|
First Essay Topic Consider the following outline of an evidential argument from evil. It is reconstructed (for the most part, word-for-word) from various claims made by William Rowe and others. The evidential problem of evil derives its strength from our almost inescapable conviction that among the goods that fall within our intellectual grasp none can reasonably be thought to constitute God’s justifying reason for permitting such horrendous evils as E1 and E2. (E1 is the case of the fawn trapped in a forest fire and undergoing several days of terrible agony before dying; E2 is the case of the rape, beating, and murder by strangulation of a five-year-old girl.) When we reflect on any good we know of, we can see that it is very likely, if not certain, that the good in question is either not good enough to justify God in permitting E1 or E2 or is such that an omnipotent, omniscient being could realize it (or some greater good) without having to permit E1 or E2. Now if we divide the possible justifying goods into those that fall within our intellectual grasp and those (if any there be) that lie utterly beyond our ken, and then discover that none of the goods in the first category are justifying for God with respect to such horrendous evils, we significantly lower the likelihood of God’s existence. So, given our common knowledge of the evils and goods in our world and our reason for believing no good we know of justifies God in permitting E1 and E2, it is irrational to believe in theism unless we possess or discover strong evidence in its behalf. Carefully evaluate what you take to be the argument of the above passage. In doing so, you may want to consider some of the following sorts of questions. Does the argument rest on any underlying assumptions? If so, should we accept them? What are the argument’s strengths? Is the argument seriously flawed? Is its conclusion true? How great is the threat of this argument to the theist? What do you think is the theist’s best response? Your essay, which may not exceed 800 words, is due in class on Thursday, February 24, 2011. You may hand in your essay after that time; but notice that all late papers will be penalized in the following way. I will expect more of them; that is, I will expect them to reflect the fact that their author had extra time to work on them, and they will be graded accordingly. In addition, late papers will not receive written comments. Notice that you must also submit an identical copy of your paper to the Turnitin site not later than 11:59 p.m. that same day (February 24). A paper will be deemed late unless it meets both of these deadlines. Return/transfer to the Philosophy 332 Home Page. Return/transfer to the Administrative Information Page for our course.
|