the Free Will Defence augustine theodicy Flashcards
basics-key idea
god- god he creator is omnipotent and all good
harmonious creation- creation is good and in the beginning was harmonious
hierarchy of beings- god, realm of angels, human world, natural world
privation- evil is a privation or lack of goodness in something
the fall- angels and humans beings fall through their own free choice and giving in to temptation. sin enters the world through Adam and eve.
natural evil- disharmony in the world follow the fall of angels leading to natural evil
free will- free will is valuable so god sustains a world with in which moral and natural evil occurs
aesthetic value- the existence of evil highlights the goodness of creation because of the contrast between good and evil.
basics of augustines theodicy
influenced by the creation stories, takes the genesis story as a literal account of the origins of the world.
god had created a perfect world, giving some creatures free will but these agents used other free will to do evil so for Augustine evil is there consequence of a greater good namely free will.
criticism- JL mackie argues that free will defence fails
p1 it is loigcally possible for an omnipotent god to have created a universe in which we still have free will but we always chose to do good
p2 this alternative universe would be even better than the one we live in (which has so much pain and suffering in it)
p3 bvut this alternative universe does not exist
conc therefore either god is not omnipotent or god is not supremely good
free will (metaphysical freedom)
the capcity to choose an action or refrain from taking an action
causal determinism
future events such as our actions are caused by and are an inevitable consequence of past events conditions and physical laws.
free will defence of how god and evil are compatible
p1 god (omnipotent omniscient supremely good) can create significantly free agents but he cant cause them to do what is morally right
p2 a world with significant free agents contains a greater good than a world containing no significant free creatures at all
conc 1 therefore god created a world in which there exists significantly free agents capable of doing both what is morally right an what is morally evil
conc2 therefore the existence of an omnipotent omniscient supremely good god is compatible with the existence of evil
free will defence- the existence of god is compatible with the existence of evil
god’s power to create a universe with moral good but without moral evil
god power is limited- god cant create a world in which human have genuine free will but in which we are always caused to do what is right. humans are significant free only if they are capable of doing both moral good and moral evil.
god is supremely good and wanted to create a world with creatures with significant freedom rather than human robots and omnipotent with the power to create such a world but that this doesn’t remove evil.
god could only remove evil by also removing a greater good human freedom.
criticism- explain moral evil but not natural evil
if plantinga is correct then the free will defence explains moral evil but not natural evil. plantinga has to fall back on Augustine argument which intrdocues satan as an agent to show that natural evil is not incompatible with god.
god the creator
augustine had a traditional view of god.
if god created the universe and continues to sustain it in existence for every moment of every day it means that if people commit acts of evil god is sustaining and keeping alive those very people while they do those acts.
privation and evil
god is responsible for evil in the world by defining evil as a privation
when we use words such as evil and bad we are saying that something does not meet our expectations of what by nature it should be like
badness and evil are about not living up to expectations somethings lacks a quality it should have.
Augustine rejects the idea that evil is a force or power opposed to god because this would mean that god had a rival and was not omnipotent which is not part of the traditional Christian belief about god.
absence and lack
absence- when an ability that is not expected is absent
if you cant walk- you lack the health you should have.
if you are mean- you lack the qualities of generosity and charity
example 1- concerns a privation which you are not to blame for- you didn’t choose to be in this state
example 2- concerns a privation that you are to be blamed for- you choose how you behave.
the origins of evil
Augustine’s thinking all evil (moral and natural) comes from moral choices.
Augustine uses the idea of free will.
evil comes from god ?
- god causes everything that exists
- evil is not a thing but something missing or lacking
so if a person is evil they lack qualities we expect to find in them
as a result- evil comes from god because god cause to exist and keeps in existence humans who have free will and human beings can become evil through their free choices.
no one can be totally and purely evil as to be evil you have a lack of goodness hence you had goodness to start with.
the garden of eden
god creates the garden of eden and the man from dust.
- creation is good
- human beings are made in the image and likeness of god
human beings are not just physical creatures but also spiritual, capable of rational though and this is a god-like quality.
the garden is in a state of harmony- there is no suffering.
suffering is disharmony
the fall
Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
eve is tempted by the serpent and uses her free will to choose to do what she is told not to do. Adam is then tempted by eve. Adam and eve choose not to be in harmony with god0 this is the first sin- original sin. once disharmony is introduced the original peaceful state of the garden cant be restored. Adam and Eve realise they are naked is a sign that there no longer in harmony with the natural world around them.
