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    For all we know, this world may have been created by a li... — Carmelics
    Home/Natural Theology
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    For all we know, this world may have been created by a limited, inferior, or negligent deity rather than a perfect one

    Against an attribute of GodNatural Theology
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.The distribution of suffering in nature follows no discernible pattern of moral desert, indicating indifference rather than benevolent design.
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    • 2.An indifferent or limited designer is a simpler explanation for morally arbitrary suffering than a perfect being requiring elaborate theodicy.
      ?

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    • 3.Ockham's razor favors the hypothesis requiring fewer auxiliary assumptions, and a limited deity requires no theodicy to explain natural evil.
      ?

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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Leibniz's own argument that God chose the best of all possible worlds concedes that non-optimal worlds are metaphysically conceivable alternatives.
      ?

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    • 2.If non-optimal worlds are conceivable and the actual world contains suboptimal features, the actual world's designer need not have been perfect.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation by an infant deity who abandoned the project
      ?

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    • 2.The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation by a superannuated deity in dotage
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    • 3.We have no clear evidence of perfection in this world that would rule out these alternative hypotheses
      ?

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    Topics

    Natural TheologyAgainst an attribute of God

    Connections

    1 topic

    Skepticism1 linked

    Related

    An indifferent or limited designer is a simpler explanation for morally arbitrar...If non-optimal worlds are conceivable and the actual world contains suboptimal f...Leibniz's own argument that God chose the best of all possible worlds concedes t...Ockham's razor favors the hypothesis requiring fewer auxiliary assumptions, and ...
    +4 moreShow less
    The distribution of suffering in nature follows no discernible pattern of moral ...The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation by a supera...The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation by an infan...We have no clear evidence of perfection in this world that would rule out these ...

    Similar

    We cannot infer that this world was created by a perfect or supreme de...87%The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation b...81%The observed imperfections of the world are consistent with creation b...81%The whole world, which would possess the quality of deity, does not ye...79%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: hume-religion
    View source passageHide passage
    Philo goes on to suggest that, for all we know, this world “is very faulty and imperfect, compared to a superior standard”. Given this, we may also conjecture that this world was created by “some infant Deity, who afterwards abandoned it, ashamed of his lame performance” or it is “the production of old age and dotage in some superannuated Deity”, and so on (D, 5.12/169). The general point being made is that in the absence of clear evidence of perfection in this world we must “proportion the caus
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit