscient and therefore know the extent of evil that would occur, why did he bother to create at all
17
Q

What are the strengths of Hick’s soul making theodicy?

A
  • View of the epistemic distance can justify any form of evil because his thesis is that in the end heaven for all, justifies the means
  • Argument that it is justified for soul making is powerful, we cannot develop without a challenge and suffering develops character
  • The doctrine of hell contributed the the logical problem of evil. If God sent you there, he may be just, but he is definitely not loving. The process of getting to heaven is not a scramble but a process of becoming worthy of heaven
  • Incorporates evolution as the first stage of development, so it fits generally with scientific evidence
18
Q

What are the weaknesses of Hick’s soul making theodicy?

A
  • The appeal to the epistemic distance to justify animal suffering fails, since there appears to be no benefit to the animals themselves. Hick also accepts evolution, which classifies man as an animal, so what separates us from other animals?
  • In Hick’s theodicy, the end does not justify the means. This contract of heaven in return for suffering is not agreed by anyone, so is God morally justified in allowing evil for this reason, without the consent of those it is being inflicted on? Also the extent of evil doesn’t seem proportionate to the promise of heaven
  • If there is universal salvation, what is the point of the crucifixion?
19
Q

What did St Irenaeus believe about evil?

A
  • In the Irenaeun tradition, humans did note fall from perfection (as Augustine believes) but were created as imperfect beings who had the capacity to become children of God
20
Q

How does Hick link Christian teachings to that of St Irenaeus?

A
  • Hick extends this metaphor of humans being ‘children of God’ to relate to Christian teachings about God being the Father
  • Parental treatment doesn’t mean shielding children from all unpleasant things, but helping them to grow and develop when faced with these things
  • Hick argues this is the role of God and of evil
21
Q

What are the strengths of Process Theology?

A
  • Sense of realism about what God can do. Realistic conclusion to the logical problem of evil
  • Quantum mechanics supports his argument that the creation of the universe was not from nothing
  • The fact that God suffers because he contains the entire sensory experience of the universe means that believers who suffer know that God understands
22
Q

What are the weaknesses of process theology?

A
  • John Roth argues that the Process God’s lack of omnipotence makes him not worthy of worship
  • The evidential problem of evil is still not solved. Griffin argues that despite evil it is till worth having the universe, some people may not agree with this. Even if the Process God is not omnipotent if he saw his persuasion of the universe creating more and more evil, why did he not just stop? Why did he start a process he could not control?
  • No guarantee that God will succeed over evil, therefore, Process Theology suggests that there is an element of risk to God’s strategy, so why not just give in and allow evil to take over?

Rs (15 decks)

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