Philosophy 8
Philosophy 116 O’Connor
November 13 2014
Patrick Johnson
The Problem of Evil I would like to do chapter III for the remainder of the semester because it’s an extension of what we have already done in this course. Our class has previously discussed the problem of evil when examining goodness, one of God’s essential attributes discussed in chapter I and other readings. Therefore, we’ll have some prior knowledge when revisiting this issue. Studying chapter III will also be beneficial for us to expand on what we already know of God’s goodness, given the evil in the world, with more readings and arguments from different philosophers. Chapter III focuses on the problem of evil. The table of contents shows it contains discussions on God and evil, evil with regard to varieties of atheism, and free will with evil. The titles and descriptions of this chapter show how it relates to things this class has already discussed; God’s goodness with respect to evil, and free will. These topics are therefore a continuation of that which we have already learned and are familiar with. Thus, studying chapter III is a good way to continue with this course; it contains topics our class has previously come across. The problem of evil is one we have encountered in readings such as McCloskey’s “The Nature and Attributes of God,” and Clarke’s “Can God Do Evil,” from chapter I of the textbook. With these readings, we have obtained a basic understanding of whether God’s goodness is to be considered necessitated/voluntary, and whether His omnipotence contains evil. Free will was another discussion we previously had with regard to God’s omniscience, as seen in both Boethius and McCloskey. Therefore, having some knowledge of these topics before continuing on with them will help us understand them better. Examining more content of the same discussions will help our class evaluate the concepts, materials, and issues better. By studying chapter III, we’ll have access to more
November 13 2014
Patrick Johnson
The Problem of Evil I would like to do chapter III for the remainder of the semester because it’s an extension of what we have already done in this course. Our class has previously discussed the problem of evil when examining goodness, one of God’s essential attributes discussed in chapter I and other readings. Therefore, we’ll have some prior knowledge when revisiting this issue. Studying chapter III will also be beneficial for us to expand on what we already know of God’s goodness, given the evil in the world, with more readings and arguments from different philosophers. Chapter III focuses on the problem of evil. The table of contents shows it contains discussions on God and evil, evil with regard to varieties of atheism, and free will with evil. The titles and descriptions of this chapter show how it relates to things this class has already discussed; God’s goodness with respect to evil, and free will. These topics are therefore a continuation of that which we have already learned and are familiar with. Thus, studying chapter III is a good way to continue with this course; it contains topics our class has previously come across. The problem of evil is one we have encountered in readings such as McCloskey’s “The Nature and Attributes of God,” and Clarke’s “Can God Do Evil,” from chapter I of the textbook. With these readings, we have obtained a basic understanding of whether God’s goodness is to be considered necessitated/voluntary, and whether His omnipotence contains evil. Free will was another discussion we previously had with regard to God’s omniscience, as seen in both Boethius and McCloskey. Therefore, having some knowledge of these topics before continuing on with them will help us understand them better. Examining more content of the same discussions will help our class evaluate the concepts, materials, and issues better. By studying chapter III, we’ll have access to more