logical problem of evil and suffering Flashcards
types of evil, Epicurus, Mackie, inconsistent triad (27 cards)
what are the two types of evil?
moral and natural
what is moral evil
suffering brought about by the actions of a free will agent who could have chosen to do good e.g the Holocaust, rape, slavery, discrimination, murder
what is natural evil?
evil caused by the means of a force outside of the control of free will agents e.g earthquakes, crop failure, extreme weather, tsunamis
who is the thinker for the classical logical problem of evil?
Epicurus
what did Epicurus say about the classical logical problem of evil?
“If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?”
Who is associated with the modern logical problem of evil?
Mackie
Who discussed the inconsistent triad?
Mackie
What is the inconsistent triad?
3 contradictory statements that cannot exist simultaneously:
- God is omnipotent - if God can remove evil, why does it exist?
- God is omnibenevolent - if God loves us then he would want to remove evil so why does it exist?
- Evil exists
What are the solutions to the inconsistent triad?
- remove God’s omnipotence
- remove God’s omnibenevolence
- deny evil exists
- deny God exists
Arguments for removing God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad
God does not have the power to remove evil
- Zoroastrianism - good and evil battle against each other
- Griffin - “if cancerous cells develop in your body, God cannot lure them away voluntarily”
- Bell Burnell - “if we relax the view that God is in control of the universe, the problem goes away”
- Whitehead - God is part of the universe and was responsible for stating the evolutionary process but as part of the universe, he does not have sufficient power to reduce evil - ‘the fellow sufferer who understands’
Which religion features a battle between good and evil?
Zoroastrianism
What does Griffin say about removing God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad?
“if cancerous cells develop in your body, God cannot lure them away voluntarily”
What does Bell Burnell say about removing God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad?
“if we relax the view that God is in control of the universe, the problem goes away”
What does Whitehead say about removing God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad?
God is part of the universe and was responsible for stating the evolutionary process but as part of the universe, he does not have sufficient power to reduce evil - ‘the fellow sufferer who understands’
3 thinkers who suggest that we can remove God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad
Bell Burnell, Whitehead, Griffin
What are the problems with removing God’s omnipotence to solve the inconsistent triad?
- it does not satisfy believers who believe God created teh universe ex nihlo
- this is not how God is portrayed in the Bible
- brings up questions such as “will good overcome evil?” “was Jesus’ sacrifice enough?”
arguments for removing God’s omnibenevolence
- God is not loving
- God does not care about our suffering / likes it
- Jews put God on trial during the Holocaust
- God’s love is not like that of humans
what is the problem with saying that God’s love is not like that of humans? + relevant thinker
This qualifies God’s love rather than explaining why he does not help us - Flew
give an example of God’s omnibenevolence being questioned
Jews put God on trial during the Holocaust
what are the problems with removing God’s omnipotence?
- Omnibenevolence is a fundamental characteristic of the God of classical theism
- Clashes with how God is portrayed in the Bible
Arguments for denying that evil exists?
- our perception may be at fault, not God
- suffering has a purpose from God’s perspective that we do not understand
- toddler reaches for a hot pan and feels upset that their parent smacked their hand away as they do not understand that the pan is hot whilst the parent does
- Aquinas - our understanding of goodness may be different from God’s understanding - our understanding changes through cultures and times but God’s does not
what does Aquinas say about our understanding of goodness being different from God’s?
our understanding of goodness may be different from God’s understanding - our understanding changes through cultures and times but God’s does not
Give an example of someone believing an act to be cruel when it is actually good
toddler reaches for a hot pan and feels upset that their parent smacked their hand away as they do not understand that the pan is hot whilst the parent does
Problems with denying evil exists
Hume - the effects of evil are felt too widely
