Soul-making vs the evidential problem on dysteleological evil

Question 1

Strength of soul-making vs the evidential problem

Answer 1

-evidence that encountering+overcoming evil develops persons character+virtue
-eg character development in literature
-when someone goes thru harsh struggles they become stronger+ compassionate

Question 2

weakness

Answer 2

the distribution of evil we observe in the world is decidedly not aligned with the soul-making requirements of those who suffer from it.

Question 3

Some evil is dysteleological (purposeless)

Answer 3

-no chance of leading to spirtual development
-eg child dies of cancer, too young to understand whats happening let alone learn from it
-animal suffering

Question 4

Some evil is soul breaking.

Answer 4

• destroys a person’s character rather than building it up and developing it.
• Some people are crushed into a depression or post-traumatic stress disorder when they experience evil.
• suggests that evil doesn’t have this positive purpose that Irenaeus & Hick try to claim.
• eg holocaust - dz phillips questioned wheret anyone in ‘right mind’ could say holocaust was justified bc some survived

Question 5

animal suffering

Answer 5

-form of dysteleological sufferin
-william rowe: fawn dying in forest fire
-evidence things happens but no one would be able to gain sympathy or compassion from them

Question 6

hicks defence

Phillips + the dysteleological evil point in general commits a straw man fallacy

Answer 6

-holocaust isnt justified by soul making but its that an imperfect world + free will which could perpetrate the holocaust is required for soul-making.
-if all natural+moral evil was collerated to soul making requirements. it would require perfect natural world+ gods intervention every time someone misused their free will- know gods controlling so close epistemic distnace

Hick’s defense is successful because the universe is indeed morally ambiguous.

Question 7

hick evaluation quote

Answer 7

-“my suggestion is not that each particular evil, least of all [the holocaust], produces its own specific ‘soul making’ benefit”

Question 8

Evaluation critiquing Hick

Answer 8

-his logic maybe valid so may solve POE
-but, there can be no evidence for epistemic distance
-its a logically possibility
-no evidential basis on which to justify belief in god
-evdential probblem remains