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Problem of Evil - Defences & Theodicies - Coggle Diagram
Problem of Evil - Defences & Theodicies
Types of evil
Moral - evil & suffering created by humans
Murder
Conflict
Rape
Natural - evil & suffering caused by the natural world
Earthquakes
Floods
Volcano eruptions
Metaphysical - evil & suffering caused by faults in existence itself
Famine
Lack of resources
Mortality
Free Will Defence
Presented by Alvin Plantinga (1932) & Richard Swinburne (1934)
Aims to solve the
logical
problem of evil
God has a fourth proposition, his
morally sufficient warrant
- this is his reason for allowing evil
Morally sufficient warrant = creating beings with morally significant free will
God's attributes require that he creates the best possible world
The best possible is one which contains beings with morally significant free will
This world is the best possible world, as it contains beings with morally significant free will
Morally significant free beings must be able to choose freely between morally different options: good and bad
God cannot determine what a morally significant free being will do - this would negate their free will. They must have the option to choose evil.
Evil and suffering is a result of the actions of free beings who have chosen evil rather than good, as free will wouldn't have value if we couldn't also have the option to choose evil
Problem of Evil
The Problem of Evil aims to solve how God can allow evil and suffering to exist, if he is omnipotent, omniscient, & omnibenevolent
Types of the Problem of Evil
Evidential Problem of Evil
Presented by William Rowe - presents the example of the fawn:
the fawn gets burnt in a forest fire but suffers greatly from its burns for a long period of time before dying.
Tries to demonstrate that, if we weigh up the evidence, it is against God's existence, due to the unjustifiable quantity & quality of evil & suffering in the world
Logical Problem of Evil
Tries to demonstrate that there is a logical contradiction in theistic belief
Presented by John Mackie, David Hume