Types of evil

Question 1

How did Hick define evil and suffering?

Answer 1

‘Physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness. The last is the cause of the first two’

Question 2

What is non-moral evil?

Answer 2

The apparent malfunctioning of the natural world

Question 3

How did hick define non-moral evil?

Answer 3

Natural evil is that which originates independently of human actions

Question 4

Give three examples of non-moral evil

Answer 4

• Volcanoes
• Hurricanes
• Disease

Question 5

What is moral evil?

Answer 5

Evil that is the result of human actions that are morally wrong

Question 6

Give three examples of moral evil

Answer 6

• War
• Cruelty
• Murder

Question 7

How did Richard Swinburne define moral evil?

Answer 7

‘Moral evil I understand as evil caused deliberately by humans doing what they ought not to do, or allowed to occur by humans negligently failing what they ought to do

Question 8

What is the main issue with classifying evil as either moral or non-moral?

Answer 8

Some suffering may contain elements of both types

Question 9

What are the 4 different responses to the question of evil?

Answer 9

• There is no evil
• There is no God
• Our view of evil is distorted
• Evil brings about ultimately higher ends

Question 10

What is monism and why is this a challenge to the idea of evil?

Answer 10

Monism is the belief that the universe is a single harmonious entity that is good, meaning evil is a mere illusion in our minds

Question 11

Explain the idea that evil is just an illusion

Answer 11

Evil causes a feeling of suffering only because we cannot see the full picture. If we could see the whole picture we would realise that evil is just an illusion

Question 12

How did Spinoza believe we should look at evil?

Answer 12

He believed we should look at the apparent evil in the world more objectively without putting ourselves first

Question 13

Give a quote from Spinoza which summarises his view that evil is just an illusion

Answer 13

‘All things are necessarily what they are, and in nature there is no good and no evil’

Question 14

List the three main issues with the idea that evil is just an illusion

Answer 14

• Many people have experienced evil
• If evil is just an illusion then why should we try to avoid it?
• Why would an omnibenevolent God allow people to suffer because of an illusion

Question 15

What do many atheists use the existence of evil as evidence for?

Answer 15

The idea that God does not exist

Question 16

Give a quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson that points towards the idea that evil is evident in the world around us

Answer 16

‘Nature is red in tooth and claw’

Question 17

Give a quote from Iris Murdoch that points towards the idea that the existence of evil and the existence of God are irreconcilable

Answer 17

‘I cannot imagine an omnipotent sentient being sufficiently cruel to create the world we inhabit’

Question 18

What do Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies believe about evil?

Answer 18

The believe that evil is an illusion brought about by greed and selfishness (ego)

Question 19

What do Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies believe about karma?

Answer 19

That it dictates suffering in future lives

Question 20

What do Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies believe about the root of evil and suffering?

Answer 20

They think it is not from God and is instead the result of human actions

Question 21

What do Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies believe about how evil and suffering can be overcome?

Answer 21

By achieving good karma as a result of becoming more detached from the world

Question 22

What do monotheistic religions tend to believe about evil?

Answer 22

For them there is no suggestion that evil is just an illusion of the mind. Scriptures tell of an entirely real evil that should not be underestimated

Question 23

Give three key examples of the existence of evil and suffering in the Bible

Answer 23

• The book of Job
• The ministry and crucifixion of Jesus
• Psalms 69 (1-3)