So then there’s this other character that, and Dostoevsky very much wrote, he wrote it in stages. And no doubt, it requires supernatural activity on the part of God, but we’re already. %PDF-1.5 %���� So he’s, I take it what Dostoevsky’s doing, he’s saying he’s a kind of witness. This label calls attention to the “real-life” dimension of the problem in addition to the more abstract and general lines of reason - ing that are typically pursued. Tom Crisp, Emmanuel Katongole). Horrific Evil. It still, it doesn’t help me to, but God could cause them to have insight into the character of God that it could somehow take on redemptive significance for them. And he just speaks with great confidence that it is possible to be reconciled to that without diminishing it and while still identifying with the victim of suffering. And so then, for some individuals, when they experience this kind of intense suffering, they find themselves just psychologically withdrawing from God. You know, he says, “I don’t want to, even if it’s true “that God will bring great good “and cause an ultimate harmony of all things “in the eschaton. Our free 4-week, 8-lesson ecourse on navigating the pain of loss... What Happens When We Die: What We Are and What We Will Become, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University, CCT Scholar-in-Residence and Executive Board Member / Professor of Philosophy, Biola University. On theone hand, there are metaphysical interpretations of the term: God isa prime mover, or a first cause, or a necessary being that has itsnecessity of itself, or the ground of being, or a being whos… I mean is this an effect? He’s a person of overwhelming love, and that’s the thing. How is it that the existence of all of this suffering we find ourselves confronted with is compatible with the existence of an all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing God? (2b) Extreme and horrendous evil exists. The Hollowness of the Pragmatic Argument from Evil. And so, I wondered if you could tell us a bit about how you think about the practical problem of evil, and what you think Dobzhansky’s solution or reply to this problem is. And all the, he functions, I think, in Dostoevsky’s hands as a kind of witness to, because he encounters people, people come to him who are suffering horribly. Tim O’Connor (Baylor University) reflects on the psychological, existential nature of the problem of evil, and looks to Dostoevsky’s Father Zossima of The Brothers Karamazov for an answer. It can be done. 400 0 obj <>stream But one of them goes off. The survey included the question “If you could ask God only one question and you knew he would give you an answer, what would you ask?” The most common response, offered by 17% of those who could think of a question was “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?” (Strobel 2000, p. 29). See William Rowe, ‘The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism’ in M. M. Adams and R. M. Adams (edd), The Problem of Evil (Oxford: OUP, 1990) The argument for atheism based on evil: 1. 380 0 obj <> endobj He specializes in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. I’m gonna give you a picture. When considering their respective ethical implications, both the existential and non-existential variations of direct inductive arguments fail. 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 … Yes, exactly. Existentialism (/ ˌ ɛ ɡ z ɪ ˈ s t ɛ n ʃ əl ɪ z əm / or / ˌ ɛ k s ə ˈ s t ɛ n t ʃ ə ˌ l ɪ z əm /) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the lived experience of the thinking, feeling, acting individual. The “evidential” subcategory – … Yes, I think that’s it. h�Ėmk�0ǿ�`oZXѓ%�PI�����4[�/�ZK �lwk�}��8q���� c�,�t�~�-�!�H!�����@A+H��_ΠSF�"0`(�%�H�$����'"X��`U�89=�����51����Y��w$!=KV�.���D�!���DpMG�d^)�����x�'J?�Bh����d��4[��`W��E�=fM��1:��Ev���G�pI��s�B/��F��0��v�o�=]��_ŕ٪.J�}�Y(��Yx�ׯ�G^^!�_�з��9'ah��g�~�A�����VJ?Y�c���!���r�����)�-0t����ʶ�곻�l�b���L�E�q1���qz}Sc���I�f��. First two forms of the Problem of Evil. Evil and the Demonic. And over the course of his life, he embraced the Christian faith and was slowly transformed. Menssen, Sandra L. "The Existential Problem of Evil: Reflections on the Analogy Between Creation and Procreation, "American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly: Annual Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, Vol. The existential problem of evil is simply this, and I say this to people: that ultimately the problem of evil is not a problem because you’ve got a bunch of philosophers or eggheads somewhere in an ivory tower debating the intellectual merits of Christian theism. If God is all-good, wouldn’t He want to prevent so much of this horrific suffering? 229 - 246. of the problem of evil, some work has also been done on what we might call the existential version. Wandering in Darkness: Eleonore Stump on Suffering, Evil, and Personal Encounter, Union with God: Love, Joy and Peace (Eleonore Stump), Suffering, the Problem of Evil, & the Desires of the Heart, The Existential Problem of Evil and The Brothers Karamazov, Purging the World of Evil: St. Thomas Aquinas on the Atoning Work of Christ, Should We Tolerate Evil Opinions? It can make it very difficult to believe that there is a God of the kind described by traditional Christianity. in Philosophy from Talbot School of Theology and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Notre Dame. So, but, this character, Father Zosima, is a sort of, he’s, we’re introduced to him as this saintly monk that people come to, and they just feel spiritual comfort often just in his presence even when he doesn’t speak. Atheist Job Description: Non-Applicable: The evil does all the work itself Theistic Response: 1. if all of this requires the torture of this one innocent child, then I don’t want a part of it. They worry that this seems to say that they should not properly grieve the suffering that human individuals experience. The Literature of Theodicy. The philosophical problem posed by the existence of evil is not. Before delving into the deep and often murky waters of the problem of evil, it will be helpful to provide some philosophical background to this venerable subject. But it’s also, there’s also an existential problem that we face when we encounter terrible evil in our own lives and in the lives of others. The term “God” is used with a wide variety of differentmeanings. For this reason, Lewis spent a significant amount of time exploring the topic in his books, both in fiction and nonfiction. This is what it looks like to be full of love, wholly trusting in God and his goodness, wholly in solidarity with the suffering This is what it looks like. It can induce a kind of vertigo. Summary and Conclusions: The Problem of Evil and Pain. • The responses to this problem work just fine, while one sits comfortably in a nice, cool philosophy classroom. The History of Theodicy. But even then we should not love them. Problem # 3: Existential Problem of Evil Psychological inability to believe or practice the faith. William Hasker, in the selection here, argues You have three sons of, that are all interesting characters. And he doesn’t tell us how. And he very much wanted the novel to offer response to the problem of evil, and he feared that he did a better job of framing the problem of evil than he did in giving a powerful Christian response to it. It’s, and it’s because, perhaps out of an identification with the sufferer. And it’s hard to imagine sometimes how that could be. Biola University's Center for Christian Thought is supported by generous grants from: © 1996-2021 Biola University, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Is Dobzhansky in effect saying I’m not gonna give you an argument? But it’s also, there’s also an existential problem that we face when we encounter terrible evil in our own lives and in the lives of others. And it’s very painful to read, his recounting of just some horrific atrocities that occurred in and around that time. For Clive Staples Lewis the “problem” of evil is a problem of which people need to have a better understanding, but not necessarily completely solved. endstream endobj 381 0 obj <>/Metadata 71 0 R/Pages 378 0 R/StructTreeRoot 110 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 382 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 378 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 383 0 obj <>stream References . And you can imagine trying to come in and give the person an argument, you know, a philosophical argument. The Existential Problem of Evil: As often called the "religious," "personal," or "pastoral" problem of evil, the existential problem is one that asks, "Why my suffering and/or evil at this time in this way in this place?" As it’s treated in the writings of Theodosius Dobzhansky and his beautiful character, Father Zosima. I meant to speak of the suffering of mankind generally, And we don’t want to align ourselves with any grand scheme of things such that this is a part of what’s being planned. “The Problem of Evil ” by Fyodor Dostoevsky beggars come in, they wear silken rags and tattered lace and beg for alms dancing gracefully, then one might like looking at them. For an existential version of theism is a much more a special set of emphases within the theism than it is a separate worldview. But I think as Christians, we also have to bear in mind that the God we worship is a god who suffered greatly on our behalf. (1) An all-powerful, all-good and all-loving, all-knowing God exists. ISBN 0-19-926347-7. And we have some of his correspondence. 0 a. %%EOF Much as Schopenhauer once suggested (1818), the existence of evil gives rise to a philosophical problem that is logically prior to and distinct from the classical problem.2 I call this problem the secular problem of … There is evil... Evidential problem of evil. Philosophers sometimes wave off this task—one some regard as “merely” addressing the “pastoral” or “existential” problem of evil. I want to just stand apart and stand with the suffering victim, so. ...It is simply that the Bible operates within a cosmic, mo… And so why do we find ourselves confronted with all this suffering? (2a) Evil exists. Related Issues and Problems. ...Instead we encounter a variety of perspectives... Consequently [the Bible focuses on] moral and spiritual remedies, not rational or logical [justifications]. These are as follows: The Philosophical Problem of Evil – “Why does an omnipotent, perfectly good God’s creation include evil?” Sociologist Walter Brueggemannsays theodicy is "a constant concern of the entire Bible" and needs to "include the category of social evil as well as moral, natural (physical) and religious evil". One of them goes off and is educated in the West and becomes a, sort of Enlightenment, atheist-type figure. which maybe in some cases might help, but in many cases maybe would feel cold and lifeless and unduly abstract. Since any direct inductive problem of evil must be either existential or non-existential, without an adequate response to such objections, the success of direct inductive arguments is greatly diminished. If an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent god exists, then evil does not. Yeah, the practical problem is sometimes we find ourselves quite rightly feeling a revulsion against certain kinds of really horrific evil that certainly others in the world experience, and maybe we, ourselves, have been touched by at some point in our lives. But, of course, as theists the problem is God has permitted a world, for us to exist in a world where precisely such horrible things have happened. They have great sensitivity to suffering, and yet they also have profound intimacy with God. They’re not dismissive of suffering. But God is capable of, Jesus is the great physician, and we are promised that individuals who cling to God will, even if they’re not capable of experiencing that wholeness, that overcoming of deep woundedness, God can bring that about. Citation/Other Information. The inner life of God who grieves over his suffering and sinful children and longs to have them return to them and experience profound suffering and alienation in the second person of the Trinity, incarnated and crucified. to reconcile that. Yet we can miss the melodies of beauty and order available to us through a new spiritual life; a life that comes from restoring our relationship to God through Christ. Tim O'Connor (Ph.D. Cornell) is Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University. So, the problem of evil. It was published in serial form, as many 19th century novels were. The Politics of Theodicy. The first and perhaps most important step of this stage-setting process will be to identify and clarify the conception of God that is normally presupposed in contemporary debates (at least within the Anglo-American analytic tradition) on the problem of evil. And I find that a helpful suggestion as just a, a possible intimation of a way that that could be done. The Existential Problem of Evil and Redemptive Suffering. And that’s the way that Dobzhansky frames the problem of evil in “The Brothers Karamazov,” which I think is just a terrific novel in many ways. So really a model of Christian virtue, a very Christ-like figure. Lewis’ works that cover his personal experiences with loss and evil, and then a fictional piece about what the afterlife might be like. Many religious individuals sometimes report, not so much theoretically ceasing to believe that God exists when they encounter evil, but just God feeling distant, and feeling the inability to draw near to God and to love God, to trust God given his willing permission of these kinds of suffering. The Existential Problem of Evil • The Philosophical Problem of Evil concerns evil in the general and in the abstract. I don’t want Him to change my mind about this. And they can experience it as a moral committedness and trust in the love of God. Thomas M. 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