Then I Shall Know Even As I Am Known: An Analysis of the Logical Structure of the Problem of Evil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26512/2358-82842023e52143Keywords:
Problem of evil, contradiction, metaphilosophyAbstract
This paper introduces a novel approach to interpreting the problem of evil, centred on a dynamic interplay between pre-formalised notions and their formal representations. Our thesis posits that the resolution to the problem lies in comprehending the underlying intentions of the premise set, rather than resorting to ad hoc, syllogistic rebuttals to the perceived contradictions. By applying this reasoning to the historical dialectic of the problem, we observe that certain resolutions to the problem of evil are more effective than others. The most effective solutions are those that maintain the integrity of the accumulated pre-formalised notions, while less effective ones either confront the contradiction head-on or disregard it entirely. Moreover, we discover that the process of striving and failing in this context yields valuable insights, enhancing our understanding and broadening the scope of our initial pre-formal notions about the problem of evil.
References
Douay-Rheims Bible. Baronius Press, Charlotte, NC, challoner revision edition, 2011. Translated from the Latin Vulgate.
Marilyn McCord Adams. Problems of evil. Faith and Philosophy, 5(2):121–143, 1988. doi: 10.5840/ faithphil19885219. al Ghazali. Al Ghazali’s Tract on Dogmatic Theology. Luzac, London, 1965.
Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica. Benziger Brothers, New York, 1920.
Augustine. City of God [De civitate Dei], volume II of The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. First Series. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1956.
Saint Augustine. Confessions. DLT Books, London, 2013. Foreword by Martin Laird.
Malcolm Barber. The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages. Routledge, 2000.
Saint Basil. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Christian Literature Publishing Co., Buffalo, NY, 1895.
D. Bostock. Plato’s Theaetetus. Oxford, 1988.
Rudolf Carnap. The Logical Structure of the World. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1967.
Rudolf Carnap. Observational language and theoretical language. In Jaakko Hintikka, editor, Rudolf Carnap, Logical Empiricist: Materials and Perspectives, pages 75–85. Springer Verlag, 1975.
Peter Clark. Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith. Sussex Academic Press, Chicago, 1998. Print
Wesley De Sena. Zoroastrian responses to the problem of evil: Seven approaches discussing dualism and monotheism. Working paper, 2023.
Michael Detlefsen. Hilbert’s Program. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 1986. ISBN 978-90-481- 8420-0 978-94-015-7731-1. doi: 10.1007/978-94-015-7731-1.
Douglas Duckworth. Tibetan mahāyāna and vajrayāna. In Steven M. Emmanuel, editor, A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy. Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013.
Thomas Forster. Quine’s New Foundations. In Edward N. Zalta, editor, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, Summer 2019 edition, 2019.
Alfredo Roque Freire. Irreducible features of set theories. Logique et Analyse, 2024. URL https: //www.logiqueetanalyse.be/publications.html. Forthcoming. Alfredo Roque Freire and Vincent Alexis Peluce. A Note on Consistency and Platonism. In Herbert Hrachovec and Jakub Mácha, editors, Platonismus, volume XXVIII, pages 52–55. Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, Austria, 2022. ISBN 978-3-9505512-0-4. URL https://www.alws.at/ alws/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/contributions_2022a.pdf#page=53
Kurt Gödel. Über vollständigkeit und widerspruchsfreiheit. Ergebnisse eines mathematischen Kolloquiums, 3:12–13, 1932. English translation “On Completeness and Consistency” in Gödel 1986: 235–237.
Joel David Hamkins. THE SET-THEORETIC MULTIVERSE. The Review of Symbolic Logic, 5(3):416–449, September 2012.
Peter Harvey. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2nd edition, 2013. ISBN 978-0-521-67674-8.
Stephen Hodge. The Maha-Vairocana-Abhisambodhi Tantra. Routledge Curzon, London, 2003.
Andrew David Irvine and Harry Deutsch. Russell’s Paradox. In Edward N. Zalta, editor, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, Spring 2021 edition, 2021.
Freiherr von Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil. Project Gutenberg. URL https://www.gutenberg.org/ ebooks/17147.
Nicolas Malebranche and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Malebranche et Leibniz: Relations personnelles. J. Vrin, Paris, 1955.
Stephen Menn and Stephen Philip Menn. descartes and Augustine. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
C. Norbu and A. Clemente. The Supreme Source. Snow Lion Publications, New York, 1999.
Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion with the Replies of Gaunilo and Anselm. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, 2001. ISBN 0872205652.
Patrick Olivelle. The Upaniṣads. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
Michael L. Peterson. God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1998.
Alvin Plantinga. God, Freedom, and Evil. Harper & Row, New York, 1974a. Reprinted.
Alvin Plantinga. The Nature of Necessary. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1974b.
Alvin Plantinga. God, Freedom, and Evil. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1977.
Graham Priest, Koji Tanaka, and Zach Weber. Paraconsistent Logic. In Edward N. Zalta, editor, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, Spring 2022 edition, 2022.
Willard V Quine. New foundations for mathematical logic. The American mathematical monthly, 44 (2):70–80, 1937.
A. Robinet, editor. Œuvres complètes de Malebranche. J. Vrin, Paris, 1958-1984. 20 volumes.
Bertrand Russell. Letter to frege, 12 december 1904. In Jean van Heijenoort, editor, From Frege to Gödel: A Source Book in Mathematical Logic, 1879–1931, pages [124–126]. Harvard University Press, 1967.
Liam D. Ryan. Credo in unam credentiam: Religious beliefs are standard beliefs. Synthese, 204(73): 31, 2024a. doi: 10.1007/s11229-024-04711-y
Liam D. Ryan. Going mental: Why physicalism should not posit inscrutable properties. Erkenntnis, . Forthcoming
Sangharakshita. Pali Canon Teachings and Translations (The Complete Works of Sangharakshita).
Windhorse Publications, 1st edition, August 2023.
G. Schlesinger. The problem of evil and the problem of suffering. American Philosophical Quarterly, 1(3):244–247, 1964.
W.C. Smith. Faith and Belief. Princeton University Press, 1987.
Steven K. Strange and Jack Zupko, editors. Stoicism: Traditions and Transformations. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 9780521827096.
Alexander Studholme. The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A Study of the Karandavyuha Sutra. SUNY, 2002.
Eleonore Stump. The problem of evil. Faith and Philosophy, 2:392–423, 1985.
Narada Thera. The Buddha and His Teachings. Jaico Publishing House, 2006.
Voltaire. Candide. Random House, New York, 1975.
B. Alan Wallace. Distorted visions of buddhism: Agnostic and atheist. Mandala: A Tibetan Buddhist Journal, October/November 2010. Online version
Jan Westerhoff. Creation in buddhism. In Simon Oliver, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Creation.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, Forthcoming. Forthcoming.
Kosho Yamamoto. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. Nirvana Publications, London, 1999-2000.
Davide Andrea Zappulli. Towards a buddhist theism. Religious Studies, 59(4):762–774, 2023. doi: 10.1017/S0034412522000725.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Alfredo Roque Freire, Liam Ryan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
