The Problem of Evil: Philosophical Theories on the Existence of God and Freewill

The problem of evil is one of the most ancient questions in philosophy, questioning the different theories that explain the existence of God and the problem of freewill in mankind. This article explores the different defenses put forward by philosophers and the importance of freewill in society. The existence of God and choice is free of each other and one doesn't have to prove the existence of each other. The presence of through and through freedom is one of the main reasons for the presence of Evil in society as the presence of unrestrained choice needs differentiating philosophies to choose from and good and evil are those.

Running head: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
The problem of evil is one of the most ancient question in the philosophy questioning the
different theories that explain the existence of god and the problem of freewill in the mankind.
The problem of evil in the philosophy of the different types rises from the fact that the existence
of god is questioned by the presence of freewill in the society. One of the important situation in
this context is the fact that the different situations that the people face in the overcoming of the
issues related to the existence of god in the society. There are a number of philosophers who
worked on the idea of the existence of evil in the society in the present context. The issue of the
existence of God (Mackie;208). The idea of good and evil is promulgated by the fact that the
existence of reason questions the complete good in the society. There are major flaws in the
theory of the existence of god and doors floors are being pointed out in the problem of Evil
logical statement. The statement goes forward as that if there is a completely good and
omnipotent God in the world then the existence of Evil cannot be true and if even exist the Gods
omnipotence and goodness is questioned. This statement raises a lot of issues as it very well
negates the existence of A Supreme being in the universe (Mackie;252). The above statement
given by Mackie is one of the logical issues of the existence of god and the presence of Evil in
the society.
This problem has a number of different differences and explanations which are put
forward to explain the power love and goodness of God. The different defences that have been
put forward by the different philosophers in the defence of this statement takes into account the
functions relating to the various social and the sociological norms. The problem of good and evil
can be explained in the terms of the existence of freewill in the humans (Mackie;205). One of the
important issues with the presence of freewill among the different people is that it gives them the

2
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
choice to choose between the right and wrong. The people again may often tend to choose wrong
but it is the very point of the freewill that is given by god to the people.
One of the major issues that was pointed out in the freewill theory was that if god was
omnipresent omniscient and good he would have foreseen that the people may choose evil in the
society. Since god is omniscient so must know that given the freewill the people may choose
wrong so the choice of evil should not have been there. This argument is countered by the fact
that the lack of evil for choice will beat the cause of giving the freewill to the society therefore
god allowed evil to exist in the society as an alternative to good. The argument is also countered
by the fact that the given the choice the people may choose evil and that would challenge the
idea of the omnipresent good that god wants to exist in the society.
The freewill or the freedom of choice in the society helps in the choice between the
different aspects of good and evil in the society. one of the important aspect in the choice of
good an evil in the fact that the very choice existed due to permission of god so that the people in
the society cannot be denied of their freewill. One of the major questions in this context raised is
that how to project the omnipresence and the omnipotence of god is by the fact that the evil in
the society should be mitigated and if the freewill gives the choice to the people about the
different evil that exists in the society.
The existence of the freewill in the society is also questioned by the fact that the choice
exists in the society because of the aesthetic beauty of the good that has to exist in the society.
The aesthetic beauty of good is helped by the existence of the good in the society. One of the
major issues in the idea of good and evil is the fact that there are a number. The issue in the idea
of the omniscience and the ubiquity of god in the logic of Mackie is the way that God in his

3
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
actual frame is omniscient inescapable and the presence of shrewdness. There are number of
various arrangements that exist to clarify the intelligent false notion that exist in the
announcement that is sent. In this setting it is to be viewed as that the nearness of abhorrent as
the partner of insidiousness to keep up and adjust and divide a bifurcation between the two by
the will of an inescapable god. Then again there exists a totally extraordinary clarification of
detestable as the underhanded that exists is really not insidious but rather is seen as malevolent
by the general population. The term of abhorrence has additionally been characterized as the
impermanent dissimilarity of good which helps in clarifying the omniscience and the
inescapability of god in the social setting. It has additionally been contended that the malicious
presence by the will of god to improve the excellence of the positive qualities in the brains of the
general population (Mackie;208). The nearness of defects to improve the magnificence of a thing
is viewed as one of the imperative parts of the hypothesis of presence of malevolence.
God is omniscient and inescapable on the planet and it is hence lovely that that he made
the human with freewill as their most grounded strength. The underhandedness then again is the
production of the man as utilization of the freewill. God being ethically just can't be one-sided to
a solitary philosophy in the creation and the freewill will have no significance as long as the
decisions to look over does not exist in nature. It is additionally brought up by Platinga that the
presence of shrewdness on the planet is the confirmation of the presence of freewill and the
dismissal of all the abhorrence from the world will control the freewill that is displayed to the
general population in the general public (Platinga;60). The freewill and its presence is defended
by the presence of underhandedness on the planet as it is said by Platinga. The checking of the
freewill will just prompt the general ideological misrepresentation where the presence of God
can influence the decision of man. God being Omniscient can recognize what is there to know

4
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
and what is occurring in the present. In the event that he comprehends what the future decision of
the individual will be and constructs the philosophies in light of it then the entire idea of through
and through freedom be imperfect.
In the announcement he basically expresses that that if the individual can pick great on
one event then they should pick the decision that is great on different events. Its is accordingly
one of the most grounded errors in religion that the freewill which enables a man to settle on
decisions or gives them the flexibility of personality might be liable to unending
misrepresentations like in the above explanation. It clarifies if a man dependably is great at that
point how is it conceivable that the individual may not commit any error then they can't be said
to practice their freewill. The freewill and the decision is centred around the settling on of the
decision of shrewdness or the wrong choices to demonstrate their reality in the human life places
them in a condition of another indeterminacy (Mackie; 250). The selection of disasters presence
for the nearness of an entire freewill is one of the real confirmation of good integrity of God.
In my opinion I think that for freewill to exist without the decision of complexity and the
presence of shrewdness was thusly a need for the presence of freewill in man. I think the freewill
does not restrain itself between the shades of highly contrasting as great and abhorrence in the
general public as the individual with freewill likewise has the decision of picking things in bits to
adjust the decisions in the general public. According to me, one of the significant issue for this
situation is that the freewill and the decisions needs to centre around various diverse variables for
the general comprehension of the decisions.
From the various statements I opine that the presence of god and choice is free of each
other and one doesn't have to demonstrate the presence of each other. The presence of through

5
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
and through freedom is one of the principle reasons of the presence of Evil in the general public
as the presence of unrestrained choice needs to differentiating philosophies to browse and great
and shrewdness are those. If we have no choice of decision at that point there is no need of Evil
in the general public and God being Omniscient and inescapable offers unrestrained choice to the
general population by giving them this decision within the sight of both the belief systems. The
information of good and omniscience in god is tested in the rationalities yet god is thought to be
ethically great and Omniscient so he can likewise observe that the through and through freedom
can't exist without being given a decision and there is a likelihood that individuals may pick
either and this very opportunity of decision is their freedom of choice.
Therefore it can be concluded from the above discussion that the existence of god is
justified by the fact that god exists and has given the choice of good and evil to the people so that
the freewill could exist in the society and the god wanted the people to choose good by
themselves and not be dependent. The lack of evil would have negated the point of having a
freewill as it would again lead to the overall issue in the choice if the people would not have the
concept of good. It is also to be considered that the people cannot understand good if they not
have the evil in the society to compare it with. Therefore it can be argues that the though freewill
is a choice it is upon the people to decide between the good and the evil and the evil exists as an
important necessity for the people to understand the difference.

6
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
References
Mackie, John L. "Evil and omnipotence." Mind 64.254 (1955): 200-212.
Mackie, John Leslie. The cement of the universe: A study of causation. Oxford University Press,
1974.
Mackie, John L. "Causes and conditions." American philosophical quarterly 2.4 (1965): 245-
264.
Platinga, Alvin. "An evolutionary argument against naturalism." Disputatio philosophica:
International journal on philosophy and religion 1.1 (1999): 50-69.