Plantingas free will defense has been known since he first published a version of it in 1977. It does not include doing absurd things that are impossible such as creating free people that are incapable of doing evil. According to plantingas version of the freewill argument fwa, the existence of free beings in the world who, on the whole, do more good than. Moreover, we accept incompatibilism, counterfactuals of freedom. Oct 04, 2010 alvin plantinga s free will defense alvin plantinga is perhaps the foremost christian philosopher of our generation. The free will defense center for philosophy of religion. Augustines free will theodicy and natural evil abstract the problem of evil is an obstacle to justi. The op accepts that omnipotence means being able to do anything that can be done. Themes from richard swinburne, bergmann and brower, eds. This book discusses and exemplifies the philosophy of religion, or philosophical reflection on central. His modal ontological argument for foundational religious necessity is seen as an almost. We aim to defend mackies case and question plantingas free will defense. We aim to defend mackies case and question plantinga s free will defense. In his celebrated free will defense fwd, alvin plantinga aims to.
A world containing creatures who are significantly free and freely perform more good than evil actions is more valuable, all else being equal, than a world containing no free creatures. Unsubscribe from center for philosophy of religion. Vi the free will defence alvin plantinga since the days of epicurus many philosophers have suggested that the existence of evil constitutes a. Let us return to plantingas possible worlds example. Articles 2016 law, cause, and occasionalism, in reason and faith. International journal for philosophy of religion, spring, 1980, 12332. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look. Alvin plantingas free will defense resists such arguments by providing a positive case that 1 and 2 are consistent. Below are short, animated videos on philosopher alvin plantingas most important contributions to the philosophy of religion. God, freedom, and evil kindle edition by plantinga, alvin. Plantinga wants to hold that god is a necessarily existent being, the atheist does not need 7. Alvin plantinga s version of the free will defense 1 is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil, the argument that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god in an evil world constitutes a logical contradiction. Transworld sanctity and plantingas free will defense.
Plantingas freewill defense plantingas freewill defense begins by asserting that mackies argument failed to establish an explicit logical contradiction between god and the existence of evil. It uses free will as a premise in defense of allpowerfull allgood gods compatibility with the existence of evil in the world. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it. Jul 01, 2019 a defense of religious exclusivism alvin plantinga pdf alvin plantinga. He has been, until his recent retirement, the john a.
The question is how does plantinga resolve the conflict between foreknowledge and free will with his free will defense. Some see the free will defense as a hallmark of apologetic desperation. While some philosophers have raised issues with the particular model of free will advocated by plantinga an incompatibilist model, over against the compatibilism of thinkers like mackie and antony flew, most have accepted that plantinga s free will defense does provide a logically satisfactory response to the problem of evil. Alvin carl plantinga born in ann arbor, michigan, the first of four sons of cornelius a.
The defense specifically states that creating creatures with free will is a greater good than restricting evil. Free will defense could god have created a world full of people who never sin. If god knows everything we will do before we do it, can our actions be free. Plantinga began to address the logical form of the problem in a unique way with his version of the free will defense. Alvin plantingas version of the free will defense 1 is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil, the argument that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god in an evil world constitutes a logical contradiction. Plantingas free will defense project gutenberg self. Plantinga on the free will defense hugh lafollette east tennessee state university i in his recent book god, freedom, and evil, alvin plantinga for mulates an updated version of the free will defense which, he argues, successfully counters all attacks by the atheist.
Alvin plantingas freewill defense is a logical argument developed by the american analytic philosopher alvin plantinga and published in its final version in his. In this post, i will examine plantinga s use of a free will defense against an opponents presentation of the logical problem of evil. The free will defense because free will is a good, a wholly good being might wish for others to have free will. A classic work in the philosophy of religion, plantinga s god, freedom, and evil is the single most influential text on the problem of evil in the past fifty years. Alvin plantinga s free will defense is a logical argument developed by the american analytic philosopher alvin plantinga and published in its final version in his 1977 book god, freedom, and evil. Request pdf god, evil, and alvin plantinga on the free will defense in this paper we will give a critical account of plantinga s wellknown argument to the effect that the existence of an. Plantinga and the problem of evil iowa state university. Plantinga labels his defense the free will defense. Since the world contains evil in fact, it follows so it is claimed that the world was not created by an omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good being. Plantingas freewill defense begins by asserting that mackies argument failed to establish an explicit logical contradiction between god and the existence of evil. Transworld sanctity and plantingas free will defense 3 now, given our aim to assess plantingas defense while granting his metaphysical and moral assumptions, we grant that his version of claim 1 meets the condition laid down by the epistemic mendment.
A critique of plantingas free will defense the skeptical. Alvin plantingas freewill defense wikipedia republished. According to plantinga, to strongly actualize some state of affairs is to be the cause of that state. Natural theology and atheology god and analogy the free will defense the ontonlogical argument is naturalism irrational. Plantinga targets those who argue that god and evil are incompatible. The previous post consisted of a brief outline on alvin plantinga and theistic personalism. This book covers some of the same ground as his more technical the nature of necessity. Such a world, he says, would certainly be more valuable for god to create than a world filled with determined beings. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at. Supralapsarianism, or o felix culpa alvin plantinga. In his recent book god, freedom, and evil, alvin plantinga for mulates an updated version of the free will defense which, he argues, successfully counters all.
For a critical account of verificationism see plantinga, god and other minds, chap. Plantingas free will defense plantinga starts his defense by addressing concerns from j. According to saint augustines free will theodicy afwt, moral evil attends free will. Alvin plantinga is held by many to be the greatest living christian philosopher, and has made immense contributions to various areas of. Plantinga says that a world containing creatures who are free is more valuable than a world.
Plantinga s free will defense project gutenberg self. Philosophy professor hugh lafollettes plantinga on the free will defense pdf. By doing this, we will see what impact the above analysis has on the veracity of plantinga s free will defense. To help us make this comparison, i will now bring in plantinga s assumption that human agents have free will in his contracausal sense. The free will defense shows that the existence of god is compatible, both logically and probabilistically, with the existence of evil. The ontological argument for gods existence was first laid out in the form we see today by anselm of canterbury 10331109 who was a monk living in france and england and writing about. Ive seen people bring up plantinga s free will defense in a few threads as a widely accepted defense to the problem of evil see link for explanations. Some philosophers have argued that a world created by an omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good being would not contain evil. So if god were to strongly actualize that human beings choose to do something, then god would be causing them to do it, and. Pdf nonmoral evil and the free will defense kenneth boyce. Alvin plantinga s free will defense has been listed as one of the philosophy and religion good articles under the good article criteria. Mar 22, 2018 the free will defense center for philosophy of religion.
Alvin plantinga, born in 1932, is a philosopher and has been a professor at both calvin university and the university of notre dame. Plantinga starts at the very foundations of theological thinking. Compatibilism, evil, and the free will defense 221 mechanism by which s would have done a from, s ay, an agentc ausal libertarian mechanism to a causally determined me chanism, but, by having. For more on information and video interviews with alvin plantinga. First, the probability of our cognitive faculties being reliable, given naturalism and evolution, is low. One version of this strategy is suggested by the contemporary philosopher alvin plantinga. Aug 23, 2019 god, freedom, and evil alvin plantinga free download as pdf file. Alvin plantinga s version of the free will defense is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil. Summary of alvin plantingas updated evolutionary argument.
Books by alvin plantinga pdf epub read or download. Alvin plantingas free will defense why i deconverted from. The analytic theist is a book of essays written by alvin plantinga. This has not stopped vast numbers of people from using the logical problem of evil as an attack on god. Transworld sanctity and plantingas free will defense 3 now, given our aim to assess plantinga s defense while granting his metaphysical and moral assumptions, we grant that his version of claim 1 meets the condition laid down by the epistemic mendment.
Below are short, animated videos on philosopher alvin plantinga s most important contributions to the philosophy of religion. A critique of plantingas free will defense posted on october 2, 2016 by keiths the problem of evil is a perpetual thorn in the side of the omnitheist that is, someone who believes in an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent god. The logical problem of evil, plantingas free will defense. Plantinga on the free will defense hugh lafollette. This account, he con tends, shows that it is not within gods power as.
God, evil, and alvin plantinga on the freewill defense. Plantinga s presentation of the free will defense is a landmark in contemporary discussions of the problem of evil. Plantinga on free will and evil some philosophers have argued that a world created by an omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good being would not contain evil. This challenge draws on but goes beyond some ideas advanced by wes morriston. Alvin plantingas free will defense alvin plantinga is perhaps the foremost christian philosopher of our generation. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. T his is a collection of philosophical papers by alvin plantinga. Plantinga s defense does give a possible reason for permitting evil because creating creatures with free wills requires it.
Wierenga argues that plantinga s freewill defense is compatible with the truth of metaphysical. So if god were to strongly actualize that human beings choose to do something, then god would be causing them to do it, and plantinga believes that this is incompatible with freedom. Scientists tackle theology and philosophy leesomniac. The wikipedia article itself posits that this is widely accepted by contemporary philosophers as a valid defense for the problem of evil, but i find this hard to believe. Plantinga s argument is a defense against the logical problem of evil as formulated by the philosopher j. Vi the free will defence alvin plantinga since the days of epicurus many philosophers have suggested that the existence of. Plantinga asks us to imagine a world in which god created beings who are free to choose good over evil. Jan 29, 20 3 thoughts on the logical problem of evil, plantingas free will defense, and how it relates to the debate on free will pingback. In other words plantinga shows that 14 are not on their own contradictory, and that any contradiction must originate from an atheologians implicit unstated assumptions, assumptions representing premises not stated in the argument itself.
Note that the point of this defense or any defense against the problem of evil is. Plantinga doesnt claim to know that this is the correct explanation for the evil not caused by human free actions. It does not include doing absurd things that are impossible such as creating free people that are incapable of. Philosophers, even atheists, have openly acknowledged as much. God, freedom, and evil alvin plantinga free download as pdf file. Plantinga s preliminary statement of the free will defense is. A defense of religious exclusivism alvin plantinga pdf alvin plantinga. Alvin plantinga is regarded as one of the foremost religious philosophers of the contemporary era.
In his celebrated free will defense fwd, alvin plantinga. Plantinga argues that god, in spite of being omnipotent, has some limitations on his power. Pdf god, evil, and alvin plantinga on freewill defense. I argue that the denial of otu is also epistemically possible and, therefore, that the improved fwd fares no better than the original at establishing the compatibility of god and evil.
Plantinga s free will defense plantinga starts his defense by addressing concerns from j. What is plantingas free will defense, and how does it address the problem of evil. I advance a challenge to the coherence of alvin plantinga s brand of theism that focuses on plantinga s celebrated free will defence. Moral evil is the pain and suffering that comes from acts of free will. These ideas transformed how those within philosophy and the surrounding culture understood theism the belief in a divine reality or god. His father, cornelius, was then a philosophy graduate student at the university of michigan. A critique of the free will defense, a comprehensive look at alvin. Plantinga on the free will defense 125 tological proof, the atheist can, as even plantinga admits, successfully revise 2 to say. As plantinga expounds it,8 the free will defense rests on these two philosophical claims, which it adds to the theological assumptions l 3. The logical problem of evil is nothing new it dates back to epicurus and probably beyond.
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