The fourth volume of the history of evil explores the key thinkers and themes relating to the question of evil in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What does alyosha mean when he says to ivan, that is rebellion. So this version of the argument claims that while the existence of evil and the existence of ogod might be logically possible it is unreasonable to believe there is an ogod given evil and far more reasonable to believe that there is no such being. In chapter ten of his book dialogues concerning natural religion, david hume discusses the problem of evil. The problem of evil in the western tradition redshelf. Voltaire s popular novel candide mocked leibnizian optimism through the.
Evil is an illusion or a lack of the being of goodness. Dialogues concerning natural religion part xi, 210 on the concurrence, then, of these four circumstances, does all or the greatest part of natural evil depend. We will look at theodicy in selections from the works of hume, bayle, voltaire, leibniz, and kant. Having written some literary works and also some music, in december 1745 rousseau wrote a letter introducing himself to voltaire, who was by then the most prominent literary figure in.
Voltaire was the french author of the novella candide, also known as optimism durant and durant 724. Some theodicies also address the evidential problem of evil by attempting to make the existence of an allknowing, allpowerful and allgood or omnibenevolent god consistent with the existence of evil or. If any two of these are true, the third one should be false. In candide, what is it about voltaires critique that. Hume, voltaire and the problem of evil the presence of evil and suffering in the world has raised questions in the philosophy of religion for centuries. Chapter 1 jobs complaint and the whirlwinds answer from the book of job. The problem of evil david hume humanities libretexts. Evil arises arises at the disappearance of goodness. Voltaire wrote candide to refute and parody liebnizs philosophy that our world is the best one god could have created. The theistic concept of god as supremely powerful, intelligent, and good makes the problem very difficult because such a being, it would seem, would make a. David hume 17111776, dialogues concerning natural religion hume s thesis what hes trying to prove. Voltaire specifically talks about natural suffering, which made sense in light of the recent lisbon earthquake that occurred during his life. Joseph kelly covers the book of job, the book of revelation, augustine of hippo, aquinas, luther, marlow, milton, voltaire, hume, mary shelley, darwin, jung.
Of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world arguably commands more attention than any other. Voltaire exposes the fallacy of optimism in candide 123 help me. Indeed, hume s treatment of the problem of evil showed that his quarrel in the natural history of religion 1 and the enquiry concerning human understanding, 2 section xi, was with a particular providence rather than the possibility of a divine orderer. The book god, freedom, and evil is written by alvin plantinga who tries rebutting evil, as viewed as a logical problem. Mackie, alvin plantinga, william rowe, marilyn adams, john hick, william hasker, paul draper, michael bergmann, eleonore stump, peter van. The problem of evil is one of the most discussed topics in the philosophy of religion. If it doesnt try to answer hume, move on to one that does. Voltaire and his evidential argument from evil philosophy. For some time, however, there has been a need for a collection of readings that adequately represents recent and ongoing writing on the topic.
Hume s discussion of the problem takes place mainly in. One of the modern philosophers who is often overlooked on the problem of evil is voltaire. Petersons expanded and updated second edition retains the key features of the original and presents the main positions and strategies in the latest philosophical literature on. Leibniz on the problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
Hume on religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The philosophical problem of evil is the challenge of reconciling belief in. The trilemma was stated by the greek philosopher epicurus during antiquity and was restated during the modern period by david hume. That focus also underlies one of this book s central claims. The problem of evil in philosophy 1684 words bartleby. Ranging from traditional texts such as job, augustine, aquinas, and hume to such contemporary authors as plantinga, rowe, stump, and van inwagen, there is no significant writer or topic that peterson fails to include. In candide, liebnitzs optimism is summed up in the words of candides tutor. The philosopher david hume presented one of the more prominent arguments regarding the problem of evil. Peter kivy, voltaire, hume, and the problem of evil philpapers. Job, voltaire, dostoevsky, augustine, aquinas, leibniz, and hume, and. I meant to speak of the suffering of mankind generally. The second edition includes classical excerpts from the book of job, voltaire, dostoevsky, augustine, aquinas, leibniz, and hume, and.
God, viewed as a perfect and omnipotent god who exists, and the other proposition is that evil exists. The philosophical problem of evil is the challenge of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world. The very idea of evil is highly contentious in modern thought and this period was one in which the concept was intensely debated and criticized. The history of evil in the eighteenth and nineteenth. Humes fundamental problem of evil philosophy cambridge core. Perhaps the most common theodicy is the socalled freewill argument very similar to augustines argument. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the greek philosopher epicurus which was popularized by david hume. An alternative history of philosophy introduction author. Sep 20, 2010 if a book can answer hume, it can answer most skeptics today.
The problem of evil michael l peterson bok 9780268100322. Leibniz, and hume, and twentyfive essays that have shaped the. Theodicy, the free will defense and the nature of god in the presence of moral evil. Evil is inherent in the human psyche, but voltaire most particularly critiques the way european customs and institutions have exacerbated the worlds evil. In considering his alternative of the general providence hume is shown to be closer to theism than has often been thought. The fundamental problem of evil for hume, was evils potential to drive people to the notion of a particular providence with its attendant damaging passions. The second edition includes classical excerpts from the book of job, voltaire, dostoevsky, augustine, aquinas, leibniz, and hume, and twentyfive essays that have shaped the contemporary discussion, by j. These conclusions, however, were not advocated by the eminent 18th century philosopher, david hume. It is to answer the question of why a good god permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil.
Humes dialogues concerning natural religion 177850, and more recently j. The problem of evil by fyodor dostoevsky beggars come in, they wear silken rags and tattered lace and beg for alms dancing gracefully, then one might like looking at them. We will look at theodicy in selections from the works of hume, bayle, voltaire. Nov 18, 2016 voltaire published candide in january 1659, but humes work, dialogues concerning natural religion, of which evil was talked about was not even finished until 1676, and humes discussion of the problem of evil didnt even show up until book x which was very much towards the end of the book. As you will recall, the dialogues have three characters. Evil asserts that there is two inconsistent proposition and those are. Voltaire and the problem of evil john pappas lthough the subject of voltaire s attempt to cope with the prob ja lem of evil has frequently been discussed, it has usually been presented in terms of candide, as if this were the culmination of the struggle, with philosophical optimisms answer forever destroyed by voltaire s scathing. The philosophy of optimism in voltaires candide 2128. The presence of evil and suffering in the world has raised questions in the philosophy of religion for centuries.
This is an excerpt from david hume s posthumously published dialogues concerning natural religion. Dialogues concerning natural religion 1779 part 11. Download citation voltaire, hume, and the problem of evil 1. The problem of evil is an ancient issue that continues to create controversy today. My top 5 books on the problem of evil christianity today. Using three fictional charactersdemea, cleanthes and philowho are debating the problem the evil, hume. The problem gets its classic, clear characterization in philosophy as a tangle of problems authored by the romanafrican scholar lactantius 240 ca. One is cleanthes, the defender of the argument from design and opponent of the cosmological argument. The problem of evil notre dame press university of notre dame. The problem of evil in the context of the french enlightenment.
Nov 15, 2016 of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world arguably commands more attention than any other. This volume fills that need, offering the most uptodate collection of recent scholarship on the problem of evil. This course will consider the theological problem of evil, starting with the book of job. In this novel the author, voltaire, is satirizing enlightenment philosophers who believe that everything is good in the world, since a good god created the world. It is my opinion, i own, replied demea, that each man feels, in a manner, the truth of religion within his own breast, and, from a consciousness of his imbecility and misery, rather than from any reasoning, is led to seek protection from that being, on whom he and all nature is dependent.
The logical problem of evil and empirical problem of evil. We will then study several fictional treatments of the problem of evil, including dostoyevskys the brothers karamazov, melvilles billy budd, and the coen brothers movie no country for old men, based on the novel by cormac mccarthy. Candide in new york or the problem of evil the new. This text is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. The problem of evil the philosophical problem of evil is the challenge of reconciling belief in god with evil in the world.
The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient god. He challenges us by reminding us that we have been compelled to seek an answer about evil, and been unsuccessful in doing so since philosophers roamed the streets of ancient greece. Using three fictional charactersdemea, cleanthes and philowho are debating the problem the evil, hume indeed seeks to show that one cannot demonstrate that god is all good and all powerful using human experience and human understanding alone. The problem of evil in the western tradition examines how western thinkers have dealt with the problem of evil, starting in ancient israel and tracing the question through postbiblical judaism, early christianity especially in africa, the middle ages, the renaissance, the reformation, the enlightenment, and to the twentyfirst century when science has raised new and important issues. The fact that the theodicy was the only book length treatise that leibniz. In candide, voltaire parodied leibnizs best possible world theory and tried to. Of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of reconciling belief in. Hume holds that the evidence of the problem of evil counts much more significantly against the theists case than the other objections that he raises against a designer, and it is in this area that philo claims to triumph over cleanthes. Evil is necessary for improvement of the soul, spiritual growth, and testing faith. Why doesnt an allgood and omnipotent god step in and put an end to evil.
Leibniz on the problem of evil stanford encyclopedia of. Voltaire also responded to some traditional theists optimism toward the problem of evil. The problem of evil in the western tradition examines how western thinkers have dealt with the problem of evil, starting in ancient israel and tracing the question through postbiblical judaism, early christianity especially in africa, the middle ages, the renaissance, the reformation, the enlightenment, and to the twentyfirst century when. Peter kivy voltaire, hume, and the problem of evil voltaires candide is subtitled optimism.
Candide in new york or the problem of evil the new york. In its theological version, the problem has to do with whether the idea of an omnipotent all powerful and perfectly benevolent allgood god is consistent with the existence of evil in the world. In its theological version, the problem has to do with whether the idea of an omnipotent all powerful and perfectly benevolent allgood god is consistent with the existence of evil. Leibniz, and hume, and twentyfive essays that have shaped.
This theme is in the background of the selection from hume s dialogues concerning natural religion that deal with the problem of evil. The problem of evil in humes dialouges on natural religion. The fundamental problem of evil for hume, was evil s potential to drive people to the notion. The traditional understanding, held by christians since it was fully developed by augustine, is that of original sin. Leibniz, and david hume are included for their historical. The fact that the theodicy was the only booklength treatise that leibniz. The book candide is a satire written by in the 1700s. Mar 08, 2010 in voltaire s time and before, the problem was framed in terms of gods role in evil. Peter kivy, voltaire, hume, and the problem of evil. The first consists of two historically interesting treatments of the problem of evil leibniz and hume with responses by contemporary philosophers robert adams and nelson pike, re this is an impressive collection of papers on the problem of evil the problem of how an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect god can permit suffering by. Given that they are both committed christians, as well as totally convinced that modern science is essentially right and good, the book is intended to defend christianity against the critics who argue that. The theistic concept of god as supremely powerful, intelligent, and good makes the problem very difficult because such a being, it would seem, would make a much better world than this one. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with that of a deity who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.
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