Ethical Argument Against God’s Existence: Some Critical Conciderations

Occupation: Associate Professor
Affiliation: Voronezh State Medical University named after N.N. Burdenko
Address: 10 Studencheskaja Str., Voronezh 394036, Russian Federation

Journal name

Chelovek

Edition

Volume 33 Issue 4

Pages

58-76

Abstract

In his recent book, renowned American philosopher James Sterba puts forward an ‘ethical argument’ against the existence of God [Sterba, 2019], arguing for the logical incompatibility of the existence of an all-powerful and all-good God with the existence of moral evil we encounter in the world. This argument marks a new stage in the evolution of the so-called 'problem of evil' in contemporary analytic philosophy of religion, shifting from a discussion of metaphysical and epistemological aspects of the problem to ethical ones. Sterba offers a theoretical justification for the 'theological premise' of the atheistic argument from evil, relying on the Pauline principle that one should not do evil for the good that may come from it, from which he concludes that an all-powerful and all-good God would be obliged to prevent certain kinds of moral evil that are actually found in our world. The paper is aimed to critical evaluation of Sterba's argument by means of logical-conceptual analysis, showing that the key premise of Sterba's argument, according to which Pauline principle applies equally to any rational agent, is controversial, because there is a good reason to believe that God is related to moral norm in a different way than His creation is. The first section examines Sterba's ethical argument in support of the incompatibility of God's existence and existence of certain kinds of moral evil in the world. The second section shows that his strategy of refuting the main anti-atheist counterarguments offered by free will apology, soul-making theodicy, and skeptical theism, while not without merit, is not entirely satisfactory. The third section discusses the problem of the divine moral agency, raised by Sterba within his polemic with classical theism. The fourth section demonstrates that the key premise on which Sterba relies in his argument is controversial because it ignores the nature of the divine moral agency.

Keywords

Analytic Philosophy of Religion, Analytic Theology, Problem of Evil, Free Will Defense, Soul-Making Theodicy, Skeptical Theism, Classical Theism, Pauline Principle, Aristotle, James Sterba, Alvin Plantinga, Thomas Aquinas

Received

28.09.2022

Publication date

28.09.2022

Number of characters

38505

Cite

GOST	Gasparov I. “Ethical Argument” Against God’s Existence: Some Critical Conciderations // Chelovek – 2022. – V. 33. – Issue 4 C. 58-76 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://chelovek-journal.ru/S023620070021628-7-1 (circulation date: 03.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S023620070021628-7
MLA	Gasparov, Igor G "“Ethical Argument” Against God’s Existence: Some Critical Conciderations." Chelovek 33.4 (2022):58-76. DOI: 10.31857/S023620070021628-7
APA	Gasparov I. (2022). “Ethical Argument” Against God’s Existence: Some Critical Conciderations. Chelovek 33(4), pp.58-76 DOI: 10.31857/S023620070021628-7

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 210

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Aristotle. Nikomahova etika [Nicomachean Ethics], transl. from Аncient Greek by N.V. Braginskaya. Aristotle. Sochineniya: v 4 t. [Works: in 4 vol.], ed. by A.I. Dovatur. Vol. 4. Moscow: Mysl' Publ., 1983. Р. 53–294.

2. Bayle P. Pavlikiane [Paulicians], transl. from French by V.М. Boguslavskij and I. S. Shern-Borisova. Bayle P. Istoricheskij I kriticheskij slovar’ v 2 t [The Dictionary Historical and Critical in 2 Vol.]. Vol. 1. Moscow: Mysl' Publ., 1968. P. 326–327.

3. Gasparov I.G. Zlo i svobodnaya volya: sovremennye apologii ot svobodnoj voli i klassicheskij teizm // Filosofiya. Zhurnal Vysshej shkoly ekonomiki. 2020. T. 4. N 4. S. 15–34.

4. Lactantius. O gneve Bozhiem [On the Wrath of God], transl. from Latin by V.M. Tyulenev. Lactantius. O tvorenii Bozhiem. O gneve Bozhiem.O smeti gonitelej. Epitomy bozhestevennych ustanovlenej [The Works of God. On the Wrath of God. On the Deaths of the Persecutors. Epitome of the Divine Institutes]. St.-Petersburg: Izd-vo Olega Abyshko Publ., 2007. P. 77–123.

5. Thomas Aquanas. Summa teologii. CHast' pervaya. Voprosy 1–64 [Summa Theologiae. Part I, Questions 1–64], transl. from Latin by A.V. Appolonov. Moscow: Izdatel' Savin S.A. Publ., 2006.

6. Hramov A.V. Teisticheskij evolyucionizm i problema teodicei. Vestnik PSTGU. Seriya I: Bogoslovie. Filosofiya. Religiovedenie. 2019. Vyp. 83. S. 26–44.

7. Hume D. Dialogi o estestvennoj religii [Dialogues concerning Natural Religion], transl. from English by S. I. Tzereteli. Hume D. Sochineniya: v 2 t. [Works: in 2 vol.]. Vol. 2. Moscow: Mysl' Publ., 1996. Р. 379–482.

8. Almeida M. Review of J.P. Sterba “Is a good God logically possible?” International Journal of Philosophy of Religion. 2020. Vol. 87. P. 245–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-020-09760-0

9. Attfield R. Reconciling the God of Traditional Theism with the World’s Evils. Religions. 2020. N 11(10). P. 514. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100514

10. Feser E. The Thomistic Dissolution of the Logical Problem of Evil. Religions. 2021. N 12 (4). P. 268. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12040268

11. Foot P. Natural Goodness. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

12. Freddoso A. God's General Concurrence with Secondary Causes: Pitfalls and Prospects. American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly. Vol. 67. N. 2. 1994. P. 131–156.

13. Hick J. Evil and the God of Love. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. First published 1966 in NY by Harper and Row.

14. Hickson M.W. A brief history of problems of evil. The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil. Ed. by Justin P. McBrayer and Daniel Howard-Snyder. Willey Blackwell, 2013. P. 3–18.

15. MacIntyre A. Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues. Open Court, 1999.

16. Mackie J.L. Evil and Omnipotence. Mind. Vol. 64. N 254. 1955. P. 200–212.

17. Murphy M. God's Own Ethics. Norms of Divine Agency and the Argument from Evil. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

18. Niederbacher B. The Relation of Reason to Faith. The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas. P. 338–347. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

19. Sterba J.P. Is a Good God Logically Possible? Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

20. Perrine T., Wykstra S.J. Skeptical Theism. The Cambridge Companion to the Problem of Evil. Chad Meister and Paul K. Moser (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. P. 85–107.

21. Plantinga A. God, Freedom, and Evil. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.

22. Rowe W.L. The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism. American Philosophical Quarterly. 1979. N 16 (4). P. 355–341.

23. Rowe W.L. Evil and Theodicy. Philosophical Topics. 1988. 16. P. 119–132.

24. Rowe W.L. The Evidential Argument from Evil: A Second Look / Howard-Snyder D. (Ed.) The Evidential Argument from Evil. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. P. 262–285.

25. Thompson M. Life and Action. Cambridge MA, London: Harvard University Press, 2007.

26. Trakakis N. The God beyond Belief: In Defense of William Rowe's Evidential Argument from Evil. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006.

27. Wykstra, S.J. The Humean Obstacle to Evidential Arguments from Suffering: On Avoiding the Evils of “Appearance”. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 1984. N 16. P. 73–93. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136567