The problem of evil is not solved because it makes us question gods omnipotence as well as the meaning of omnipotent. How does he refute the personalist school solution. On evil by adam morton, 2004 online research library. Solutions 1 and 2 each contend that evil is necessary for good. This is perhaps one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion, and is of perennial interest to philosophers and theologians. Although he admits that these solutions work up to a point, mackie describes them as halfhearted because, he argues, they dont take the idea of evil seriously enough. On evil is a compelling and at times disturbing tour of the many faces of evil. The problem of evil these notes combine material from my published books with notes provided for students during lectures. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. Omnipotence and omnibenevolence are contradictory divine attributes omnipotence from phi 110rs at saint leo university. I had to read this book for a philosophy class entitled the meaning of evil.
Jun, 20 an account of the problem of evil and a consideration of the various objections to the problem. Essay prizes, the problem of evil, and philosophy of religion. For those who lean toward the naturalistic bent i hope you may give the christian concepts of good and evil a look. Omnipotence and omnibenevolence are contradictory divine. The evidential argument from evil by nicholas tattersall. The problem of evil is an ideal introduction to contemporary debates over one of the most gripping perennial questions. Mackie discusses some fallacious solutions, numbered 1 to 4 in the text. In the chapter rebellion in dostoyevskys the brothers karamazov, ivan challenges alyoshas faith in god by pointing to various horribly evil things that have been done to innocent children.
The problem of evil by daniel speak overdrive rakuten. The theist would thereby be providing a solution to a problem of evil which is quite different from ours. Mackie has proposed the fallacious solutions of the problem. His discussion of each is intended to make clear the reasons for which they fail to address the real problem. The logical problem of evil keith burgessjackson 15 november. Some people choose not to believe in the omnipotence of god. Although he admits that these solutions work up to a point, mackie describes them as halfhearted because, he argues, they dont take the idea of evil seriously eno. The author writes clearly about a problem that has been covered in numerous ways and still manages to have something new to say in regard to the problem. You may freely use them for your personal study and copy them for the use of other students, but they should not be copied or distrubuted commercially.
This is among the most stimulating books on the problem evil that i have run across. On what ground does he refute the christian science solution to the problem of evil. Chung phi 2011 2 march 2006 the problem of evil to some evil is necessary for. A common objection from theists to the problem of evil, an idea dating back at least as far as ancient greece, is the free will defence.
Whether any of these views is true is, of course, another question. Thomas argues, god is thought of as the necessary being, and his existence is necessary for without him, everything wouldnt have existed, it is called. Lewis the problem of pain and norman geislers if god, why evil. The distinction of first and second order goods and evils. Indeed, a theist could parry the problem by distinguishing between knowledge and belief, and, thus, claim that his belief in an omnipotent and benevolent god need not be known to have an instantiation. For centuries, atheists argued that an allloving, allpowerful god is logically incompatible with the existence of evil, and thus the existence of evil provided a knockdown argument against god. Many have agreed with pope that disorder is harmony not understood, and that partial evil is universal good.
The problem of evil conclusion reasons for the hope blog. But each of them gives an adequate solution of the problem of evil. Mackies evil and omnipotence essay 1652 words bartleby. If god were allknowing, it seems that god would know about all of the horrible things that happen in our world. Mackie calls a solution of this sort an adequate solution. Mackie wrote a very convincing piece on the problem of evil called evil and omnipotence, in which he attempts to show that one of the following premises must be false in order for them to be consistent with each other. According to hick, what is the most powerful positive objection to the belief in god. Mackie argued that theism can be disproved like so. If you are prepared to say that god is not who lly good 3, or not quite omnipotent 2, or that evil does not exist 4, or that good is not opposed to the kind of evil that exists 5, or that there are limits to what an omnipotent thing can do 6, then the problem of evil will. That believers should deny that god is omnipotent or omnibenevolent the following are considered fallacious arguments regarding the existence of evil according to mackie, except. There are, then, quite a num ber of adequate solutions of th e problem of evil, an d som e of these have been adopted, or almost adopted, by various thinkers. You can dismiss the support request pop up for 4 weeks 28 days if you want to be reminded again. The quote supports the authors conclusion by giving one of the possible solutions to the problem of evil that does not work because it challenges gods omnipotence. Gods omnipotence is challenged with the solutions to evil.
Read either on its own or alongside the primary materials it deftly covers, students and scholars will find this volume a terrific resource for understanding the challenges to religious belief raised by evil. He states that if one accepts that evil exists, then he or she cannot accept that god is both omnipotent and morally perfect. Wright, in evil and the justice of god, says that the problem of evil is just that evil is bad, and something needs to be done about it. This volume fills that need, offering the most up to date collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. L mackies adequate solution to the problem of evil that believers should make can be expressed in this statement. An adequate solution to the problem of evil is a change in the fundamental definition of either good, evil, or god.
They are adequate because they avoid the logical problem of evil. What is evil, and what makes people do awful things. Read this philosophy essay and over 89,000 other research documents. Sep 12, 2009 thus the problem of evil is reduced to the theodicity that this is the best of all possible worlds a quiteliterally ridiculous statement, but not a selfcontradicting one. But each of them gives an adequate solution of the problem of evil in the sense that if you. But the theist is not prepared to affirm any of those things. In this class, we used this book as a guide for writing our final paper and analyzing key concepts and cultural ideas around the idea that evil is not only a moral issue but can be a social, personal,theological, cultural, political ones as well. The standard form of this argument was provided by j. In section a, mackie outlines the adequate solutions offered by some religious thinkers. Evil has long fascinated psychologists, philosophers, novelists and playwrights but remains an incredibly difficult concept to talk about.
Mackie says that a solution to this problem of evil is to either believe that god is not omnipotent, god is not absolutely good, or believe that evil is only an illusion. Problem of evil proves belief in god irrational not just nonrational a. Nov 08, 1990 the problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. These solutions claim to show that i doesnt contradict ii, but mackie says they either give up on gods omnipotence or interpret good and evil in a way that leaves the problem unresolved.
Logical problem of evil internet encyclopedia of philosophy. In general, a solution of this kind seems to require some level n such that there are n th level goods, there are not n th level evils, and the n th level goods are important enough to justify all of the m th level evils, for any m mackie. The existence of evil and suffering in our world seems to pose a serious challenge to belief in the existence of a perfect god. Mackie and rowe on the problem of evil to summarize both mackie and rowes presentation of the problem of evil, with my own thoughts and reflections, if we consider certain summary statements about god are true, that god is all good, allpowerful, and all knowing, and if evil exists in the world, then we have to wrestle with the problem of evil. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Mackie on the problem of evil university of notre dame. Aug 18, 2012 i hope in some small way i have at least gotten my readers to think about the problem of evil. May 02, 2012 others think that philosophical reflection on the problem of evil diverts us from the more important task of addressing evil itself. Mackie that no valid solution to the problem of evil can be found unless one modifies one of the constituent propositions, yet i do not see these as affecting the essential core of the theistic position but instead better defining the theistic position. When problems are found with proofs for gods existence, believers can claim that god is known in some other, nonrational way. Youve probably heard it before, and just in case you. Mackie has proposed the fallacious solutions of the problem of evil and free will are one of them.