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    Carmelics

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    We cannot vindicate God's infinite power and goodness by ... — Carmelics
    Home/Problem of Evil
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    We cannot vindicate God's infinite power and goodness by assuming this world is the perfect creation of a perfect being, because that assumption is precisely what needs to be established.

    Problem of Evil
    ?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.Philo's argument in Hume's Dialogues shows that empirical observation of the world yields only a finite, imperfect cause, not an infinite perfect deity.
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    • 2.Inferring God's perfection from an imperfect world violates the proportionality principle: causes must be proportioned to observed effects.
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    • 3.Positing a perfect creator to explain an imperfect world introduces an explanatory entity whose properties systematically exceed all available evidence.
      ?

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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.J.L. Mackie's logical problem of evil demonstrates that omnipotence, omnibenevolence, and evil form an internally inconsistent triad without added ad hoc assumptions.
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    • 2.Any theodicy that presupposes divine perfection to dissolve the inconsistency is question-begging, as Antony Flew's falsification challenge established.
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    • 3.A claim requiring its own conclusion as a premise fails the basic epistemic standard of non-circular justification that all valid inference demands.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.There is overwhelming evidence of unnecessary and inexplicable evil in the world.
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    • 2.Explaining away evidence of evil by assuming a perfect creator commits circular reasoning.
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    • 3.The assumption that this world is the perfect creation of a perfect being must be established independently, not presupposed.
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    Topics

    Problem of EvilAgainst an aspect of God

    Key Terms

    Circular reasoning / Begging the question(the underlying logical problem the statement is addressing)
    When you use something as proof for itself, like saying 'I know I'm awake because I appear to be awake'—you're assuming what you're trying to prove.
    Vindicate(as used in philosophical arguments)
    To prove or justify that something is correct or valid.
    infinite goodness(as used in theology and philosophy of religion)
    Perfect moral excellence without any flaws or limitations; another traditional attribute of God.
    infinite power(as used in theology and philosophy of religion)
    The ability to do anything without limits or constraints; a traditional attribute of God in theology.
    perfect creation(as used in theology)
    Something made that has no flaws, mistakes, or room for improvement.
    the problem of evil(Contemporary philosophical terminology)
    The family of issues raised by the question of why pain, moral wickedness, and varieties of imperfection exist if a perfectly good and all-powerful God alone created everything in the universe.

    Connections

    1 topic

    Truth & Knowledge2 linked

    Related

    A claim requiring its own conclusion as a premise fails the basic epistemic stan...Any theodicy that presupposes divine perfection to dissolve the inconsistency is...Explaining away evidence of evil by assuming a perfect creator commits circular ...Inferring God's perfection from an imperfect world violates the proportionality ...

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: hume-religion
    View source passageHide passage
    This problem is, of course, most acute when it comes to the “reality of evil” that we observe in the world. How do we vindicate God’s “infinite power and goodness” when we are faced with overwhelming evidence of (unnecessary and inexplicable) evil in the world? What we cannot do, Hume argues, is explain away all evidence of this kind by way of assuming that this world is the perfect creation of a perfect being. It is this assumption that needs to be established, so we must not assume it in our r
    Extraction notes

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

    Details

    +5 moreShow less
    J.L. Mackie's logical problem of evil demonstrates that omnipotence, omnibenevol...Philo's argument in Hume's Dialogues shows that empirical observation of the wor...Positing a perfect creator to explain an imperfect world introduces an explanato...The assumption that this world is the perfect creation of a perfect being must b...There is overwhelming evidence of unnecessary and inexplicable evil in the world...

    Similar

    The assumption that this world is the perfect creation of a perfect be...87%The theist cannot establish God's attributes of infinite power and goo...81%To establish God's infinite power and goodness from creation, the thei...80%The mere possibility that all evil is necessary does not suffice to ju...80%
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit