The Blackwell Companion to The Problem of Evil

The possibility that God exists, together with the apparent existence of a great deal of evil, raises a wide range of vexing problems and questions, the most central of which can be expressed as follows: "If the world was created by a perfectly good and perfectly powerful God, why does it contain so much evil?" The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil presents a collection of original essays contributed by established and emerging scholars who clarify and evaluate various problems of evil and arguments from evil. Initial chapters outline and classify myriad problems of evil—some of which arise only for theists, others only for non–theists. Subsequent essays offer various explanations and justifications for evils that exist in our world, including appeals to free–will, character–formation, and others. A final section explores the epistemic ramifications of arguments from evil, including skepticism about our ability to distinguish whether evils in the world actually serve a greater purpose. Consideration of the topic from four religion–specific theodicies—Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish—introduces various viewpoints and perspectives on the problem of evil. Provocative and timely, The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil represents an invaluable scholarly contribution to the latest thinking on the most serious objection to the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent higher power.

Notes on contributors ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiv Part I Problems of Evil 1 1 A brief history of problems of evil 3 Michael W. Hickson 2 The logical problem of evil: mackie and plantinga 19 Daniel Howard–Snyder 3 A new logical problem of evil 34 J.L. Schellenberg 4 Rowe’s evidential arguments from evil 49 Graham Oppy 5 Explanation and the problem of evil 67 Paul Draper and Trent Dougherty 6 A carnapian argument from evil 83 Richard Otte 7 The experience of evil and support for atheism 98 Jerome Gellman 8 The problem of animal pain and suffering 113 Robert Francescotti 9 Hell and the problem of evil 128 Andrei A. Buckareff and Allen Plug 10 The problem of apparently morally abhorrent divine commands 144 Wesley Morriston 11 God because of evil: A pragmatic argument from evil for belief in God 160 Marilyn McCord Adams Part II Theodicies 175 12 A brief history of theodicy 177 René van Woudenberg 13 Counterpart and appreciation theodicies 192 Justin P. McBrayer 14 Free will and soul–making theodicies 205 Daniel Speak 15 The connection–building theodicy 222 Robin Collins 16 Best possible world theodicy 236 Hud Hudson 17 Providence and theodicy 251 Thomas P. Flint 18 A christian theodicy 266 Laura W. Ekstrom 19 Toward an Indian theodicy 281 Purushottama Bilimoria 20 Earth’s epistemic fruits for harmony with God: an Islamic theodicy 296 Mohammad Ali Mobini 21 On constructing a Jewish theodicy 309 David Shatz 22 Feminism and the problem of evil 326 Beverley Clack 23 Process theism and theodicies for problems of evil 340 James A. Keller 24 Theodicy in a vale of tears 349 Evan Fales 25 Antitheodicy 363 N.N. Trakakis Part III Skeptical Responses 377 26 A brief history of skeptical responses to evil 379 T.M. Rudavsky 27 Peter van Inwagen’s defense 396 Meghan Sullivan 28 A defense without free will 411 Derk Pereboom 29 Skeptical theism, CORNEA, and common sense epistemology 426 Thomas D. Senor 30 The moral skepticism objection to skeptical theism 444 Stephen Maitzen 31 The global skepticism objection to skeptical theism 458 Ian Wilks 32 Theistic objections to skeptical theism 468 David O’Connor 33 Skeptical theism and the “too much skepticism” objection 482 Michael C. Rea Index 507

Justin P. McBrayer is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fort Lewis College, Colorado. He has authored numerous papers in philosophy of religion and ethics, including “CORNEA and Inductive Skepticism” (2009), “Skeptical Theism” (2010), “A Limited Defense of Moral Perception” (2010), “Skepticism about the Argument from Divine Hiddenness” (2011), and “Christianity, Homosexual Sex, and Sexism” (2012). Daniel Howard–Snyder is Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University. He is co–author of The Power of Logic (2013, 5th Ed.), and editor or co–editor of various publications including The Evidential Argument from Evil (1996), Faith, Freedom, and Rationality (1996), and Divine Hiddenness: New Essays (2002).