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The Concept of Good Versus Evil Essay
Problem of evil essay help123
Leibniz view of evil
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Recommended: The Concept of Good Versus Evil Essay
Madeline Hearons
Introduction to Philosophy
Dr. Butterfield
9 March 2014 The Problem of Evil “The problem of evil” has been a controversial topic for not only philosophers, but also people of different faiths all over the world. The problem of evil poses the questions that if there is a higher power, a perfect God, how can that higher power allow such evils to occur in this world? How could this perfect God create such evils in the world? How could he allow such suffering? As these questions have been asked, many philosophers have different thoughts and opinions on what kind of higher power really exists, and how evil can come from such a perfect and loving God. The example I have chosen poses the question of whether or not a perfect
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Gottfried believed in an all-knowing God that presented everything in the best possible way. He believed that God is perfect, all knowing and created the best possible world. If I were able to ask him the question “If a perfect God has created this world, why would he include evil?” his response would include his belief that God created this world knowing absolutely everything about it. He made this world knowing what would happen in the future, and how we would handle it. I believe he would respond by talking about God being in control of everything, and that evil is not real, just misunderstood. Leibniz believed evil was not real, and in the saying “All is well”. He was heavily focused on everything happening for a reason, and that a perfect God or higher power was in control, taking care of everything. My interpretation of Leibniz is that he believes that everything happens for a reason. That it is all part of a “higher plan”, and that suffering can be a good thing. Stating that suffering can be a good thing, and that we can find joy within our pain, would be an example of this “misunderstood” …show more content…
I do believe that SOME evils can be misunderstood, and that positive things are able to come out of negative situations and that there is a God, and that he is all knowing. My example does not agree with the belief in a “perfect God”, because it relays the message that that God had created the evils of the world, which a perfect God would not do. SOME of these evils are not misunderstood, for example specific moral evils. These evils, such as rape and murder, do not have any positive consequences, only negative. A God known as perfect would not allow this pain and suffering to take place. In regards to natural evils, such as world disasters, a perfect God would control these events, like Leibniz claims. These disasters bring suffering, death, pain, and chaos to everyone effected. Why would a perfect God want us to deal with such death, pain and chaos? Leibniz also claims that “All is Well”, and that God are not responsible for these evils. If he is in control of this world, how is he not responsible for the evils that take place? The evils in our world would have to be controlled by this God, making him the creator of this suffering. Therefore an omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omnisecent God would not exist. This does not mean that a God does not exist, but one that all knows, all-powerful, and all present does not exist. The Logical Problem of Evil explains this, going against Leibniz and
It is perhaps the most difficult intellectual challenge to a Christian how God and evil can both exist. Many of the greatest minds of the Christian church and intellects such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas spent their entire lives trying to solve this problem, and were unsuccessful (Erickson, 2009, p.439). However, this dilemma is not only an intellectual challenge, but it is emotional. Man feels it, lives it. Failing to identify the religious form of the problem of evil will appear insensitive; failure to address the theological form will seem intellectually insulting. This conundrum will never be completely met during our earthly life, but there are many biblical and philosophical resources that help mitigate it.
Either element of the conclusion is damaging to the traditional understanding of a Judeo-Christian God. It seems simple enough. A benevolent Creator appears incompatible with what we understand to be the existence of evil. Evil is opposed to God’s will, eventually cumulating in the crucifixion of God’s son, Jesus. One must then wonder how an all-loving and all-powerful God would allow such pain to occur to both his creation and Jesus. A perfect God’s world should be similarly perfect. The world is not perfect so it seems that God must not be all-loving or He must not be all-powerful. Rejecting the existence of evil, immediately rejects too much of the Judeo-Christian tradition to be considered, though some philosophers have considered it.
Throughout the world, most people believe in some type of god or gods, and the majority of them understand God as all-good, all-knowing (omniscient), and all-powerful (omnipotent). However, there is a major objection to the latter belief: the “problem of evil” (P.O.E.) argument. According to this theory, God’s existence is unlikely, if not illogical, because a good, omniscient, and omnipotent being would not allow unnecessary suffering, of which there are enormous amounts.
The problem of evil is inescapable in this fallen world. From worldwide terror like the Holocaust to individual evils like abuse, evil touches every life. However, evil is not a creation of God, nor was it in His perfect will. As Aleksandr
There is evil. 3. So, God does not exist”. Since there is evil, then that means God does not exist. So there is no loving and powerful God. However, if there is a God then he is not all loving and powerful. Daniel Howard-Snyder states in his article “God, Evil, And Suffering,”: “We would have to say God lacks power and knowledge to such an extent that He can 't prevent evil. And there lies the trouble. For how could God have enough power and knowledge to create and sustain the physical universe if He can 't even prevent evil? How could He be the providential governor of the world if He is unable to do what even we frequently do, namely prevent evil?” (5). This statement argues that God is not all powerful because he is unable to prevent evil in the world. Daniel Howard-Snyder then argues that: “Would a perfectly good being always prevent evil as far as he can? Suppose he had a reason to permit evil, a reason that was compatible with his never doing wrong and his being perfect in love, what I 'll call a justifying reason. For example, suppose that if he prevented evil completely, then we would miss out on a greater good, a good whose goodness was so great that it far surpassed the badness of evil. In that case, he might not prevent evil as far as he can, for he would have a justifying reason to permit it” (5). Even if God had a reason to allow evil, he who is all loving and powerful would want the least amount of people to suffer and feel pain. Since God knows
The Problem of Evil is the question that asks if God is perfectly benevolent, all-powerful, and all-knowing, then how can he allow evil to exist? Many philosophers have tried to answer this age-old question, often focusing on the intellect and the will. This essay will explore and compare the ways in which Descartes, Leibniz, and Berkeley each attempt to solve this dilemma.
Philosophers of the Medieval period struggled with the problem of evil - specifically, the existence of evil brought a question to the fore: if the world was created by an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God, then how was it that evil existed? To further complicate the matter, a second question branched off of the first as individuals pondered over whether or not God was ultimately the cause of evil. If God created everything, and evil exists as part of everything, then God, logically, had created evil. But this presented yet another issue, in that if God had knowingly created evil, then he could not truly be all-good. And it is these concerns that philosophers addressed.
In this paper, I will be presenting logical reasons why the existence of the problem of evil conflicts with the existence of an all-powerful (P), all-knowing(K), and morally perfect God. First, in order to fully comprehend what is being argued we need to make a few of these terms clear. What exactly do we mean by the problem of evil? What is a PKM God?
The Problem of Evil assumes that all of these qualifications are true and valid. The Problem of Evil is as follows: 1. If God exists, then there is no evil. This assumes the opposite is true also; if evil exists, then there is no God. 2. Evil exists. Whether in the form of some other being, such a Satan, or the actions of other humans or living things, evil exists. People perform cruel, heinous, unnecessary actions. People murder other people. They kill animals; they lie, steal, and cheat. Evil is all around is. 3. Since evil exists, a PKM god does not
In “Theodicy”, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz argues for philosophical optimism. Perhaps the strongest argument provided by Leibniz relies on the claim that the contrasting yet complementary nature of evil and goodness allows us to better appreciate God and why he lets evil exist. In this paper, I will defend Leibniz’s argument by showing that the existence of evil, no matter how much, facilitates the opportunity for a greater good to arise.
The problem of evil is widely considered to be the most powerful argument against the existence of God. The central issue of the problem of evil is whether evil, as it exists now, either proves that God as he’s traditionally seen, does not exist or the belief in such a God is irrational. This problem challenges theists who believe in the existence of an omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God, but also face the reality of the evil around them. In this paper, we will be looking at the logical problem of evil confronting the Theist. In addition, we will look at the Free Will Defense and its attempt to explain why God permits evil.
If evil cannot be accounted for, then belief in the traditional Western concept of God is absurd” (Weisberger 166). At the end of the day, everyone can come up with all these numerous counter arguments and responses to the Problem of Evil but no one can be entirely responsible or accountable for the evil and suffering in a world where there is the existence of a “omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God.” Does the argument of the Problem of Evil or even the counter arguments help the evil and suffering of innocent human beings across this world? No. However, the Problem of Evil is most successful in recognizing the evil and suffering of the world but not presenting a God that is said to be wholly good and perfect to be blamed and as a valid excuse for the deaths and evil wrongdoings of this world.
The problem of evil has been a huge debate between atheists and theists. The problem of evil is how can evil occur in the world if God, a perfect being, created the world, and why do bad things happen to good people if God is in charge. Used to critique theism, the problem of evil questions God’s perfection and his existence. It questions God’s perfection by saying, “Whoever does not chose the best is lacking in power, or in knowledge, or in goodness” (Leibniz 89). This means that people do not think that God can be all powerful or perfect because they do not think that this world was the best possible choice. The problem of evil also critiques the question of God’s existence by saying, “If there is more evil than
188) and Schopenhauer reiterates it quite pessimistically when he defines the world as “the battle-ground of tormented and agonized beings who continue to exist only by each devouring the other” (p. 263). This is the essence of evil which sprung from the earliest forms of human differentiation from nature. In the presence of perceived scarcity and threat, some must suffer so that others may flourish and further protect themselves from the threats of an arbitrary nature (Hicks, 2001, p. 44). This moral evil subsequently becomes universal as humankind proliferates and becomes universal itself in our landscape. While evils may appear in more trivial forms on the individual level across our temporal existence - they take on their full devastating impact when manifested on the corporate or collective level.
Good versus evil is an eternal struggle, conflict, war, or a unification. Good exists while evil does as well, this is because without evil, there can be no such thing as good, and without good, there can also be no evil. The question exists that if there is an all-good & powerful God who is omniscient; omnipotent; omni-benevolent; then how can evil exist within such absolute terms?