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Logical Problem of Evil | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source: iep.utm.edu
Article summary:
1. The logical problem of evil is a challenge to the belief in the existence of a perfect God due to the existence of evil and suffering in our world.
2. Atheologians claim that statements about God's omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect goodness are logically inconsistent with the existence of evil and suffering.
3. Theistic responses to the logical problem of evil include the free will defense, which argues that God allows evil and suffering in order to preserve human free will.
Article analysis:
The article provides a clear and concise explanation of the logical problem of evil, which is a prominent challenge to the belief in a perfect God. The author presents the argument that if God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good, then there should not be any evil or suffering in the world. However, since we do observe such evils and sufferings, it seems that either God is not omnipotent, omniscient, or perfectly good.
The article also discusses various responses to this problem from the perspective of classical theism. The free will defense proposed by Alvin Plantinga is given special attention. The author explains how this defense attempts to reconcile the existence of evil with the belief in a perfect God by appealing to human free will.
Overall, the article appears to be well-researched and informative. However, there are some potential biases and limitations worth noting. For example:
- The article focuses primarily on one form of the problem of evil (i.e., logical inconsistency) while neglecting other forms such as evidential or existential problems.
- The author assumes that all atheists reject the existence of God based on the problem of evil without acknowledging that some atheists may have other reasons for their disbelief.
- The article presents only one major response (i.e., free will defense) to the logical problem of evil while ignoring other responses such as skeptical theism or process theology.
- The author does not provide empirical evidence or data to support claims about people's beliefs or attitudes towards God and suffering.
- There is no discussion about how different religious traditions (e.g., Buddhism) address the problem of evil.
- The article does not explore potential counterarguments against Plantinga's free will defense.
In conclusion, while this article provides a useful introduction to one aspect of the problem of evil and its possible solutions from a classical theistic perspective, readers should be aware of its limitations and biases.