the problem of evil - as philosophy notes

7/23/2019 The Problem of Evil - AS Philosophy Notes

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The Problem of Evil

The Existence of Evil

• Evil is something which aects everyone, and is a problem for all. It leads

to pain, suering and death in many cases. Does the existence of evildisprove the existence of the hristian oncept of a loving, caring !od"

• #oral Evil is the evil which is caused by $uman %eings through free will

allowing them do the action in &uestion. This applies only to acts done by

humans ' for example if a man stabbed someone, this would be an act of

#oral Evil because he chose to do it( a lion mauling somebody would still

be an evil act but it would not be one which is #oral because )ions cannot

thin* rationally li*e humans.

• +atural Evil is the evil of events which have been experienced by humans.

n example would be a hurricane ' it causes a lot of suering but it is not

caused by free choice, it is simply caused by the way nature wor*s.

• The problem with evil is whether an -mnipotent, %enevolent !od can exist

while Evil exists. Either !od is !ood, but is not all powerful and hence

cannot stop evil, !od is ll Powerful, but is not !ood because he allows

Evil to exist or, !od is !ood and !od is -mnipotent, and hence evil

doesnt exist. -bviously evil exists so numerous hristian Philosophers

have sought answers to how !od can still exist with these problems.

ugustinian Theodicy

• ugustines Theodicy is based around the creation stories in !enesis.

•/If god is good, -mnipotent and he created the world, why does Evilexist"/

• ugustine considers Evil not to be a substance or thing, but a privation ' a

lac* of a &uality something should have.

• ugustine re0ects the idea that evil is a force or power because this would

mean there was a rival to !od which goes against traditional hristian

views.

• $ence, ugustine says that evil caused by $umans is simply a lac* of

!oodness. It is a failure to be what is expected of a human which causes

#oral Evil.

•

ugustine then says that /Evil omes from !od./ %ecause Evil is aprivation, a lac* of something, and !od created everything, then !od is

responsible for creation, and allows humans to have 1ree 2ill.

• !od allowed $umans to have free will in the !arden of Eden ' paradise

in a state of harmony. ll of !ods creation is good. $owever, dam and

Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree of 3nowledge of !ood and Evil. They

chose, with their free will to cause evil. ugustine said that this applied not

only to humans but to ngels, purely spiritual beings, and those which

disobeyed !od caused +atural Evil.

• ugustine argues that allowing Evil in the 2orld is a price worth paying for

free choices. If there was no free will, it would remove the !ood choices



which people could ma*e, such as bringing 4oy, happiness or hope. -n the

other hand it allows murder, rape and theft.

• 2hen considering the universe in its totality, the contrast between the

negative things and the good things highlights the beauty of !oodness.

This is *nown as the aesthetic principle.

5trengths

• That evil comes from free will 6ts with what we see around us, at least

with #oral Evil.

riticisms

• Plausibility ' ugustine based his views on the !enesis story which he too*

literally. $e also believed in ngels, for which there is no evidence, andtherefore many people would feel that this theodicy is implausible to

#odern People. -n the other hand, some modern Philosophers such as

7ichard 5winburne strongly defend the idea that evil arises from the

misuse of free will.

• 5cience ' The theodicy wor*s from a perfect world which was then spoiled

by human actions. $owever the 6ndings by !eologists show the world was

developed over about 8 billion years to how it is now, and %iological

6ndings show that life also developed slowly through +atural 5election.

Therefore the idea of a perfect world then spoilt by evil cannot be ta*en as

a literal fact.

• The concept of evil being a privation which is not part of !ods reation is

illogical. !od could have created more goodness to 6ll the privation if he

was all powerful.

• This understanding of evil doesnt really give solace to people suering.

• Evil appears from nowhere in the case of natural evil.

• hristians uncomfortable with thin*ing about +atural Disasters. ugustine

argued for a !od which is responsible for all, and that suering is

punishment for the sin of humanity. This does not 6t in with a merciful and

*ind !od.

Iranaean theodicy

• 1ocused on !enesis 9. /Then !od said, nd now we will ma*e human

beings( they will be li*e us and resemble us/ :!enesis 9;<=>

• Irenaeus too* )i*e us, to mean that !od made humanity with

intelligence, morality and personality.

• $e too* resemble us to mean that peoples souls grow until they

resembled the nature of !od. $ence, since humanity needs to develop,

originally the 6rst humans were immature.

• Iranaeus believed !od gave us free will because we learn about right and

wrong through our own mista*es in life. 5ince free will is having a choicebetween !ood and Evil, Evil must exist to allow us to exercise it.



• 1ree will is an essential part of humanity, and if !od removed evil from the

world, he would also reduce us to mere puppets.

• There is an epistemic distance between !od and people so that we can

choose freely to develop a relationship with !od. ll will grow into the

li*eness of !od but this will not be in a physical life.

5trengths of the Irenaean theodicy

• !ives an explanation for both #oral and +atural Evil

• The end 0usti6es the means.

• The concept of humans growing progressively better 6ts in with that of

evolution.

2ea*nesses of the Iranaean Theodicy

• $ow much suering is needed to teach a lesson" 5ome people would say

that the amount of suering is not needed.• 5ome people suer much worse than others. $ow could a loving !od

single these people out"

• 2ould a loving !od use evil at all"

• 2hy didnt !od create humans to be morally perfect.

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