PHIL 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Omnipotence

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coffeefox99

2 Mar 2017

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Mackie argues that theists who accept the following premises must accept that their beliefs a(cid:396)e (cid:272)o(cid:374)t(cid:396)adi(cid:272)to(cid:396)(cid:455) a(cid:374)d a(cid:396)e pa(cid:396)t of the (cid:862)problem of evil. (cid:863) God is wholly good: god is omnipotent, god is wholly good; and yet, evil exists. If any of these propositions were true, the third would be false. So, the problem of evil has been expanded to include five premises. Good is opposed to the evil that exists and will seek to eliminate it as far as it can. There are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do. The autho(cid:396) p(cid:396)oposes (cid:862)ade(cid:395)uate solutio(cid:374)s(cid:863) to the p(cid:396)o(cid:271)le(cid:373) of e(cid:448)il. If one accepts that any of the five premises are untrue, then the problem of evil will not apply to their beliefs about god. The author proceeds to analyze fallacious solutions to the problem of evil, most of which place limits on the above five premises.

Related Questions

Intrinsic value vs. Instrumental Value

Philosophy Question: Is wisdom (philosophy) something you value most, which you consider most vital to living a good life?

Is wisdom something mostly intrinsically valuable and so desired solely for its own sake? Or is wisdom also instrumentally valuable and so desired also for the sake of something else you desire/want? If so, what?

Instrumental Value

You value most things instrumentally, that is, as a means to some end. Usually, this is obvious and trivial. For instance, you value a washing machine that works—purely for its useful function, or instrumental value.

Intrinsic Value

There are two notions of intrinsic value. It can be: