Representing the Parent Analogy
I argue that Stephen Wykstra's much discussed Parent Analogy is still helpful in responding to the evidential problem of evil when coupled with so-called positive skeptical theism, despite recent valid criticisms of the analogy. Positive skeptical theism, defended by John DePoe, says that al...
| Auteur principal: | |
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| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Publié: |
2021
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| Dans: |
European journal for philosophy of religion
Année: 2021, Volume: 13, Numéro: 4, Pages: 157-174 |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Parent Analogy
B Skeptical Theism B problem of evil B Evidential Argument |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Résumé: | I argue that Stephen Wykstra's much discussed Parent Analogy is still helpful in responding to the evidential problem of evil when coupled with so-called positive skeptical theism, despite recent valid criticisms of the analogy. Positive skeptical theism, defended by John DePoe, says that although we often remain in the dark about the first-order reasons that God allows particular instances of suffering, we can have positive second-order reasons that God would create a world with seemingly gratuitous evils. I further explain positive skeptical theism and then apply it to the Parent Analogy, saying that a plausible second-order reason that God would allow seemingly gratuitous evils is that God, like a good parent, wants a rightly ordered friendship with created beings. Then, because this sort of friendship is significantly disanalogous to human parent-child relationships, I go beyond the analogy and directly argue that friendship with God will involve ignorance of suffering-justifying goods. |
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| Contient: | Enthalten in: European journal for philosophy of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.2021.3363 |



