Peter Van Inwagen Summary

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Van Inwagen and the Problem of Evil The problem of evil is a concept that is often heard of in this current century. Many movies depict the battle between what is good and what is evil (Symbols of them), and many church’s preach the word of God in order to combat the evil in the world. Yet, the question often still arises that says: Why is there evil in the world? In his essay, Peter Van Inwagen discusses this topic as well as the objections that arise. In Van Inwagen’s paper, the problem of evil is an argument which states that there would be no evil present in the world if an all loving, perfect being/God exists, but since there is evil present in every corner of the world then this being does not exist. The basis of this argument is that…show more content…
A defense is claiming to hold a possible reason that would explain why God would allow for this evil to exist in the world. An example of this is given by Inwagen that states: There is a mother of two infants that is single and she leaves the babies unattended and home alone for some time, for an unknown reason, another person finds the children and then condemns the mother for this action while a second person then defends the mother by saying she may have had a good reason for doing this. Presenting an option of there being a reason that could explain the entire situation is an example of a defense. The defense is saying that by using the given knowledge of the situation there could very well be a valid reason for her leaving the children home alone. It is important to note that the person giving the defense is not saying that he knows her exact reason for what she did, but that there is the chance that she may have a valid reason for her actions. Then, a theodicy claims to know exactly the reason for God to allow for there to be evil in the world. Consequentially, the free will defense follows much the same pattern as the previous
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