Metaphysics of god - problem of evil

Question 1

what are the two types of evil

Answer 1

moral evil - evil acts done by people e.g torture, murder
natural evil - suffering due to natural processes e.g eathquakes, tornados

Question 1

what are the two ways problem of evil can be divided

Answer 1

-logical problem of evil says the existence of god is logically impossible due to existence of evil in the world
-evidental problem of evil says its possible that god exists but the amount and way evil is distributed is strong evidence that he doesnt exist

Question 2

whats j.l mackie’s inconsistent triad

Answer 2

its logically impossible for all three of following claims to be true simultaneously - an omnipotent god exists, an omnibenevolent god exists, evil exists.

Question 3

how does the inconsistent triad disprove of gods existence

Answer 3

logically only a max of two of the inconsistent triad can exist - if god is omnibenevolent then hed want to stop evil, if hes omnipotent, then hes powerful enough to stop evil, implying evil wouldnt exist because if god could and wanted to, hed get rid of evil, but obviously evil does exist so therefore theres no omnibenevolent,potent being so therefore god doesnt exist

Question 4

whats a theodicy

Answer 4

an explaination of why an omnipotent and omnibenevolent god would permit evil

Question 5

responses - whats plantinga’s solution to logical problem of evil

Answer 5

we dont need a plausible theodicy to defeat logical problem of evil, instead we need to show that the existence of evil isnt logically inconsistent with an omnipotent,benevolent god

Question 6

responses to the logical problem of evil - whats plantingas free will defence

Answer 6

a being thats significantly free is one thats able to do or not do morally significant actions
so the only way god could rid of evil would be to rid of significantly free beings
but a world that consists of significantly free beings is more good than a world that does not
so an omnipotent,benevolent god would allow evil for the greater good of freedom

Question 7

plantingas free will defence - why is a world of significantly free beings more moral

Answer 7

free will is inherently good and so if god created a world where beings could only choose to do morally good it would be less moral than if god gave beings significant free will - positives of free will outweigh the negatives of people using that free will to do evil things

Question 8

whats the natural evil problem of plantinga’s argument

Answer 8

explains how an omnip/b god would allow moral evil but not natural evil - innocent people are killed in natural distasters like hurricanes, which doesnt seem like the result of free will as we dont choose to have these disasters, they happen on their own. so why does god allow these evils to exist as well?

Question 9

how does plantinga respond to the problem of natural evil

Answer 9

its possible that natural evils are the result of non-natural things such as satan, fallen angels, etc, making natural evil a form of moral evil. this may not seem plausible, but its logically possible

Question 10

whats the evidental problem of evil

Answer 10

posteriori argument arguing that the amount and distribution of evil in the world provides good evidence that god doesnt exist. examples of pointless or disproportionate suffering e.g a deer burning in a forest fire taking days to die in extreme pain, many evil people get to live long happy lives. even if we accept god would allow some evil, we can ask if an omnib/p god allow so much evil and to people so undeserving of it?

Question 11

responses to the evidental problem of evil - whats soul making (john hick)

Answer 11

humans are unfinished being and a part of our purpose in life is to develop ethically and spiritually. this development is soul making

Question 12

responses to the evidental problem of evil - why do we need evil according to john hick (virtues)

Answer 12

we need certain evils to develop virtues in response to these evils. if god just gave us these virtues in the first place, then hick argues they wouldnt be as good in a richer and more valuable sense than virtues aquired through hard work and discipline. there are also some genuine virtues e.g authentic love of god that cant be given as if god made us love him, wed have no free will to and the love wouldnt be genuine

Question 13

john hick - why does god allow the amount/distribution of evil

Answer 13

theyre necessary to develop the virtues needed for soul making

Question 14

john hick - why does god allow animals to suffer

Answer 14

if animals cant develop like we can, why make them suffer? hick says god wanted to create a world where his existence could be doubted - if he proved he existed, we wouldnt be free to develop relationships with him

Question 15

john hick - why does god allow terrible evils

Answer 15

its impossible for god to rid of terrible evil and just leave ordinary evil - terrible evils are only terrible in contrast to ordinary evils. if we rid of terrible evils, then ordinary evils would just become them. if god kept ridding terrible evils, it would also reduce free will and therefore reduce development of our personal/spiritual virtues

Question 16

john hick - why does god allow pointless evils

Answer 16

considering pointless evils e.g anonymously dying trying to save someone. mostly remain a mystery however hick argues if everytime we saw suffering we could see that its for a higher purpose, then wed be able to develop virtues such as sympathy