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updates for philosophy class
Thursday, October 30, 2003
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
--Stephen Roberts
--Stephen Roberts
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
LEC 7 WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM?
If you kill one person, you are a murderer
If you kill thousands, you are a conqueror
If you kill millions, you are a god
Two distinctions:
Natural evil vs. moral evil
Amount of Evil vs. Distribution of Evil
WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM ??????
The Problem of Evil is a problem primarily for the Christian faith
And the argument has been there since the beginning
St. Augustine formulated it like this:
"Either God cannot abolish evil or He will not.
If He cannot, He is not all-powerful;
if He will not, He is not all-good"
Other things to think about:
The doctrine of original sin
Free will
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
The simplest form of the argument from evil:
1. If God exists, then there is no evil in the world.
2. There is evil in the world.
3. Therefore, it is not the case that God exists.
Validity? Truth?
The Problem of Evil one of the most powerful "proofs" against the existence of God
It presupposes the following statements:
God is omnipotent (all powerful)
God is omnibenevolent (all loving)
God is omniscient (all knowing)
Evil exists
Given the fact that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good, how can one explain the presence of evils (both natural and moral) in this world (in their amount and distribution)?
Of the four statements:
(a) God is omnipotent (all powerful)
(b) God is omnibenevolent (all loving)
(c) God is omniscient (all knowing)
(d) Evil exists
It is clear that they cannot all be true because
• If God can prevent evil, but doesn't, then He isn't all-loving.
• If God intends to prevent evil, but cannot, then He isn't all-powerful.
• If God recognizes evil, intends to prevent it and is capable of doing so, then how can evil exist?
The slightly more complex argument (after Partee)
1. If God exists, then this world was created by an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent (OO&O) being.
2. If this world was created by an OO&O being, then this is the best of all possible worlds.
3. If this is the best of all possible worlds, then this world contains no evil.
4. This world does contain some evil.
5. Therefore, God does not exist.
"The value judgment that is implicitly being invoked here is that one who has attained to goodness by meeting and eventually mastering temptation, and thus by rightly making responsible choices in concrete situations, is good in a richer and more valuable sense than would be one created ab initio in a state either of innocence or virtue" John Hick Evil and the God of Love
IRENAEUS (C. 130-200)
Hellenistic philosopher – Greek Theologian – early father of the Church
Proposed that we view evil this way:
God’s creation is still a work in progress – what we see and experience as evil is just the working out of the plan – We have not yet reached the final day of creation – we are active participants in our own creation – we have much to learn
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness
Irenaeus concluded that the words image and likeness had two very different meanings and that we are already in God’s image, but not yet in his likeness
It is a long road from image to likeness (and complicated by the Fall) but it will eventually lead us from bios (animal existence) to Zoe (eternal life)
Where we are now is the valley of the shadow of “soul-making”
This whole defence is called the “Vale of soul-making theodicy)
It assumes that hard won goodness is preferable (to God) to morality by fiat (which was God’s only other choice)
It assumes that this world is the kind of world best suited to building the kind of character that can eventually approach God as his “likeness”
So the earth is a factory for making souls and the possibility of suffering provides incentive for improvement
Evil can be seen as necessary for the growth of human character
The eye that is exquisitely sensitive to beauty, will be equally sensitive to ugliness. The only way we could suffer less is to love less.
Douglas Soccio 273
If you kill one person, you are a murderer
If you kill thousands, you are a conqueror
If you kill millions, you are a god
Two distinctions:
Natural evil vs. moral evil
Amount of Evil vs. Distribution of Evil
WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM ??????
The Problem of Evil is a problem primarily for the Christian faith
And the argument has been there since the beginning
St. Augustine formulated it like this:
"Either God cannot abolish evil or He will not.
If He cannot, He is not all-powerful;
if He will not, He is not all-good"
Other things to think about:
The doctrine of original sin
Free will
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
The simplest form of the argument from evil:
1. If God exists, then there is no evil in the world.
2. There is evil in the world.
3. Therefore, it is not the case that God exists.
Validity? Truth?
The Problem of Evil one of the most powerful "proofs" against the existence of God
It presupposes the following statements:
God is omnipotent (all powerful)
God is omnibenevolent (all loving)
God is omniscient (all knowing)
Evil exists
Given the fact that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good, how can one explain the presence of evils (both natural and moral) in this world (in their amount and distribution)?
Of the four statements:
(a) God is omnipotent (all powerful)
(b) God is omnibenevolent (all loving)
(c) God is omniscient (all knowing)
(d) Evil exists
It is clear that they cannot all be true because
• If God can prevent evil, but doesn't, then He isn't all-loving.
• If God intends to prevent evil, but cannot, then He isn't all-powerful.
• If God recognizes evil, intends to prevent it and is capable of doing so, then how can evil exist?
The slightly more complex argument (after Partee)
1. If God exists, then this world was created by an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent (OO&O) being.
2. If this world was created by an OO&O being, then this is the best of all possible worlds.
3. If this is the best of all possible worlds, then this world contains no evil.
4. This world does contain some evil.
5. Therefore, God does not exist.
"The value judgment that is implicitly being invoked here is that one who has attained to goodness by meeting and eventually mastering temptation, and thus by rightly making responsible choices in concrete situations, is good in a richer and more valuable sense than would be one created ab initio in a state either of innocence or virtue" John Hick Evil and the God of Love
IRENAEUS (C. 130-200)
Hellenistic philosopher – Greek Theologian – early father of the Church
Proposed that we view evil this way:
God’s creation is still a work in progress – what we see and experience as evil is just the working out of the plan – We have not yet reached the final day of creation – we are active participants in our own creation – we have much to learn
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness
Irenaeus concluded that the words image and likeness had two very different meanings and that we are already in God’s image, but not yet in his likeness
It is a long road from image to likeness (and complicated by the Fall) but it will eventually lead us from bios (animal existence) to Zoe (eternal life)
Where we are now is the valley of the shadow of “soul-making”
This whole defence is called the “Vale of soul-making theodicy)
It assumes that hard won goodness is preferable (to God) to morality by fiat (which was God’s only other choice)
It assumes that this world is the kind of world best suited to building the kind of character that can eventually approach God as his “likeness”
So the earth is a factory for making souls and the possibility of suffering provides incentive for improvement
Evil can be seen as necessary for the growth of human character
The eye that is exquisitely sensitive to beauty, will be equally sensitive to ugliness. The only way we could suffer less is to love less.
Douglas Soccio 273
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Tolstoy's Confession: Searching for the meaning of life
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Here is a link to Raphael's painting The School of Athens.
It will lead you to an explication of who is who in the painting.
It will lead you to an explication of who is who in the painting.
