ipl-logo

Proving The Success Of Nelson Pike's Argument

1624 Words7 Pages

Timuray Gokdemir (191761510)
Dr. Tyler Wunder
PP 350R, A
6 March 2023

The Problem of Evil: Proving the Success of Nelson Pike’s Argument
In this essay, I will first explore the works of David Hume's Dialogues, specifically Parts X, where the problem of evil raises thorny questions about how God's attributes relate to the reality of suffering and focuses on the venerable problem of evil for theism. Second, I will provide an account of Nelson Pike’s ideas through his essay "Hume on Evil" where he offers a thoughtful critique of the arguments presented by Hume. Finally, I will provide a critical assessment that will show that Nelson Pike’s arguments against Hume’s proposed problem that evil poses for belief in a deity with infinite attributes …show more content…

As mentioned Pike’s argument against Hume begins by organizing Philo’s argument in a manner that can be analyzed in a logical manner. Philo’s argument is essentially split into three statements as follows: “(1) The world contains instances of suffering. (2) God exists-and is omnipotent and omniscient. (3) God exists-and is perfectly good” (Pike 182). As mentioned by Pike, Philo seems to have successfully created an instance of an inconsistent triad, meaning that any combination of the two statements can be true, but the discluded statement must be false (Pike 182). Given the complex logical conflict between the possibilities of which statement is to be considered false, one might be inclined to argue in favour of Philo’s argument. Recognizing this seemingly win-win situation that Philo has created for his argument, Pike attempts to attack the ideology of the choices within the triad by offering a relatable hypothetical that aims to discredit proposed aspects included within the statements of the inconsistent triad proposed by

Show More
Related

Summary Of The Warren Flew Debate

757 Words | 4 Pages

The debate was immense for several reasons, one of utmost importance is that it meets the assertion that Christianity can be reasoned logically and rationally. In this debate, Thomas Warren uses the same tools of logic and rationality employed by atheists and agnostics to respond to and defeat Anthony Flew

Read More

David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

3370 Words | 14 Pages

In Dialogues concerning Natural religion Hume explores whether or not faith is rational. as a result of Hume is AN philosopher (i.e. somebody WHO thinks that every one information comes through experience), he thinks that a belief is rational given that it's sufficiently supported by experiential proof. therefore the question is absolutely, is there enough proof within the world to permit North American country to infer AN infinitely sensible, wise, powerful, excellent God? Hume doesn't raise whether or not we are able to rationally prove that God exists, however rather whether or not we are able to rationally return to any conclusions regarding God's nature. He asserts that the primary question is on the far side doubt; the latter is ab initio undecided.

Read More

Dew And Gould's Response To The Existence Of Evil

1020 Words | 5 Pages

Dew and Gould address both the logical and evidential challenges posed by evil, emphasizing the compatibility of God’s existence with the existence of evil in the world. The response by Dew & Gould in evidential reasoning aligns with Pruitt's perspective in "God, Evil, and the Human Good." Pruitt acknowledges the pivotal role of evil in shaping human character and moral development, a viewpoint shared by Dew & Gould. Additionally, Pruitt's arguments resonate with Dew & Gould's response to the logical problem of evil which is highlighted by David Hume's summary. Dew & Gould address this by discussing Alvin Plantinga's argument of free will, emphasizing that the coexistence of evil with God's goodness is due to the gift of free will.

Read More

Response To Eleonore Stump's Paper

441 Words | 2 Pages

Eleonore Stumps starts her paper by explaining what the problem of evil is. The problem of evil is that the claim God is omnipotent and omniscient is contradicting to what is evident in the world, that evil exist. Many philosophers who are agreeing in this claim believes that if God is all powerful and all knowing he would have diminished the evil that exist in the world. For this to be true there must be evidence that God is morally incapable to do what is right. However, Stumps takes a different turn to prove that there is another reason why evil exists in the world, by looking at different Christian beliefs in details.

Read More

Mackie's Evil And Omnipotence

933 Words | 4 Pages

In Mackie’s Fallacious Situation, there are four main points that are discussed. One of the points is “Good must exist with evil”. Another is that “Evil is necessary as a means to good”. Another one is that “The universe is better with some evil in it that it could be if there were no evil”, and lastly is “Evil is due to human freewill”. These ideas try to explore the co-existence of evil and good in the same

Read More

Evaluating Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

1495 Words | 6 Pages

He describes the objection as, “all men desire the apparent good, but have no control over the appearance, but the end appears to each man in a form answering to his character” (1114b).   This view argues that all people pursue that which seems good, but some people cannot see the true good, which is out of their control.   The immediate implication of this objection, if it is indeed true, suggests that “no one is responsible for his own evildoing” (1114b).

Read More

What Was The Effect Of Varying Baking Soda Amounts In A Buttermike

279 Words | 2 Pages

In my experiment I was testing the effect of varying baking soda amounts in a buttermilk pancake recipe. I was interested in seeing how the different baking soda amounts would change the texture, color, and height of the pancake. The texture of the pancake varied. The first few batches, with no to small amounts of baking soda, were very dense and didn’t have many air bubbles. When we followed the recipe using the suggested amount of baking soda, Batch E, the pancake showed more, larger air bubbles than the first few batches.

Read More

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong's Argument Analysis

2349 Words | 10 Pages

This paper will discuss the problem of evil. In the first part, I will discuss Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s atheist stance and William Lane Craig’s theist stance on the problem of evil. In the final part of this paper, I will argue that Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s argument is stronger. The Problem of Evil

Read More

Moral Evils: Swinburne's Solution To The Problem Of Evil

1006 Words | 5 Pages

Essay 2 My goal in this paper is to show that Swinburne’s solution to the Problem of Evil is persuasive. I begin with a formulation of Swinburne’s thoughts about the similarity and difference between moral evil and natural evil. I then formulate the connection between evil and free will. Next, I consider the potentiality objection to this argument, and Swinburne’s response to this objection.

Read More

Problem Of Evil Mackie Analysis

1089 Words | 5 Pages

The existence of God has been presented by a multitude of philosophers. However, this has led to profound criticism and arguments of God’s inexistence. The strongest argument in contradiction to God’s existence is the Problem of Evil, presented by J.L Mackie. In this paper, I aim to describe the problem of evil, analyse the objection of the Paradox of Omnipotence and provide rebuttals to this objection. Thus, highlighting my support for Mackie’s Problem of evil.

Read More

Summary Of Changing Of The God By Frank Manuel

1435 Words | 6 Pages

Religion is a deep, complicated, and confusing entity that many theorists and followers have tried to explain for thousands of years. More recently there have been two stances on the study and explanation of religion, the reductionist and non-reductionist approach. The reductionist approach reared it’s head especially during the Radical French Enlightenment as many thinkers turned away from the non-reductionist approach to religion and instead criticized religion as a means of escaping fear and oppression. In order to delve deeper into the meanings and motives we must look at the The Changing of the Gods by Frank Manuel and The Natural History by David Hume, a Scottish philosopher. Frank Manuel gives us an account of the thoughts and theories

Read More

Rowe's Argument For The Existence Of God

1372 Words | 6 Pages

Philosopher William Rowe agrees with Plantinga that propositions — that evil exists, God is omnipotent, and God is wholly good — is not logically inconsistent. Rowe does not believe it is impossible to allow God and his properties to exist along with evil. He takes a different route by focusing more on certain kinds of evil which evidently exist in the world, and not so much on the inconsistencies of the theist doctrines. This certain evil, in Rowe’s point of view, will show that a God who is all powerful and wholly good does not exist after all.

Read More

Descartes And Paley's Argument Analysis

925 Words | 4 Pages

Hume’s response to this is through is character Philo, Philo said that we should not judge the attributes of god on something like Paley proposes. Philo argues that we cannot judge the entirety of the universe on one single part of nature because nature has an infinite number of springs of principle. Also that we cannot base God on our

Read More

David Hume And Factual Reasoning

218 Words | 1 Pages

Through the inference of the connection between the relation of ideas and matters of facts, David Hume distinguishes between factual reasoning and moral reasoning. However, Hume definitively states that neither the two can be used as a surety of determining the future outcomes of circumstances. This he states owing to the fact that even though we can demonstrate the future from the past, there is no definitive or factual reasoning behind the expectations of the future following suite. Hume’s exemplification of the distinctions between matters of facts and the relation of ideas signifies that even though situations can be explained through observation, there is no definitive way to justify such observations. Thus, Hume infers that the expectations

Read More

Argumentative Essay: The Problem Of Evil

877 Words | 4 Pages

On the other hand, theists like Swinburne, believe that evil is necessary for important reasons such as that it helps us grow and improve. In this paper I will argue that the theist is right, because the good of the evil in this specific case on problems beyond one’s control, outweighs the bad that comes from it. I will begin by stating the objection the anti-theodicist gives for why it is wrong that there is a problem of evil. (<--fix) Regarding passive evil not caused by human action, the anti-theodicist claims that there is an issue with a creator, God, allowing a world to exist where evil things happen, which are not caused by human beings (180-181).

Read More

More about Proving The Success Of Nelson Pike's Argument

Related Topics

Open Document