PHIL1004 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Existence Of God, Omnipotence, Intelligent Designer
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Why would such an intelligent designer design a world like ours?
E.g. sick children, irrationality, poverty, famines, refugees crisis.
LECTURE 2.1 27/02
EVIL AND OMNIPOTENCE – J MACKIE
- I its siplest for the prole is this: God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists.
There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them
ere true the third ould e false.
A. Adequate Solutions
- If ou do’t eliee God is oipotet the the prole of eil does ot eist.
B. Fallacious Solutions
- Good aot eist ithout eil or Eil is eessar as a outerpart to good. → this liits God’s
poer as it suggests God aot reate good ithout siultaeousl reatig eil
- Eil is eessar as a eas to good. → would be resolved if God is omnipotent and answerable to
himself.
- The uierse is etter ith soe eil i it tha it ould e if there ere o eil
o God is not concerned with evil only with promoting good
- Eil is due to hua freeill →
o first order eil e.g. pai a e justified as a logiall eessar opoet i seod
order good (e.g. sympathy) while second order evil (e.g. cruelty) is not justified, but is so
ascribed to human beings that God cannot be held responsible for it. This combination
evades my third criticism of the preceding solution.
o However why does God refrain from controlling will to stop evil?
- God’s oipotee ust e restrited i oe a
MACKIE’“ ARGUMENT – THE PROBLEM OF GOD
- What is the philosophers argument?
- Is it true for the belief that you have?
Inconsistent Triad
1. God is omnipotent (Assumption 1 – Omnipotence is unlimited)
2. God is wholly good (Assumption 2 – Good eliminates evil as far as it can))
3. Yet evil exists
1. God is omnipotent & wholly good
2. Evil exists
3. (Given 2) 1 must be false
God cannot be both omnipotent and wholly good
Therefore there is no God
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Document Summary
E. g. sick children, irrationality, poverty, famines, refugees crisis. 27/02 (cid:862)i(cid:374) its si(cid:373)plest for(cid:373) the pro(cid:271)le(cid:373) is this: god is omnipotent; god is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them (cid:449)ere true the third (cid:449)ould (cid:271)e false. (cid:863: adequate solutions. God"s o(cid:373)(cid:374)ipote(cid:374)(cid:272)e (cid:373)ust (cid:271)e restri(cid:272)ted i(cid:374) o(cid:374)e (cid:449)a(cid:455) God cannot be both omnipotent and wholly good. Good cannot exist without evil (they are conceptual counterparts so (cid:1006)&(cid:1007) (cid:373)ust go together(cid:895). Mackie objection 1: this sets a logical limit on what god can do. Maybe there should be logical limits on omnipotence. Ma(cid:272)kie o(cid:271)je(cid:272)tio(cid:374) (cid:1006): god (cid:374)e(cid:448)er produ(cid:272)es (cid:894)a(cid:271)solute(cid:895) (cid:862)good(cid:863). There would always need to be at least a ti(cid:374)(cid:455) (cid:271)it of e(cid:448)il for good to e(cid:454)ist. (cid:862)better tha(cid:374)(cid:863) Evil is a necessary means to good (2&3 must go together) Mackie objection: this sets a (casual) limit on what god can do.
