The problem of evil can be distinguished between two types of philosophical aspects or challenges to faith in god. The problem of evil for theists was how to reconcile suffering with a benevolent god. Mackie pub lished his argument that was designed to expose a logical contradiction be tween the existence of god and the existence of evil an argument which, if valid, is a direct disproof of theism. Voltaire, hume, and the problem of evil peter kivy philosophy and literature, volume 3, number 2, fall 1979, pp.
Perhaps the most difficult issue concerning the relation between morality and. David humes various writings concerning problems of religion are among. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient god. Books by hume, david sorted by popularity project gutenberg. God were ineffective, and that the problem of evil had dealt a definitive blow to belief in god. Therefore, god lacks either goodness, or power, or both. The problem of evil 393 since hume, there have been attempts to solve the problem of evil by attacking or reinterpreting one of the first four assumptions. Learn more about his life and ideas in this article. Is god willing to prevent evil but unable to do so. When saint thomas aquinas wrote his great summa theologica, he could find only two objections to the existence of god, even though he tried to list at least three objections to every one of the thousands of theses he tried to.
Many atheists believe that the correct answer to both of these questions is. We also noted that within the philosophical aspect there are two types of challenges to faith in god. Hume on religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Humes fundamental problem of evil philosophy cambridge core. Of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world arguably commands more attention than any other. A brief introduction to humes explanation of the problem of evil. A new study john hick, lecturer in the philosophy of religion at cambridge university, has written one of the most serious and important studies of the problem of evil to appear in english for a lon1 itg i time. God and evil if god is such a nice guy, why is there so much misery and suffering in the world. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. David hume 17111776, dialogues concerning natural religion humes thesis what hes trying to prove. God does not exist as a consequence of this it follows that either god is not. Cs lewis and david hume on the problem of evil qcc.
Pdf god and the existence of evil, according to hume, st. The theist is not alone in needing to provide an account of evil and suffering. Thus peter van inwagen, throughout his book the problem of evil, frequently. Concerning the traditional theological problem of evil, f. Hastings 1912 the problem of evil in plotinus by b. Sep 15, 2010 this is the classic philosophical assault on the idea of god being allgood, allwise, and allpowerful. Life and correspondence of david hume, volume 2 john hill burton 51 downloads philosophical works, v. Selected readings has been the most widely recognized and used anthology on the subject. Hume advanced, then, an evidential argument from evil that has a distinctly. The problem of evil is the most serious problem in the world and the one serious objection to the existence of god. If a book can answer hume, it can answer most skeptics today. Pdf on nov 29, 2014, oleg nekrassovski and others published god.
David hume 17111776, dialogues concerning natural religion hume s thesis what hes trying to prove. If god know under what circumstances evil occurs, has ability to prevent it, and wants to prevent it, then there would be no evil in world. This theme is in the background of the selection from humes dialogues concerning natural religion that deal with the problem of evil. For demea, god is incomprehensible, and so are his reasons for evil. A summary of dialogues concerning natural religion in s david hume 17111776. In the entry above, we follow the convention given in the nortons treatise and beauchamps enquiries.
Indeed, hume s treatment of the problem of evil showed that his quarrel in the natural history of religion 1 and the enquiry concerning human understanding, 2 section xi, was with a particular providence rather than the possibility of a divine orderer. In chapter ten of his book dialogues concerning natural religion, david hume discusses the problem of evil. Despite the enduring impact of his theory of knowledge, hume seems to have considered himself chiefly as a moralist. Problem of evil, problem in theology and the philosophy of religion that arises for any view that affirms the following three propositions. Incorporating texts by aquinas, ockham, molina, descartes, hume and kant, he aims to give the reader firsthand acquaintance with these classical writers, and then to discuss their arguments in the light of. Evaluation students should work towards evaluating the problem of evil to see if there is a solution or what its implications might be. Hume on evil having the attributes assigned to him by cleanthes does not exist. Feb, 2012 a brief introduction to hume s explanation of the problem of evil. For cleanthes, god is accessible to human reason, and, so the evil of this world is the 8 hume. If such a creator exists, then there can be no evil p3. In addition, we will examine several theodicies, which are attempts to explain why god permits evil. References to the abstract ta are to the two editions of the. In the nature of god, gerard hughes takes five central attributes existence, simplicity, omniscience, omnipotence and goodness which are central to the classical concept of god. Mackie pub lished his argument that was designed to expose a logical contradiction be tween the existence of god and the existence of evilan argument which, if valid, is a direct disproof of theism.
The first consists of two historically interesting treatments of the problem of evil leibniz and hume with responses by contemporary philosophers robert adams and nelson pike, this is an impressive collection of papers on the problem of evil the problem of how an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect god can permit suffering by. This volume fills that need, offering the most uptodate collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. The problem of evil, in all its iterations, presents a significant intellectual and existential problem to the christian theist. The problem of evil catholic education resource center. Philos argument from evil in a muchdiscussed passage in part x of humes dialogues concerning natural religion 1779 has been interpreted in three main ways. Its a theme thats played out in books and on the big screen. Mill, for example, suggested a radical weakening of 1 and 2. Evil and suffering is thought to pose a problem for christians or, more generally, for theists, those who believe in a god who is at once allpowerful or almighty, allknowing and perfectly good. David hume, scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. And if they are, should we conclude that such a god does not, in all likelihood, exist. The most recent of these books, from the spectrum multiview books series, seeks to address an ageold problem with a bit of modern flaregod and the problem of evil. The problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The trouble has come from the idea that the absolute is a.
God is infinitely powerful no limits on what god can do evil exists. David hume 17111776 was called saint david and the good david by his friends, but his adversaries knew him as the great infidel. The first circumstance which introduces evil, is that contrivance or economy of the animal creation, by which pains, as well as pleasures, are employed to excite all creatures to action, and make them vigilant in the great work of selfpreservation. While some might complain that this softpedals the problem it isnt just the lack of. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The volume concludes with three important articles that sketch an explanation of why god might need to permit the terrible evils that abound in our world. 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. The evidential challenge also known as the inductive argument seeks to show that the existence of evil counts against the probability of the truth of theism defined as the.
If god is 3o, then he would know when evil will occur, be able to prevent its occurrence, and want to do so. Using three fictional charactersdemea, cleanthes and philowho are debating the problem the evil, hume indeed seeks to show that one cannot demonstrate that god is all good and all powerful using human experience and human. Now pleasure alone, in its various degrees, seems to human understanding sufficient for this. One cannot hold all three beliefs without contradiction. The book of job, on the other hand, is unorthodox with respect to the accepted orthodoxy, for it frankly treats the difficult fact that the justice of god is not confirmed. Hume solved the problem of evil by claiming that the divine was amoral but not by denying gods existence which he needed in order to advocate his favoured notion of a general providence. This is the classic philosophical assault on the idea of god being allgood, allwise, and allpowerful.
A linked index to the project gutenberg editions t. Part of the palgrave philosophy today book series ppt. For some time, however, there has been a need for a collection of readings that adequately represents recent and ongoing writing on the topic. This theme is in the background of the selection from hume s dialogues concerning natural religion that deal with the problem of evil. It is difficult to imagine that god could exist given the various kinds. Hume solved the problem of evil by claiming that the divine was amoral but not by denying god s existence which he needed in order to advocate his favoured notion of a general providence. Download pdf gratuitoussufferingandtheproblemofevil.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. His contributions to religion have had a lasting impact and contemporary significance. Humes dialogues concerning natural religion and the problem of evil. As you will recall, the dialogues have three characters. The fundamental problem of evil for hume, was evil s potential to drive people to the notion. The logical problem of evil we have noted that there are two aspects of the problem of evil.
Are the evils in the world strong evidence against the existence of an allpowerful and allgood god. If god is omni benevolent he will want to put a stop to it. But it also presents an opportunity to share ones faith, and to show that the problem of evil, instead of defeating the christian worldview, actually supports it. 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. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of david hume 17111776 and what it means. Tool text in the judeochristianislamic traditions, one of the major problems for theists those who believe that there is a god is the problem of evil. Beginning with historically significant essays by leibniz and hume, the book then focuses on contemporary discussions of the problem of evil. My top 5 books on the problem of evil christianity today. As the first known presentation by the greek philosopher epicurus, as attributed and made popular by david hume, puts it. One of the principal challenges to the belief in god is the problem of evil. 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.
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