The Free Will Show Episode 81: Free Will and the Problem of Evil with Daniel Speak
Aug 19, 2024
Daniel Speak, a Professor of Philosophy specializing in metaphysics and the problem of evil, shares his insightful journey into the complexities of free will. He humorously explores racquetball anecdotes while delving into the tension between evil and an all-good deity. The discussion spans historical and modern views on moral responsibility, highlighting thinkers like John Hick and Alvin Plantinga. Speak emphasizes human evolution as a divine journey of moral growth, emphasizing the importance of free will in shaping character and overcoming life's challenges.
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Problem Of Evil As A Family Of Tensions
- The problem of evil is a family of philosophical tensions between the traditional omni-God and the real world's horrors.
- Daniel Speak frames it as reconciling omniscience, omnipotence, omnibenevolence with the existence of innocent suffering.
Mackie Turned The Problem Into A Logical Challenge
- J.L. Mackie reframed the problem as a logical argument: omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence and evil form an inconsistent set.
- Mackie targeted theists polemically, claiming theists' core commitments are logically incoherent unless defended.
Mackie’s Objection To The Free Will Reply
- Mackie argued the libertarian free will response fails because God could have actualized a world where all free creatures always choose good.
- He infers if that world was possible, God should have actualized it, so theism is undermined.
