Philosophy Paper
In this paper, I will first summarize the problem of evil, followed by both Leibniz’s and Russell’s view on this theodicy, respectively, in order to examine the whether presence of evil in the world alludes to God’s existence. The problem of evil focuses on how to reconcile the existence of a God with divine attributes - omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence - with the presence of evil in the world.
Leibniz’s stance on the problem of evil relies heavily upon the principle of sufficient reason, which states that it would be irrational for anything to be without causation. In creating the world, God was bound by this principle; the reason for choosing this world can be found in the fact that God created the perfect …show more content…
A proponent to this argument was William Paley, who used the analogy of a watch to show that since we would infer a watchmaker after examining the function and complexity of a watch, similarly, we should deduce the function and complexity of the universe to the existence of a designer, or God, with the divine characteristics listed …show more content…
The sanctity of free will allows us to make decisions with either good or evil consequences as a result. Leibniz does not think this discredits God’s omnipotence, as it is impossible to grant beings free will while also ensuring that these free beings always make the most moral choices. He forms this idea by acknowledging that fundamental laws govern the world we live in; God was subject to these laws in the creation of the world, though these laws do not necessarily bind him. In other words, God’s omnipotence cannot override logical impossibility. The product of human freedom, which tends to the betterment of the universe and speaks to God’s benevolence, is the evil of existence brought about through the immorality displayed by the human
In this paper, I will first summarize the problem of evil, followed by both Leibniz’s and Russell’s view on this theodicy, respectively, in order to examine the whether presence of evil in the world alludes to God’s existence. The problem of evil focuses on how to reconcile the existence of a God with divine attributes - omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence - with the presence of evil in the world.
Leibniz’s stance on the problem of evil relies heavily upon the principle of sufficient reason, which states that it would be irrational for anything to be without causation. In creating the world, God was bound by this principle; the reason for choosing this world can be found in the fact that God created the perfect …show more content…
A proponent to this argument was William Paley, who used the analogy of a watch to show that since we would infer a watchmaker after examining the function and complexity of a watch, similarly, we should deduce the function and complexity of the universe to the existence of a designer, or God, with the divine characteristics listed …show more content…
The sanctity of free will allows us to make decisions with either good or evil consequences as a result. Leibniz does not think this discredits God’s omnipotence, as it is impossible to grant beings free will while also ensuring that these free beings always make the most moral choices. He forms this idea by acknowledging that fundamental laws govern the world we live in; God was subject to these laws in the creation of the world, though these laws do not necessarily bind him. In other words, God’s omnipotence cannot override logical impossibility. The product of human freedom, which tends to the betterment of the universe and speaks to God’s benevolence, is the evil of existence brought about through the immorality displayed by the human