Mackie's response to the problem of evil book

Evil should instead be attributed to the free actions of individuals, the power of which has been endowed upon them by god. When problems are found with proofs for gods existence, believers can claim that god is known in some other, nonrational way. Jul 18, 2006 mackie s objection to the free will defense will g in this essay i am going to discuss one of the more important objections to the free will theodicy, that one that alleges god could create perfect people, and suggest a little known, unorthodox but probably acceptable defense to the problem. Phil 201 study guide lesson 20 the problem of evil superb. In other words, no one does anything evil, so evil does not exist. Plantinga presents the logical problem of evil as set out by the famous philosopher j. But even if evil 2 could be explained in this way, it is fairly clear that there would be third order evils contrasting with this third order good. The problem of evil in this essay, i will examine the argument for the problem of evil, a possible theodicy against the argument, and reply to the theodicy. Chung phi 2011 2 march 2006 the problem of evil to some evil is necessary for.

Adequatehalfheartedfallacious mackie says can be dealt with by rejecting the principle that a good being eliminates evil as far as it can. John mackie on the problem of evil in philosophy and theology. The problem with using the logical problem of evil. One version of this problem includes animal suffering from natural evil, such as the violence and fear faced by animals from predators, natural disasters, over the history of evolution. After weeks of exploring the existence of nature of god, today hank explores one of the biggest problems in theism, and possibly the biggest philosophical question humanity faces.

For some time, however, there has been a need for a collection of readings that adequately represents recent and ongoing writing on the topic. The problem of evil oxford readings in philosophy 1st. There are no limits on what an omnipotent being can do. Mackies objection to the free will defense blogger. When problems are found with proofs for gods existence, believers can claim that god is known in some other, nonrational way b. What makes this critical book so impressive and excellent is mackies astute. The greatest virtue to this book is also its greatest vice. This problem makes the existence of a traditional god extremely unlikely, and it makes a belief in one, irrational at best. A nd it is a logical problem, th e problem of clarifying an d reconciling a num ber of beliefs.

John mackie and alvin plantinga arguments on the problem of. Problem of evil responses introduction to philosophy. Why are there sinners augustines response to mackie jstor. Theodicies attempt to rationalise evil whilst retaining the key attributes of god omnipotence and omnibenevolence in a response to the logical problem for the existence of evil which states that it is logically impossible that evil exists if god has the traditional attributes.

His discussion of each is intended to make clear the reasons for which they fail to address the real problem. Plantingas argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. Unlike plantingas response to the logical problem of evil, which is merely a defense that is, a negative attempt to undermine a certain atheological argument without offering a positive account of why god allows evil and suffering, hicks response is a theodicy that is, a more comprehensive attempt to account for why god is. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good, and there is evil in the world.

More often than not, the first response to the problem of evil is what i call the free will excuse. Dont let its analytical tone make you forget, as many do, that its author lost his mother in childhood and fought on the frontlines of the first world war. 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. The basic idea here is that at least many kinds of evil are not the result of gods actions, but of the free actions of human beings.

The monotheistic god of christianity, judaism and islam assumes the divine qualities of omnipotence, omniscience and omni benevolence. Compassion, for instance, is of great value, but can only exist if there is suffering. 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. L mackie introduction mackies argument the proposed solution to be discussed and mackies response to it is the claim that evil is due to human free will and as such it cannot be attributed to god. Mackie argued that theism can be disproved like so. If you do not know what mackies logical problem of evil is, and plantingas response or, rowes argument and wykstras response then you should buy this book. Mackies evil and omnipotence essay 1652 words 7 pages j. Analysis of j l mackie s evil and omnipotence free essays. My top 5 books on the problem of evil christianity today. New philosophical directions brings together a diversity of philosophical views, methods, and approaches to the muchdiscussed topic of evil and its bearing on religious belief. The problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Mackie s argument against the free will defense is twofold. A problem i see is that even in mackies world, where every agent makes the morally best choice and takes the morally best action, the problem of evil still arises. Like mackies other works, it is forcefully argued and for the most part clearly written.

In 1955 he published evil and omnipotence which summarized his view that belief in the existence of evil and an allpowerful, allknowing and allgood god be positively irrational. Apr 20, 2008 theodicies attempt to rationalise evil whilst retaining the key attributes of god omnipotence and omnibenevolence in a response to the logical problem for the existence of evil which states that it is logically impossible that evil exists if god has the traditional attributes. May 09, 2016 after weeks of exploring the existence of nature of god, today hank explores one of the biggest problems in theism, and possibly the biggest philosophical question humanity faces. Peter van inwagens the problem of evil is a fairly short book, but only about half of it is devoted to his answer to the problem of evil. In his bestselling book when bad things happen to good people, rabbi. Augustine, in his book confessions, recognised this problem. The problem of evil has also been extended beyond human suffering, to include suffering of animals from cruelty, disease and evil. It asks the simple but profound question, if god exists why is the world characterized by death, disease. Though it seems improbable and odd, it is logically conceivable, so it is, therefore, logically possible. Logical problem of evil internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Problem of evil proves belief in god irrational not just nonrational a. Apr 22, 2016 a problem i see is that even in mackie s world, where every agent makes the morally best choice and takes the morally best action, the problem of evil still arises. Chapter 1 jobs complaint and the whirlwinds answer. 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.

Mackies views on this socalled logical problem of evil prompted alvin plantinga to respond with his version of. Mackie in his famous article, evil and omnipotence. Mackies evil and omnipotence essay 1652 words bartleby. Nov 28, 2011 john mackie s evil and omnipotence philosophy 101. Perhaps it will be frustrating to be told that i do not intend to answer these questions. Mackies evil and omnipotence the arguments for and against god has prevailed throughout the history of humankind. It will provide a solid introduction and contains a plethora of footnotes for further study. 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 second response to the problem of evil is that the existence of evil is a necessary condition for the existence of certain kinds of good. The traditional discussion of good and evil is confused because unfortunate physical events and a certain type of disapproved behavior are lumped together as evil.

Through both general and specific examinations of the problem of evil, this book proposes new directions for philosophical thought. The problem with using the logical problem of evil posted on december 31, 20 by aremonstrantsramblings i suppose it must be true for most areas of life but its sometimes hard to take when one sees such a disparity between where academics are in. Generally, a defense against the problem of evil may refer to attempts to defuse the logical problem of evil by showing that there is no logical incompatibility between the existence of evil and the existence of god. In section a, mackie outlines the adequate solutions offered by some religious thinkers. Plantinga denies that and are inconsistent, arguing that j. Mar 12, 2007 peter van inwagens the problem of evil is a fairly short book, but only about half of it is devoted to his answer to the problem of evil. Phil 201 study guide lesson 20 the problem of evil study guide lesson 20. Reviewed by michael ruse, florida state university almost twenty years ago, i wrote a little book on the relationship between darwinism and. The author explains one of the most wellknown response to mackies version of the logical problem of evil, the freewill defense by alvin plantinga. Firstly there is evil that does not originate from the choices and actions of moral agents, such as natural evils disasters, diseases, accidents, etc. The logical problem of evil centers on the apparent inconsistency of the following two propositions. Mackie spends most of the article considering various responses to this question. This is the problem that alvin plantinga takes to task in his celebrated response to the problem of evil.

In humes rather halfhearted presentation of the problem of evil, the evils that he stresses are pain and disease. Mackie, and to which the freewill defense responds. Lewiss classic is still the most wideranging, accessible, and cogent response to the problem of evil. There is nothing logically impossible about not sinning. The obvious response is to reject premise 5 and claim that god must respect the free will of agents as a necessary evil to achieve the just end of freedom. Mackie stated that the following three propositions cannot all be true at the same time. However, the existence of evil and suffering in the world provides a challenge to the loving god of classical theism. Reviewed by michael ruse, florida state university almost twenty years ago, i wrote a little book on the relationship between darwinism and christianity ruse 2001.

One of the points made by the book of job in the bible is that such is not the case. Sterba, ethics and the problem of evil, indiana university press, 2017, 171pp. This volume fills that need, offering the most up to date collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. The author interacts primarily with the logical problem of evil as expounded by j.

Mar 01, 20 the author interacts primarily with the logical problem of evil as expounded by j. According to john hick, mackie s argument constitutes a major criticism of augustines free will defence in response to the problem of evil. For this reason, mackie does not think that they are of any help to the theologian trying to respond to the problem of evil. The main problem, however, lies in a different direction. That evil the problem of evil is an issue that is entirely too overlooked and dismissed by most christians. In the first chapter he discusses various senses of the term, problem of evil. Mackies argument against the free will defense is twofold.

The problem, in short, is that any axiological formulation of the argument from evil, as it stands, is incomplete in a crucial respect, since it fails to make explicit how a failure to bring about good states of affairs, or a failure to prevent bad states of affairs, entails that one is acting in a morally wrong way. This volume fills that need, offering the most uptodate collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. Good is opposed to evil in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can. Phil 201 study guide lesson 20 the problem of evil. In a widely discussed piece entitled evil and omnipotence john mackie repeats this claim. Explain the greater good response to mackies argument. Responses to the problem of evil have occasionally been classified as defences or theodicies. Dec 24, 2009 read this philosophy essay and over 89,000 other research documents. God is perfect so the world has no flaws evil is a privation of good so god cannot be blamed. That this argument is valid is perhaps most easily seen by a reductio argument. There are no limits to what an omnipotent being can do. Aug 20, 2019 this essay on john mackie and alvin plantinga arguments on the problem of evil was written and submitted by user trey dillon to help you with your own studies.

The problem of evil, in th e sense in w hich i shall be using th e phrase, is a problem only for someone w ho believes th at there is a g od w ho is both om nipotent an d w holly good. Oct 04, 2016 what is mackies form of the logical problem of evil explain the greater good response to mackies argument explain the logically impossible response to the criticism of the greater good argument. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mackie s world is a possible world where all free agents choose to do the morally good action with every choice. Within the philosophy of religion the problem of evil is generally recognized to be the strongest argument against theism belief in an allpowerful, allknowing and allgood god. Let me add a cautionary note before getting started. Mackies objection to the free will defense will g in this essay i am going to discuss one of the more important objections to the free will theodicy, that one that alleges god could create perfect people, and suggest a little known, unorthodox but probably acceptable defense to the problem. Philosophers are passionately ready to debate about the topic of the existence of god, as this is one of the philosophical topics of discussion that has remained timeless, in that it has not become obsolete. But plantinga does not need a successful theodicy to defeat mackies logical problem of evil. A wholly good being is opposed to evil in such a way that it eliminates evil as far as it can. The first is essentially based on his rejection of incompatiblism, i.

Many people immediately respond to the problem of evil, as stated above, by saying that the problem with the argument is that it ignores free well. That means that believing in e and believing in god is like believing in a fivesided square. In 1955, he wrote an important article on the problem of evil entitled. Leibniz denies the premises 1whoever does not choose the best is lacking in power, knowledge, or goodness 2god did not choose the best in creating the world 3 therefore, god has been lacking in power, knowledge, or goodness. Even the book of proverbs, despite its occasional flashes of cynicism. Mackie on the problem of evil university of notre dame. The philosophical problem of evil is the challenge of reconciling belief in god with evil in the. This is also referred to as the darwinian problem of evil, after charles. Mackie agrees that the problem for the theist can be solved by giving up one of the three propositions. He formulated the ontological argument mackies triad. In preparing your essay, you should reread mackies discussion of the problem of evil evil and omnipotence. John leslie mackie fba 25 august 191712 december 1981 was an australian philosopher. I believe that it is a valid argument to renounce some views that traditional theism sets forward.

Thus a rape or a murder of an innocent child is defended as having a gods purpose that a human being may not comprehend, but which may lead to lesser evil. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. Mackie actually had a very good response to the free will defense that you did not address. In a nutshell, the free will excuse basically has two facets. According to incompatibility or logical versions of the problem of evil, e is logically incompatible with gods existence mackie 1955. In either case, this solution usually starts from the assumption that the evil whose existence gives rise to the problem of evil is primarily what is called physical evil, that is to say, pain. We must understand with this that good is opposed to evil, that a good bring always eliminates an evil thing as.

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. Alvin plantingas freewill 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. Concerning religion, he was well known for vigorously defending atheism, and also arguing that the problem of evil made untenable the main monotheistic religions see, for example, mackie 1982. Mackies definition of the problem the problem of evil is god is omnipotent, god is wholly good, and yet evil exists. Mackie and mccloskey can be understood as claiming that it is impossible for all of the. Oct 04, 2010 in 1955, he wrote an important article on the problem of evil entitled. The problem of evil is an argument that shows that god cannot be either allpowerful, allknowing, andor all good. Mackie the problem of evil, according to mackie, is that the following set of propositions is inconsistent.

The main point of leibnizs philosophy is that god, in creating the world, he created the best of all possible worlds. But the theist is not prepared to affirm any of those things. If evil exists and god exists, then either god doesnt have the power to eliminate all evil, or doesnt know when evil exists, or doesnt have the desire to eliminate all evil. You arent required to discuss mackies views, but one strategy you are encouraged to take is to ask yourself what mackie would say in response to swinburne and frame your discussion as a debate.