The logical problem can be contrasted with the evidential problem of evil, which does not claim that just any evil would be inconsistent with God, but that the existence of the kind of terrible suffering which we know to exist gives good evidence for the conclusion that such a God does not exist. Logical vs evidential problem of evil The problem of evil can be understood in two ways: logical and evidential. The second version of the problem of evil applied to animals, and avoidable suffering experienced by them, is one caused by some human beings, such as from animal cruelty or when they are shot or slaughtered. Clipping is a handy way to collect important slides you want to go back to later. The debate in the recent literature about the problem of evil has shifted from preoccupation with the logical argument to an increased focus on the evidential argument. For example, someone who raises the problem of evil may be referring to the religious/emotional problem of evil, the logical problem of evil, the evidential problem of evil, moral evil, or natural evil, just to name a few. Logical problems of evil aim to show that belief in God is irrational. Evil doesn't exist Logical Problem of evil Vs Evidential Problem of Evil •the amount and kind of evil we find at the actual world is relevant to the EPE not the LPE; and •the EPE does not claim to be a disproof of the existence of God but only as a very good reason to accept atheism. problem of evil. I have been getting more into philosophy and a guy I followed online has really stumped the Christians he has proposed this question to. God uses evil for a greater good. The phrase “problem of evil” can be used to refer to a host of different dilemmas arising over the issue of God and evil. There is a difference between the Logical Problem of Evil (LPOE) and the Evidential Problem of Evil (EPOE). Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The survey included the question “If you could ask God only one question and you knew he would give you an answer, what would you ask?” The most common response, offered by 17% of those who could think of a question was “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?” (Strobel 2000, p. 29). Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. [25] The problem of evil in the context of animal suffering, states Almeida, can be stated as:[29][note 2], Theism that forgoes absolute omniscience, omnipotence, or omnibenevolence, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil. These tend to fall, however, into two main groups. I am sincerely grateful for your taking the time to consider what I wrote to you. Looks like you’ve clipped this slide to already. Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist. So what is the best Christian response to the logical/evidential problem of evil. This is called skeptical theism because the argument aims to encourage self-skepticism, either by trying to rationalize God’s possible hidden motives, or by trying t… If God lacks any one of these qualities—omniscience, omnipotence, or omnibenevolence—then the logical problem of evil can be resolved. The sufferings of millions of the lower animals throughout almost endless time’ are apparently irreconcilable with the existence of a Creator of ‘unbounded’ goodness. Journalist and best-selling author Lee Strobel commissioned George Barna, the public-opinion pollster, to conduct a nationwide survey. Evidential problem of evil Alternatively, rather than being formulated as a deductive argument for the very strong claim that it is logically impossible for both God and evil to exist, the argument from evil can instead be formulated as an evidential (or inductive/probabilistic) argument for the more modest claim that there are evils that actually exist in the world that make it unlikely—or … As an example, a critic of Plantinga’s idea of “a mighty nonhuman spirit” causing natural evils may concede that the existence of such a being is not logically impossible but argue that due to lacking scientific evidence for its existence this is very unlikely and thus it is an unconvincing explanation for the presence of natural evils. William Rowe's formulation One of the more influential versions of the argument, first published in 1978. [23] This is also referred to the Darwinian problem of evil,[24][25] after Charles Darwin who expressed it as follows:[26]. Necessarily, God can actualize an evolutionary perfect world. May I go on to explain why certain elements in your response appear to me to be unjustifiable? See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement for details. For example, in Rowe’s essay, he used the example of a suffering fawn. An omniscient, wholly good being would prevent the occurrence of any intense suffering it could, unless it could not do so without thereby losing some greater good or permitting some evil equally bad or worse. Skeptical theism defends the problem of evil by asserting that God allows an evil to happen in order to prevent a greater evil or to encourage a response that will lead to a greater good. (Therefore) There does not exist an omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good being. The problem of evil has also been extended beyond human suffering, to include suffering of animals from cruelty, disease and evil. Answered by Jonathan A. Afterwards, I will move on to refute the evidential version of the problem of evil via a three legged stool response; (1) Our cognitive limitations make it impossible to make a … Originating with Greek philosopher Epicurus,[20] the logical argument from evil is as follows: This argument is of the form modus tollens, and is logically valid: If its premises are true, the conclusion follows of necessity. Evidential problem of evil section. The logical problem of evil argues that evil existing and God existing involves a contradiction. Before delving into the deep and often murky waters of the problem of evil, it will be helpful to provide some philosophical background to this venerable subject. The "evidential problem of … Thus a rape or a murder of an innocent child is defended as having a God’s purpose that a human being may not comprehend, but which may lead to lesser evil or greater good. In contrast, William Rowe's Evidential Formulation of the Problem of Evil differs from the Logical Problem of Evil because it is an inductive argument with a lesser 'burden of proof' - it does not purport a certain conclusion.Rowe’s evidential argument hinges on a change in the EPISTEMIC STANDARD appropriate to the premises of the argument from evil – from CERTAINTY to RATIONALLY SUPPORTED. The term “God” is used with a wide variety of differentmeanings. I have been getting more into Logical/Evidential Problem of Evil (believers, elder, daughter, sin) - Christianity - - Page 13 - City-Data Forum Both absolute versions and relative versions of the evidential problems of evil are presented below. The logical problem of evil (including providence) involves mystery, requiring that Christians maintain doctrinal tensions in biblical proportion. Necessarily, God can actualize an evolutionary perfect world only if God does actualize an evolutionary perfect world. However, the existence of God is viewed as any other hypothesis. To show that the first premise is plausible, subsequent versions tend to expand on it, such as this modern example:[2]. Whereas the logical problem of evil argued that the mere existence of evil in the world proves God cannot exist, the evidential problem of evil argues that the amount of evil in the world is so great that it is highly improbable that a good God exists. The Logical Problem of Evil James Hall. James Hall 1,177 views. God is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good. Therefore, evidence prefers that no god, as commonly understood by theists, exists. An omniscient being knows every way in which evils can come into existence, and knows every way in which those evils could be prevented. An omnipotent being has the power to prevent that evil from coming into existence. On theone hand, there are metaphysical interpretations of the term: God isa prime mover, or a first cause, or a necessary being that has itsnecessity of itself, or the ground of being, or a being whos… If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. The evil of extensive animal suffering exists. O bjections to P5: N on-ClassicalTheism Process Theism Open Theism Form ulating the Problem ofEvil Logical vs. Evidential LogicalProblem ofEvil P1. If there exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God, then no evil exists. The logical problem of evil explains that the existence of evil is not consistent with the existence of a God. They attempt to show that the assumed propositions lead to a logical contradiction and therefore cannot all be correct. This is a contradiction, so #1 is not true. The evidential problem states that if there is an omniscient being, how could he allow this kind of suffering and evil? Both of these arguments are understood to be presenting two forms of the logical problem of evil. The evidential version of the problem of evil (also referred to as the probabilistic or inductive version), seeks to show that the existence of evil, although logically consistent with the existence of God, counts against or lowers the probability of the truth of theism. The problem of evil is often formulated in two forms: the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil. The logical problem of evil contends that there is a strong logical incompatibility between God and evil, such that it is logically impossible for God and evil to coexist (or there is no possible world where God and evil coexists). Loading... Unsubscribe from James Hall? An omnibenevolent being would want to prevent all evils. The evidential problem of evil points to the improbability that the amount of evil we see in the world – particularly gratuitous evil – would exist if an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God exists. The Problem of Evil - Part 2. There exist instances of intense suffering which an omnipotent, omniscient being could have prevented without thereby losing some greater good or permitting some evil equally bad or worse. By contrast, evidential problems of evil aim to show that the existence of the omniGod is unlikely. Evil exists (logical contradiction). If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. In my tutorial regarding conjunctions and contradictions I mention that you cannot have the conjuction of ‘A and not A’. The existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God is logically incompatible with the reality of evil. If #1 is true then either #2 or #5 is true, but not both. The hole in the logic is that it assumes that God does not have a greater purpose in allowing the evil created by free choice to continue for a time. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips. The Evidential Problem of Evil differs from the Logical … The Evidential Problem of Evil - Duration: 11:44. Necessarily, God actualized an evolutionary perfect world. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. 1. Unlike the logical argument from evil, which holds that the existence of God (so defined) is logically incompatible with some known fact about evil, the evidential (or probabilistic) argument from evil contends that some known fact about evil is evidence against the existence of God. We use your LinkedIn profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. Thank you very much for your response to my questions regarding the problem of evil. If there exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God, then no evil exists. The inductive or evidential problem of evil is more modest. Evidential Problem of Evil This argument attempts to decrease the probability of the existence of the God of classical theism, unlike the logical problem of evil which attempts to refute it. The next step will involve providing an outline of some important concepts and distincti… [4][27][28] Scholar Michael Almeida said this was “perhaps the most serious and difficult” version of the problem of evil. This version of the problem of evil has been used by scholars including John Hick to counter the responses and defenses to the problem of evil such as suffering being a means to perfect the morals and greater good because animals are innocent, helpless, amoral but sentient victims. Hello Lenny. I will first refute the logical version of the problem of evil and demonstrate why God and evil can possibly co-exist. Alvin Plantinga's free-will defense is a logical argument developed by the American analytic philosopher Alvin Plantinga and published in its final version in his 1977 book God, Freedom, and Evil. A being who knows every way in which an evil can come into existence, who is able to prevent that evil from coming into existence, and who wants to do so, would prevent the existence of that evil. Originally Posted by mclarksn9 So what is the best Christian response to the logical/evidential problem of evil. There was no problem of evil before the fall, nor will there be one in the eternal state. The evidential problem is just the opposite. Both of these arguments are understood to be presenting two forms of … The Evidential Problem of Evil is related to the Logical Problem of Evil in that it tries to show that the characteristics of God, as He is commonly conceived, are inconsistent with what we observe in the world. Independent of whether the logical vs. evidential distinction is significant, I have a problem with it from a ‘naming convention’ perspective. You can express the problem as a logical argument like this: P1 There is a being who possesses omnipotence and perfect goodness P2 A perfectly good being wishes to remove evil and an omnipotent being possess the power to do whatever it wishes You can change your ad preferences anytime. Plantinga's argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher J. L. Mackie beginning in 1955. The evidential version of the problem of evil (also referred to as the probabilistic or inductive version), seeks to show that the existence of evil, although logically consistent with the existence of God, counts against or lowers the probability of the truth of theism. Most philosophical debate has focused on the propositions stating that God cannot exist with, or would want to prevent, all evils (premises 3 and 6), with defenders of theism (for example, Leibniz) arguing that God could very well exist with and allow evil in order to achieve a greater good. If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good, why does he let so many bad things h… The logical and evidential Process theology and open theism are other positions that limit God’s omnipotence and/or omniscience (as defined in traditional theology). The argument usually takes the following form: (1) If God exists, gratuitous evil would not exist (2) Gratuitous evil exists (3) Therefore God… See our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Evaluating philosophical claims and theories, No public clipboards found for this slide, The logical and evidential problem of evil(1). 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