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    One can derive a formula giving the probability that God ... — Carmelics
    Home/Problem of Evil
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    One can derive a formula giving the probability that God does not exist relative to information about the number of apparent evils in the world.

    Problem of Evil
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.A substantive theory of inductive logic, or logical probability, can be brought to bear upon the argument from evil.
      ?

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    • 2.When this is done, the probability that God does not exist can be calculated relative to the number of apparent evils found in the world.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Logical probability requires a prior probability space over possible worlds, but no non-arbitrary such space exists for theistic hypotheses.
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    • 2.Carnap's inductive logic programs collapsed precisely because assigning logical probabilities across metaphysical hypotheses requires substantive commitments that cannot be derived from logic alone.
      ?

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    • 3.Without a principled prior for divine existence, any formula purporting to calculate P(~God | evil) smuggles in empirical or theological assumptions, rendering it non-logical.
      ?

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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.The reference class of 'apparent evils' is theory-laden: whether an event counts as evil depends on background moral and theological commitments that are themselves contested.
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    • 2.Alston argued that our cognitive faculties are demonstrably unreliable for assessing whether God has sufficient reasons for permitting specific evils, undermining the evidential weight assigned to each counted instance.
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    Problem of Evil

    Related

    A substantive theory of inductive logic, or logical probability, can be brought ...Alston argued that our cognitive faculties are demonstrably unreliable for asses...Carnap's inductive logic programs collapsed precisely because assigning logical ...Logical probability requires a prior probability space over possible worlds, but...
    +3 moreShow less
    The reference class of 'apparent evils' is theory-laden: whether an event counts...When this is done, the probability that God does not exist can be calculated rel...Without a principled prior for divine existence, any formula purporting to calcu...

    Similar

    When this is done, the probability that God does not exist can be calc...93%If the probability of God's nonexistence is zero on any body of eviden...83%There is at least some non-zero probability that God does not exist, g...82%This approach generates a result that enables one not just to conclude...77%

    Source

    AI-extracted
    SEP: evil
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    The fourth and final approach, which has been set out by Michael Tooley, involves the idea of bringing a substantive theory of inductive logic, or logical probability, to bear upon the argument from evil, and then to argue that when this is done, one can derive a formula giving the probability that God does not exist relative to information about the number of apparent evils to be found in the world.

    Details

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