PROBLEM OF EVIL
(AQA)
Question bundle (5,12,25)
, Exam questions:
1. What are the three beliefs that constitute the problem of evil?
a. That God is omnibenevolent, omniscient, omnipotent. If he truly is all three
then why does evil exist? It stems from the inconsistent triad proposed by J.L
Mackie who showed that the problem of evil and that all 3 cannot exist.
2. How does moral evil differ from natural evil?
a. Moral evil is physical pain and mental suffering brought about the deliberate
actions/ neglect of human beings, e.g., carrying out murder whereas natural
evil refers to the pain and suffering that does not originate in human action
or agency but are the result of natural events and physical processes
(including bacteria, cancer, genetic diseases, viruses) as well as evil with
physical causes such as earthquakes, droughts, meteor strikes, volcanoes and
hurricanes.
3. How does moral evil and natural evil connect (with link to Midgely)?
a. By touching upon are understanding of agency and natural processes, we can
show that moral and natural evil are connected and can even be reduced to
one type. Mary Midgely argues that evil is a human problem and argues that
the roots of human evil lie in our natural history (e.g evolution of human
nature).
It can be argued that moral evil is a type of natural evil because of the
following:
P1: Natural evil is evil emerging from natural processes and laws
P2: Moral evil is evil caused by human agency
P3: Human agency emerges from natural processes and laws
C: Therefore moral evil is just a human-centred type of natural evil
It can be argued that natural evil is a type of moral evil because of the
following:
P1: Moral evil is evil caused by agency
P2: Natural evil is evil emerging from natural processes and laws
P3: God is an agent who created the worlds natural processes and laws
C: Therefore natural evil is a type of moral evil brought about by God
4. Explain the evidential problem of evil
a. Evidential problem of evil is an inductive, a posteriori argument which is
based upon observations of the intensity of suffering in the world, and if
correct it shows it is reasonable to believe that God does not exist. William
(AQA)
Question bundle (5,12,25)
, Exam questions:
1. What are the three beliefs that constitute the problem of evil?
a. That God is omnibenevolent, omniscient, omnipotent. If he truly is all three
then why does evil exist? It stems from the inconsistent triad proposed by J.L
Mackie who showed that the problem of evil and that all 3 cannot exist.
2. How does moral evil differ from natural evil?
a. Moral evil is physical pain and mental suffering brought about the deliberate
actions/ neglect of human beings, e.g., carrying out murder whereas natural
evil refers to the pain and suffering that does not originate in human action
or agency but are the result of natural events and physical processes
(including bacteria, cancer, genetic diseases, viruses) as well as evil with
physical causes such as earthquakes, droughts, meteor strikes, volcanoes and
hurricanes.
3. How does moral evil and natural evil connect (with link to Midgely)?
a. By touching upon are understanding of agency and natural processes, we can
show that moral and natural evil are connected and can even be reduced to
one type. Mary Midgely argues that evil is a human problem and argues that
the roots of human evil lie in our natural history (e.g evolution of human
nature).
It can be argued that moral evil is a type of natural evil because of the
following:
P1: Natural evil is evil emerging from natural processes and laws
P2: Moral evil is evil caused by human agency
P3: Human agency emerges from natural processes and laws
C: Therefore moral evil is just a human-centred type of natural evil
It can be argued that natural evil is a type of moral evil because of the
following:
P1: Moral evil is evil caused by agency
P2: Natural evil is evil emerging from natural processes and laws
P3: God is an agent who created the worlds natural processes and laws
C: Therefore natural evil is a type of moral evil brought about by God
4. Explain the evidential problem of evil
a. Evidential problem of evil is an inductive, a posteriori argument which is
based upon observations of the intensity of suffering in the world, and if
correct it shows it is reasonable to believe that God does not exist. William
