Problem of evil

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The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God.[1][2][3] There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. It was popularized by David Hume.

Besides the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is also important to the fields of theology and ethics. There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics,[4][5][6] and evolutionary ethics.[7][8] But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context.[2][3]

Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been in three types: refutations, defenses, and theodicies.

The problem of evil is generally formulated in two forms: the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil. The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in the coexistence of a god and evil,[2][9] while the evidential form tries to show that given the evil in the world, it is improbable that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and a wholly good god.[3] Concerning the evidential problem, many theodicies have been proposed. One accepted theodicy is to appeal to the strong account of the compensation theodicy. This view holds that the primary benefit of evils, in addition to their compensation in the afterlife, can reject the evidential problem of evil.[10] The problem of evil has been extended to non-human life forms, to include suffering of non-human animal species from natural evils and human cruelty against them.[11]

According to scholars, most philosophers see the logical problem of evil as having been fully rebutted by various defenses.[12][13][14]

  1. ^ Tuling, Kari H. (2020). "Part 1: Is God the Creator and Source of All Being – Including Evil?". In Tuling, Kari H. (ed.). Thinking about God: Jewish Views. JPS Essential Judaism Series. Lincoln and Philadelphia: University of Nebraska Press/Jewish Publication Society. pp. 3–64. doi:10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.5. ISBN 978-0-8276-1848-0. LCCN 2019042781. S2CID 241611417.
  2. ^ a b c The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "The Problem of Evil", Michael Tooley
  3. ^ a b c The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "The Evidential Problem of Evil", Nick Trakakis
  4. ^ Nicholas J. Rengger, Moral Evil and International Relations, in SAIS Review 25:1, Winter/Spring 2005, pp. 3–16
  5. ^ Peter Kivy, Melville's Billy and the Secular Problem of Evil: the Worm in the Bud, in The Monist (1980), 63
  6. ^ Kekes, John (1990). Facing Evil. Princeton: Princeton UP. ISBN 978-0-691-07370-5.
  7. ^ Timothy Anders, The Evolution of Evil (2000)
  8. ^ Becker, Lawrence C.; Becker, Charlotte B. (2013). Encyclopedia of Ethics. Routledge. pp. 147–149. ISBN 978-1-135-35096-3.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference IepLogical was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Mousavirad, Seyyed Jaaber (2 July 2022). "Theory of Compensation and Problem of Evil; a New Defense". European Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 14 (2). doi:10.24204/ejpr.2022.3357. ISSN 1689-8311.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference inwagenp120 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Meister, Chad (2009). Introducing Philosophy of Religion. Taylor & Francis. p. 134. ISBN 9781134141791.
  13. ^ Howard-Snyder, Daniel; O'Leary-Hawthorne, John (1998). "Transworld Sanctity and Plantinga's Free Will Defense". International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 44 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1023/A:1003210017171. ISSN 1572-8684.
  14. ^ Alston, William P. (1991). "The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition". Philosophical Perspectives. 5: 29–67. doi:10.2307/2214090. ISSN 1758-2245. JSTOR 2214090. S2CID 16744068.