Free will defense to the problem of evil books

My top 5 books on the problem of evil christianity today. In some cases this has lead to widescale death and destruction and evil governmental regimes. Does the free will defence successfully solve the problem of. The problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of philosophy knowledge, freedom and the problem of evil eleonore stump recent work on the problem of evil trent dougherty.

What this essay has demonstrated is that this attempt to escape from the problem of evil known as the free will defense is a failure. Does the freewill defense constitute a sound theodicy. Alvin plantinga s version of the free will defense is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil, the argument that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god in an evil world constitutes a logical contradiction. Van inwagens answer to that is a fairly elaborate freewill defense. The possibility of more modest variants on defenses and theodicies, based on. 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.

This volume fills that need, offering the most up to date collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it. Davies then marshals some of the classic rejoinders to the poe, such as a the free will defense, b the unreality of evil defense, c the means and ends approach, and d the we cant see all the picture approach, e the best of all possible worlds approach, and the f the god suffers also approach. According to this defense, human beings create evil with the free will that god given them. The author interacts primarily with the logical problem of evil as expounded by j. I have, in a prior post, discussed the essence of his reformed epistemology. The greater goods defense can explain both natural evils and moral evils, because it claims that suffering can cause good results that could not be obtained without it whether this suffering has natural or human causes. Apr 24, 2018 in addition, the skeptic cannot reject a defense for a particular problem of evil by arguing that it does not solve every problem of evil. For example, an atheist may reject the free will defense because they dont believe it adequately handles the problem of. Mar 01, 20 the problem of evil offers a comprehensive examination of the problem of evil from both technical and ministerial perspectives.

The two solutions to what we call the problem of evil are. There is no cogent theodicy or defense against it, plantinga notwithstanding. The free will and ignorance defenses fail for a number reasonmost prominent of which being the groundless presuppositions underlying the arguments. Mcbrayer is assistant professor of philosophy at fort lewis college, colorado. 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 simply stems from basic beliefs or assumptions pertaining to the attributes of god. This is a list of ten of the worst books of this type books that have done more harm than good. Oct 04, 2014 the free will defense to explain the problem of evil alvin plantinga, an american analytic philosopher, and professor at the university of notre dame argues that its logically possible for god to be allpowerful and allloving and still allow moral evil in the world. In this post, i would like to point out a few problems with his free will defense as a solution for the logical problem of evil. The christian may try to escape from this problem by claiming that god is not responsible and blameworthy for moral evil, since it follows from the free actions of human beings, who are morally autonomous. Plantingas argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. Alvin plantingas 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.

Sep 15, 2010 the most accessible statement of plantingas free will defense, this argument revolutionized the modern philosophical discussion and helped make christian thinking plausible in the broader academy. Inwagen suggests that only the freewill defense has any hope of succeeding p. A world containing creatures who are significantly free and freely perform more good than evil actions is more valuable, all else being equal, than a world containing no free creatures at all. Peter van inwagens the problem of evil is a fairly short book, but only. Peter van inwagen is the ohara professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. Plantingas free will defense alvin plantinga s version of the free will defense 1 is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil, the argument that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god in an evil world constitutes a logical contradiction. Plantingas free will defense has been known since he first published a version of it in 1977.

Free will is a great good, and it is impossible for god to give us free will without allowing evil. Essays in metaphysics 2001, and metaphysics 1993, second edition 2002. Sep 22, 2015 the problem of evil, especially when adding the element of gratuitous evil, remains an outstanding problem for theism. Apr 16, 2014 the fourth part in a series on the problem of evil designed for people studying philosophy of religion at asa2 level. Plantingas version of the defense is a famous attempt on the problem of evil. Plantingas free will defense project gutenberg self. A second suggestion of the free will defense advocate is that god gave free will to creatures other than men and that these creatures, who freely choose to do evil, cause natural evil. The problem of natural inequality is a new evidential problem of evil not only because, to the best of my knowledge, it has not yet been discussed in the literature, but also because available theodicies, such the free will defense and the soulmaking. Apr 15, 2015 it is widely recognized by professional philosophers that the free will defense has solved the logical problem. In part one i gave an introduction to the problem of evil. The free will defence a theodicy is an argument which tries to make evil compatible with the existence of an omnipotent, good god. After showing that the problem of evil is obviously not a deductive problem that is, from the existence of evil is does not necessarily follow that god doesnt existhe utilizes the free will defense to combat inductive arguments against theism.

God, freedom and evil is a short work, originally published in the mid1970s, wherein plantinga addresses issues pertaining to the existence of god. Alvin plantingas free will defense why i deconverted from. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at alvin. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. The free will defense and the problem of evil, philosophy.

If god is good, then he has the desire to eliminate evil. Oct 04, 2010 2 his free will defense which is viewed by many as having demolished the logical problem of evil. Moral evil is the pain and suffering that comes from acts of free will. The free will defense to explain the problem of evil. Nov 07, 2014 we live in a world festering with evil. If god is omniscient, then god knows that evil exists and knows how to eliminate. The problem of evil is usually seen as the problem of how the existence of god can be reconciled with the existence of evil in the world. God is love incarnate 1, and despite the high amount of choice that he allows, he also is bursting to lavish his love not merely on the perfect, which existed solely in christ, but on the imperfect who could never deserve it by virtue of their imperfection 2. The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in the coexistence of god and evil, 1 4 while the evidential form tries to show that given the evil in the world, it is improbable that there is an. Thus peter van inwagen, throughout his book the problem of evil. The free will defense argues that evil and god are not incompatible because god didnt create evil. The problem of evil often boils down to our inability to reconcile our belief in a good and loving god with our experience of sin, suffering, and evil. Perhaps the most famous theodicy is the free will defence.

Mackie considers three main objections to this argument, all of which are best understood as objections to one of 3 or 6. The problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. If god is omnipotent, then god is able to eliminate evil. Books are one of our greatest resources, but many times in history books have been written which are misleading or untrue. Plantingas free will defense has been the most famous theistic response to the logical problem of evil because he did more to clarify the issues surrounding the logical problem than anyone else. This has not stopped vast numbers of people from using the logical problem of evil as an attack on god. Alvin plantingas version of the defense is a famous attempt on the problem of evil. His many publications include an essay on free will 1983, material beings 1990, ontology, identity, and modality. To read more about this fascinating discussion check out god, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga. What is the free will defense to the problem of evil. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at. However, plantinga eventually settles to the crux of the matter. In response to the logical problem of evil, notable philosopher alvin plantinga describes such a possible reason in his famous free will defense. He does not completely shield the more deserving, not even the sole perfect one in.

Inwagens definition, does god not know what his free creatures will. No one defense addresses every problem of evil, nor was it intended to do so. If the problem of evil is already successfully solved, i dont see the need for such a subject to c. The fourth part in a series on the problem of evil designed for people studying philosophy of religion at asa2 level. Does the free will defence successfully solve the problem. The book draws upon the authors prior works, the nature of necessity and god and other minds. Problem of evil spring 2015, 2014, and fall 2008 keith derose. 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. Evans treats the history of the problem with fairness, looking at it through contemporary philosophical literature and offering responses to the most substantive arguments from evil. The existence of evil causes problems for this definition. Stump, dantes hell, aquinass moral theory, and link. An obvious outcome is that there still exists a subarea in theology known as theodicy that aims to solve the problem of evil.

Logical problem of evil internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Plantingas free will defense, would be described as possibly broadly moral evil due to. How do i rate a book that will bore most of you but titillate the rest. Mar 12, 2011 books are one of our greatest resources, but many times in history books have been written which are misleading or untrue. Author and acclaimed philosophy professor jeremy a. Plantingas free will defense, then, cannot serve as a morally. Dont let its analytical tone make you forget, as many do, that its author lost his mother. It is widely recognized by professional philosophers that the free will defense has solved the logical problem to read more about this fascinating discussion check out god, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga if you found this post helpful, then you would enjoy this short video i shot discussing the problem of evil listen to the latest think christianly podcast. In particular, some responses may solve the problem of moral evil, but dont answer the problem of natural evil.

He has delivered the gifford lectures at the university of st andrews, the wilde lectures at oxford university. Mackie in his famous article, evil and omnipotence. A reformed problem of evil and the free will defense jstor. Thus, the devil and his minion of fallen angels are held accountable for the existence of natural evils not brought about by human actions. The problem of evil disproved by the free will defense the problem of evil states that because evil exists the existence of a triomni being, which we typically refer to as god, is impossible. Lewiss classic is still the most wideranging, accessible, and cogent response to the problem of evil. He has authored numerous papers in philosophy of religion and ethics, including cornea and inductive skepticism 2009, skeptical theism 2010, a limited defense of moral perception 2010, skepticism about the argument from divine hiddenness 2011, and christianity, homosexual. The problem of evil is often formulated in two forms.