Problem of evil

Experiences Practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Problem of evil ( theodicy ) Religion philosophy texts Portrayals of God in popular media Religion portal v t e In the philosophy of religion and theology , the problem of evil is the question of explaining evil (commonly "morally horrific" acts or events that bring suffering, loss, privation and injustice ) in the presence of a deity that is omnibenevolent , omnipotent , and omniscient . Some responses include the arguments that true free will cannot exist without the possibility of evil, that humans cannot understand God, that suffering is necessary for spiritual growth or evil is the consequence of a fallen world. There are also many discussions of "evil" and associated "problems" in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics , and scientific disciplines such as evolutionary ethics . But as usually understood in the Anglo-American tradition, the "problem of evil" is posed in a religious context. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Problem of Evil ", Michael Tooley The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Evidential Problem of Evil ", Nick Trakakis Nicholas J. Duntley and David Buss , "The Evolution of Evil," in Miller, Arthur (2004).

Experiences Practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Problem of evil ( theodicy ) Religion philosophy texts Portrayals of God in popular media Religion portal v t e Books Atheism: The Case Against God Breaking the Spell De rerum natura The End of Faith The God Delusion God Is Not Great The System of Nature Related stances Outline Category Philosophy portal WikiProject v t e By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e In the philosophy of religion , the problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with that of a deity who is, in either absolute or relative terms, omnipotent , omniscient , and omnibenevolent (see theism ). An argument from evil attempts to show that the co-existence of evil and such a deity is unlikely or impossible if placed in absolute terms. Attempts to show the contrary have traditionally been discussed under the heading of theodicy . A wide range of responses have been given to the problem of evil in theology. There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics , and scientific disciplines such as evolutionary ethics . But as usually understood, the "problem of evil" is posed in a theological context. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Problem of Evil ", Michael Tooley The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Evidential Problem of Evil ", Nick Trakakis Nicholas J. Timothy Anders, The Evolution of Evil (2000) J.D. Duntley and David Buss , "The Evolution of Evil," in Miller, Arthur (2004).

As the first known presentation by the Greek philosopher Epicurus , as attributed and made popular by David Hume , puts it: "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then from whence comes evil?" Responses to the problem have traditionally been discussed under the heading of theodicy . Besides philosophy of religion , the problem of evil is also important to the field of theology and ethics . The problem of evil is often formulated in two forms: the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil. The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in the coexistence of God and evil, while the evidential form tries to show that given the evil in the world, it is improbable that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good God. The problem of evil has been extended to non-human life forms, to include animal suffering from natural evils and human cruelty against them. Responses to various versions of the problem of evil, meanwhile, come in three forms: refutations, defenses, and theodicies. A wide range of responses have been made against these arguments. There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics , and evolutionary ethics . But as usually understood, the "problem of evil" is posed in a theological context. The problem of evil acutely applies to monotheistic religions such as Christianity , Islam , and Judaism that believe in a monotheistic God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent; but the question of "why does evil exist?" has also been studied in religions that are non-theistic or polytheistic, such as Buddhism , Hinduism , and Jainism . The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Problem of Evil ", Michael Tooley The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Evidential Problem of Evil ", Nick Trakakis Hickson, Michael W. In McBrayer, Justin P.; Howard-Snyder, Daniel (eds.). The Blackwell Companion to The Problem of Evil .

Reconciling the existence of evil with an all-good and all-powerful God By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent , omnibenevolent , and omniscient God . There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus . It was popularized by David Hume . Besides the philosophy of religion , the problem of evil is also important to the fields of theology and ethics . There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics , and evolutionary ethics . But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context. Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been in three types: refutations, defenses, and theodicies . The problem of evil is generally formulated in two forms: the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil . The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in the coexistence of a god and evil, while the evidential form tries to show that given the evil in the world, it is improbable that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and a wholly good god. The problem of evil has been extended to non-human life forms, to include animal suffering from natural evils and human cruelty against them.

Reconciling the existence of evil with a God By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent , omnibenevolent , and omniscient God . There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus . Besides the philosophy of religion , the problem of evil is also important to the fields of theology and ethics . There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics and evolutionary ethics . But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context. Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been in three types: refutations, defenses, and theodicies . The problem of evil is generally formulated in two forms: the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil . The logical form of the argument tries to show a logical impossibility in the coexistence of a god and evil, while the evidential form tries to show that, given the evil in the world, it is improbable that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and a wholly good god. Concerning the evidential problem, many theodicies have been proposed. One accepted theodicy is to appeal to the strong account of the compensation theodicy. This view holds that the primary benefit of evils, in addition to their compensation in the afterlife, can reject the evidential problem of evil. The problem of evil has been extended to non-human life forms, to include suffering of non-human animal species from natural evils and human cruelty against them. According to scholars, most philosophers see the logical problem of evil as having been rebutted by various defenses. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Problem of Evil ", Michael Tooley The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, " The Evidential Problem of Evil ", Nick Trakakis Calian, Florin George (18 July 2024). "Editorial RES 1/2024: Religion and the Problem of Evil (I) Religion und das Problem des Bösen (I)" . Introducing Philosophy of Religion . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).