Problem Of Evil Mackie Analysis
The Problem of Evil
One of the most interesting topic we cover in class has to be the idea of Evil and God. Commonly referred to as the Problem of evil, J.L. Mackie, an Australian Philosopher, from the University of Sydney simplifies The problem of Evil with this line, “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists”. I found this topic very mind boggling, as I have never once questioned the power of the omnipotent and all good God. For anyone that believes that Gods is all powerful and good The problem of evil, really makes a convincing and contradicting point. In order to truly understand the problem of evil Mackie argues three illogical solutions; 1) There is no good without evil. 2) Without evil, God cannot exist. 3) Free will is the cause of evil. …show more content…
Mackie believes that through some evil there exist good. One important point that relates to this argument is that without vices we cannot have virtues. For example, how can one be courageous without the existence of cowardly or envious without gratuitous. To make sense of this argument Mackie uses two parts; “first order good...(and)...evil” (Mackie) and “second order good…(and)…evil” (Mackie). Mackie describes first order evil as “physical evil…pain and misery” (Mackie) and first order good as “pleasure and happiness” (Mackie). He describes second order good as “sympathy with suffering, heroism in facing danger, and the gradual decrease of first order evil” (Mackie), in other words second order good is the counterpart to first order evil. He argues that some evils should not exist, “in order to make possible the virtues” and that “God is not…benevolent or sympathetic” (Mackie) as his goal is to “not minimize evil…but, only promote good” (Mackie). He believes that God should have eliminated second order evil. In my opinion there has to always be an evil that counterparts any
One of the most interesting topic we cover in class has to be the idea of Evil and God. Commonly referred to as the Problem of evil, J.L. Mackie, an Australian Philosopher, from the University of Sydney simplifies The problem of Evil with this line, “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists”. I found this topic very mind boggling, as I have never once questioned the power of the omnipotent and all good God. For anyone that believes that Gods is all powerful and good The problem of evil, really makes a convincing and contradicting point. In order to truly understand the problem of evil Mackie argues three illogical solutions; 1) There is no good without evil. 2) Without evil, God cannot exist. 3) Free will is the cause of evil. …show more content…
Mackie believes that through some evil there exist good. One important point that relates to this argument is that without vices we cannot have virtues. For example, how can one be courageous without the existence of cowardly or envious without gratuitous. To make sense of this argument Mackie uses two parts; “first order good...(and)...evil” (Mackie) and “second order good…(and)…evil” (Mackie). Mackie describes first order evil as “physical evil…pain and misery” (Mackie) and first order good as “pleasure and happiness” (Mackie). He describes second order good as “sympathy with suffering, heroism in facing danger, and the gradual decrease of first order evil” (Mackie), in other words second order good is the counterpart to first order evil. He argues that some evils should not exist, “in order to make possible the virtues” and that “God is not…benevolent or sympathetic” (Mackie) as his goal is to “not minimize evil…but, only promote good” (Mackie). He believes that God should have eliminated second order evil. In my opinion there has to always be an evil that counterparts any