Plantinga's solution to the problem of evil pdf

But for that to defeat the problem of evil, humans would have to always choose the good to the best of their ability, and that. Plantingas presentation of the free will defense is a landmark in contemporary. The problem of evil, especially when adding the element of gratuitous evil, remains an outstanding problem for theism. T true 3 1 f false 24 mackie disagrees with plantingas definition of free will. The problem of evil and the free will defence the argument god is traditionally understood to be perfectly good, omnipotent and omniscient. I plantingas presentation of the free will defense is a landmark in contemporary discussions of the problem of evil. What is the biblical solution to the problem of evil. There are, then, quite a num ber of adequate solutions of th e problem of evil, an d som e of these have been adopted, or almost adopted, by various thinkers. The logical problem of evil, plantingas free will defense. I would like to point out a few problems with his free will defense as a solution for the logical problem of evil. Alvin plantinga, born in 1932, is a philosopher and has been a professor at both calvin university and the university of notre dame. If god is good, then he has the desire to eliminate evil. Assuming one believes in god, the problem is how to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the fact that god is omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent on one hand, and the existence of evil in the world on the other hand. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it.

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. Alvin plantinga takes to task in his celebrated response to the problem of evil. Contrary to current mythology, however, its failure was not established by alvin plantingas free will defense. The logical problem of evil, plantingas free will defense, and how it relates to the debate on free will posted on january 29, 20 by leesomniac my recent posts have spoken a bit on the problem of evil, but i havent really fleshed out the logical problem of evil and plantingas response to it because i did not think most readers would. Plantingas answer to the logical problem of evil part 2. T true 3 1 f false 24 mackie disagrees with plantingas. If you found this post helpful, then you would enjoy this short video i shot discussing the problem of evil. Does plantingas freewill defense approach to the problem. I conclude that it raises significant doubts regarding gods existence. Esplana 4 introduction without doubt, good and evil exist.

It is widely recognized by professional philosophers that the free will defense has solved the logical problem. Augustine developed a theodicy to answer this question, and take the blame for the existence of evil away from god, ensuring there is a way around it for. Ive lost my grip on why plantingas free will defense fwd is supposed to be a successful reply to the logical problem of evil now it seems to me that a minimal requirement for the success of plantingas fwd is for putwd to be a live epistemic possibility. 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. Mackies version of the logical problem of evil is a failure, as even he came to recognize. 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. My topic is alvin plantingas solution to one of the many forms that the problem of. God and the problem of evil offers a lucid, emotionally sensitive, and diverse set of essays on the problem of evil. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it address the problem of evil. Plantingas argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. The existence of evil causes problems for this definition. The theistic concept of god as supremely powerful, intelligent, and good makes the problem very difficult because such a being, it would seem, would make a much better world than this one.

Anything that is outside of the plan of god is part of satans strategy of evil. Plantinga, presumption, possibility, and the problem of evil. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. Pdf although the problem of evil receives a large amount of attention in the literature, focus is mainly reserved for the threat of moral evil. The goal of his model is to use free agents to show that these statements need not be contradictory.

Alvin plantingas solution to the deductive problem of evil. The free will and ignorance defenses fail for a number reasonmost prominent of which being the groundless presuppositions underlying the arguments. Plantinga, presumption, possibility, and the problem of evil keith. Critics claim that the existence of evil is proof that the omnipotent, omnibenevolent god of the bible cannot exist. He is credited with formulating the most robust and wellrespected response to the logical problem of evil. Succinctly, plantinga denies that 1 and 2 are inconsistent, and aims to show so by. As an allaround response to the problem of evil, the free will defense does not offer us much in the way of explanation.

Plantinga on the free will defense 125 tological proof, the atheist can, as even plantinga admits, successfully revise 2 to say. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at alvin. If god is omnipotent, then god is able to eliminate evil. Review of the problem of evil that this would be the free response of his creatur es, the decision not to reveal himself is for god a form of riskmanagement. Logical problem of evil internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Furthermore, plantingas response to the problem is not just a contribution that provides justification for. This volume fills that need, offering the most uptodate collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. Plantinga and the problem of evil iowa state university.

Probably no charge has been made with greater frequency or with more intensity against the christian faith than that the existence of evil cannot be harmonized with the existence of the infinite god of the bible. Therefore, any person who is consistently involved in the cosmic satanic system is directly involved with evil. Plantingas response to this objection is to deny the proposition that an omnipotent god could have created just any possible world he pleased. And there is an answer in the bible for every human need or problem. Alvin plantingas version of the defense is a famous attempt on the problem of evil. In ottes paper, he shows that plantingas definition. The problem of evil the philosophical problem of evil is the challenge of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world. The problem of evil, pain, and suffering by david l. On plantingas ontological argument by darrin at 1172009 one of the most curious arguments for the existence of god has been presented by st.

The theistic concept of god as supremely powerful, intelligent, and good makes the problem very difficult because such a being, it would seem, would make a. A justification of god in the face of evil and suffering is a theodicy. They are not beings, entities or things but they are real and not illusion. Of course, this is a very bad version of the problem of evil. Heaven is the ultimate solution to the problem of evil, both intellectually and emotionally. 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. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look. 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. Plantinga on the free will defense hugh lafollette. The dissatisfaction many have felt with plantingas solution may stem from a desire to see plantingas free will defense respond more generally to the problem of evil and not merely to a single formulation of the problem.

Plantinga and the problem of evil heimir geirsson, iowa state university michael losonsky, colorado state university the logical problem of evil centers on the apparent inconsistency of the following two propositions. The word theodicy was coined by the philosopher gottfried liebniz in the 17th century, but the idea of. To read more about this fascinating discussion check out god, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga. Plantingas treatment of the problem of evil centers around the atheistic claim that. The problem of evil can sometimes seem to be a special case of a more general problem, the seeming absence of god fromthe world, the convictionthat some people sometimes feel that, if there is a god at all, xiv detailed contents he is hidden. Plantinga on the problem of evil noone has contributed. Alvin plantinga 1974, 1977 has offered the most famous contemporary philosophical response to this. Broadly stated, the problem of evil is the seeming contradiction between an allpowerful, allloving god and the human experience of suffering and evil in the world.

Here james franklin suggests that there may, after all, be a solution to the problem. The problem of evil can be a huge obstacle for believers. To establish this, i will lay out plantingas solution, show how it misunderstands the logical problem of natural evil and in turn clearly articulate how the problem presents itself to the modern. Back in december i was talking to a friend of mine about alvin plantingas solution to the deductive problem of evil dpe in god, freedom, and evil. Section 1 states mackies argument and sketches a response to it in the spirit of what is badly. But to be fair to plantinga this is seemingly what mackie was arguing, so its fair enough that plantinga pointed out what he thought was wrong with it. Pdf cartmanland and the problem of evil david kyle. Otte had an exchange with plantinga on the latters famous free will defense fwd in a recent issue of philosophy and phenomenological research. This need not be plantingas personal view of god and evil. For some time, however, there has been a need for a collection of readings that adequately represents recent and ongoing writing on the topic. Alvin plantinga provided a solution or what he called a defense to the problem of evil based on the value of freewill. Second, explain the difference between natural and moral evil.

The issue with this is that it only focuses on moral evil which is evil. In short, our failure to understand the problem of evil is due in large part to our failure to adopt an eternal perspective and to fully appreciate the glory that awaits us. There is no cogent theodicy or defense against it, plantinga notwithstanding. What is the free will defense to the problem of evil. It would be a moral disgrace for god if he existed to allow the many evils in the. It would serve well for pastors, students, and small groups who are looking for a place to start their journey into this issue, or for people who are wishing to go a bit deeper in their reflection on god and evil. If god exists and god is allpowerful and allgood, then why is there evil in the world. In issue 4, mark piper presented the famous problem of evil, which appears to show that there is no god, that is to say, no allpowerful, allknowing and allgood being. Goodness always exists but evil came into existence because of the corruption, privation and negation of. Solutions to the problem of evil philosophy dungeon.

The logical problem of evil, as opposed to the evidential problem of evil, is the contention that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good god in an evil world constitutes a logical. Lewis was right when he said that a successful answer to the problem of. If there is an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent god, how and why is there evil and suffering present in our world today. The problem simply stems from basic beliefs or assumptions pertaining to the attributes of god. The exam will test you on the following aspects of these solutions. Gods divine attributes in the face of the challenge of evil. In my article showed how plantinga assesses that the problem of evil is most probably intended by most to argue for an implicit contradiction between a certain set. Pdf the failure of plantingas solution to the logical problem of. Pdf the failure of plantingas solution to the logical. I use the episode cartmanland, and other examples from south park, to explain and evaluate responses to the problem of evil. Plantinga argues in favor of the view that not even an omnipotent being can do what is logically impossible. So in my opinion plantingas argument is good as a response to this very particular version of the problem of evil. His goal is to create a consistent model to counter the logical problem of evil which claims that gods omnipotence, omniscience and benevolence and the existence of evil are contradictory.