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Crash Course 2: Philosophy., 13b. The Problem of Evil. Part 2/2.

13b. The Problem of Evil. Part 2/2.

[Video 04:51]

Let's consider the case of Ivan, a good Russian who decides to break up with God. In the novel The Brothers Karamozov, 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky presents us with Ivan, a man who claims to believe in God. But Ivan finds the fact that God allows evil to exist to be so unforgivable, that he decides worshipping such a god would be, just, unconscionable.

Ivan goes so far as to declare that he is “returning his ticket” to heaven. If the same God who allows evil – particularly the suffering and death of children – is also saving a cozy place in paradise for Ivan, well, Ivan wants nothing to do with it. So, his way out of the problem of evil is to deny God's goodness, and to conclude that a bad God is not only unworthy of his worship, he's also not someone Ivan wants to spend eternity with. It's like the ultimate un-friending. Now, some readers have found Ivan's decision to be noble, and full of integrity. After all, if you really think God is letting all of this bad stuff happen, why would you want to be on his team?

But other people think Ivan is being irrational – why condemn yourself to eternity in hell on principle? For theists, it's another question that doesn't have an easy answer. Thanks, Thought Bubble!

Now, unlike Ivan, a lot of people aren't willing to give up their ticket to heaven. So they need to work on a way to keeping believing in, and worshipping, God, even though evil is still a thing. One way to do that, is to argue that good can't exist without its opposite. The idea here is that you can't understand the concept of pleasure without pain. We don't know what it feels like to be warm if we haven't been cold. We can't understand the goodness of filling our bellies if we've never been hungry. But there's also another way, though it involves a little more work on your part. 20th century English philosopher of religion John Hick offered what's known as the soul-making theodicy. Unlike the traditional view that God created a perfect world, which we ruined through our own poor choices, Hick argued that God deliberately creates us “unfinished,” and our earthly lives are designed to toughen us up, in a sense, kinda like boot camp.

The harshness of life, Hick said, gives us a robust texture and character that wouldn't be possible without an imperfect world. Hick said that we're not just God's little pets, and he's not our benevolent owner, whose sole job is to keep us in a safe, comfortable environment. Instead, he wants to build us, to train us, into a particular kind of being. So we need an environment that's suited to the sort of growth that he wants – the sort that this world makes possible. A lot of people find these and other theodicies to be pretty compelling. However, the problem of evil actually goes a step deeper. What we've been talking about so far is the logical problem of evil. This problem can be resolved, if we can explain why there's evil. But there's also the evidential problem of evil. This problem points out that we might be able to explain why evil exists, but we still can't explain why there's so much evil in the world. For instance, let's say that it's true that we really do need evil in order to understand goodness. In that case, why can't we understand the contrast through some sort of low-level evil – like paper cuts and head colds and having to work straight through our lunch hour every now and then? I mean, slow, painful deaths from cancer, and city-destroying hurricanes… they don't really add anything valuable to our understanding of goodness. Do they?

If God were truly good, and if a negative contrast were really needed in order for us to understand the goodness of the world, then why wouldn't he give us just the very minimum dosage of necessary to achieve that goal? A counterargument might suggest that there's always a good that corresponds to, and is proportionate to, any evil. But empirically, such goodness is really hard to find. What good, for example, could possibly correspond to the horrors of a genocide? In cases like this, Hick's soul-making doesn't seem to cut it. You can't really argue that “whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger,” because, sometimes, evil does kill us. A lot of us. And sometimes it kills us before we have a chance to grow and learn from the suffering we've endured. Despite these and other philosophical sticking points, a lot of people have found a theodicy that satisfies them – one that they believe reconciles the apparent evil in the world with God's existence. Others find all of these theodicies to be flawed, and they reject God's omni-nature, preserving their belief in God by finding him to be less than perfectly powerful, or knowledgeable, or good. Still others are convinced that the evil in the world is simply incompatible with the existence of a god, or at least any god worth worshipping. Wherever you end up, this is a problem that needs to be grappled with. And you'll probably be thinking about it long after this lesson has ended. After all, today we have considered the biggest problem in theism – the problem of evil. We've thought about different theodicies – or ways that we might reconcile the existence of evil and the existence of god, and we've explored whether those responses are sufficient. Next time, we'll consider what kinds of justification we need to have for our religious beliefs. This episode of Crash Course Philosophy is made possible by Squarespace. Squarespace is a way to create a website, blog or online store for you and your ideas.

Squarespace features a user-friendly interface, custom templates and 24/7 customer support. Try Squarespace at squarespace.com/crash course for a special offer. Squarespace: share your passion with the world.

Crash Course Philosophy is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios. You can head over to their channel to check out amazing shows like PBS Idea Channel, The Chatterbox, and PBS Space Time.

This episode of Crash Course was filmed in the Doctor Cheryl C. Kinney Crash Course Studio with the help of these awesome people and our equally fantastic graphics team is Thought Cafe.

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13b. The Problem of Evil. Part 2/2. 13b. El problema del mal. Parte 2/2. 13b.悪の問題パート2/2. 13b. O problema do mal. Parte 2/2. 13б. Проблема зла. Часть 2/2. 13b. Проблема зла. Частина 2/2. 13b。邪恶问题。第 2/2 部分。

[Video 04:51]

Let's consider the case of Ivan, a good Russian who decides to break up with God. In the novel The Brothers Karamozov, 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky presents us with Ivan, a man who claims to believe in God. En la novela Los hermanos Karamozov, el escritor ruso del siglo XIX Fiódor Dostoievski nos presenta a Iván, un hombre que afirma creer en Dios. But Ivan finds the fact that God allows evil to exist to be so unforgivable, that he decides worshipping such a god would be, just, unconscionable.

Ivan goes so far as to declare that he is “returning his ticket” to heaven. 伊凡甚至宣称自己“退还了”通往天堂的门票。 If the same God who allows evil – particularly the suffering and death of children – is also saving a cozy place in paradise for Ivan, well, Ivan wants nothing to do with it. 如果容许邪恶 - 特别是儿童的苦难和死亡的上帝也为伊凡保留了一个舒适的天堂,那么伊凡对此毫无兴趣。 So, his way out of the problem of evil is to deny God's goodness, and to conclude that a bad God is not only unworthy of his worship, he's also not someone Ivan wants to spend eternity with. Así, su salida al problema del mal es negar la bondad de Dios, y concluir que un Dios malo no sólo no es digno de su adoración, sino que tampoco es alguien con quien Iván quiera pasar la eternidad. 因此,他摆脱邪恶问题的方法是否定上帝的善良,并得出结论:一个坏上帝不仅不值得他的崇拜,而且伊凡也不想和他度过永恒。 It's like the ultimate un-friending. 这就像是终极取消好友关系。 Now, some readers have found Ivan's decision to be noble, and full of integrity. 现在,一些读者认为伊万的决定很高尚,充满正直。 After all, if you really think God is letting all of this bad stuff happen, why would you want to be on his team? 毕竟,如果你真的认为上帝允许所有这些坏事发生,你为什么还想加入他的队伍呢?

But other people think Ivan is being irrational – why condemn yourself to eternity in hell on principle? 但是其他人认为伊万是不理智的——为什么要因原则而让自己永远在地狱中受苦? For theists, it's another question that doesn't have an easy answer. 对于有神论者来说,这是另一个没有简单答案的问题。 Thanks, Thought Bubble! 谢谢,思维泡泡!

Now, unlike Ivan, a lot of people aren't willing to give up their ticket to heaven. So they need to work on a way to keeping believing in, and worshipping, God, even though evil is still a thing. One way to do that, is to argue that good can't exist without its opposite. The idea here is that you can't understand the concept of pleasure without pain. We don't know what it feels like to be warm if we haven't been cold. We can't understand the goodness of filling our bellies if we've never been hungry. 如果我们从未饥饿过,就无法理解填饱肚子的好处。 But there's also another way, though it involves a little more work on your part. 但也有另一种方式,尽管这需要你多做一点工作。 20th century English philosopher of religion John Hick offered what's known as the soul-making theodicy. 20世纪英国宗教哲学家约翰·希克提出了被称为灵魂塑造辩护的观点。 Unlike the traditional view that God created a perfect world, which we ruined through our own poor choices, Hick argued that God deliberately creates us “unfinished,” and our earthly lives are designed to toughen us up, in a sense, kinda like boot camp. 与传统观念不同,认为上帝创造了一个完美的世界,而我们通过自己的糟糕选择毁坏了它。希克认为上帝故意创造我们是“不完美的”,我们的人生旨在让我们变得坚强,有点像军事训练营。

The harshness of life, Hick said, gives us a robust texture and character that wouldn't be possible without an imperfect world. 希克说,生活的苛刻给予我们坚韧的质地和性格,这在一个完美的世界中是不可能的。 Hick said that we're not just God's little pets, and he's not our benevolent owner, whose sole job is to keep us in a safe, comfortable environment. 希克说我们不仅仅是上帝的小宠物,他也不是我们仁慈的主人,其唯一工作就是让我们生活在一个安全舒适的环境中。 Instead, he wants to build us, to train us, into a particular kind of being. So we need an environment that's suited to the sort of growth that he wants – the sort that this world makes possible. A lot of people find these and other theodicies to be pretty compelling. Многие люди находят эти и другие теодицеи весьма убедительными. 许多人发现这些和其他抗辩论非常有说服力。 However, the problem of evil actually goes a step deeper. 然而,邪恶问题实际上更深层。 What we've been talking about so far is the logical problem of evil. 到目前为止,我们谈论的是邪恶的逻辑问题。 This problem can be resolved, if we can explain why there's evil. But there's also the evidential problem of evil. This problem points out that we might be able to explain why evil exists, but we still can't explain why there's so much evil in the world. 这个问题指出我们或许能够解释邪恶存在的原因,但我们仍然无法解释为什么世界上邪恶如此之多。 For instance, let's say that it's true that we really do need evil in order to understand goodness. 举个例子,假设我们真的需要邪恶来理解善良。 In that case, why can't we understand the contrast through some sort of low-level evil – like paper cuts and head colds and having to work straight through our lunch hour every now and then? 那么,为什么我们不能通过某种低级邪恶来理解对比呢?比如纸嘴和头痛,不时被迫连续工作一个午餐时间。 I mean, slow, painful deaths from cancer, and city-destroying hurricanes… they don't really add anything valuable to our understanding of goodness. 我的意思是,癌症造成的缓慢而痛苦的死亡,以及摧毁城市的飓风...它们并没有为我们对善良的理解增添任何有价值的东西。 Do they? 是吗?

If God were truly good, and if a negative contrast were really needed in order for us to understand the goodness of the world, then why wouldn't he give us just the very minimum dosage of necessary to achieve that goal? 如果上帝真的是善良的,而且如果负面对比真的是为了让我们理解世界的善良,那么他为什么不只给我们达到这个目标所需的最低剂量呢? A counterargument might suggest that there's always a good that corresponds to, and is proportionate to, any evil. But empirically, such goodness is really hard to find. What good, for example, could possibly correspond to the horrors of a genocide? 例如,对于种族灭绝的恐怖,可能有什么好处呢? In cases like this, Hick's soul-making doesn't seem to cut it. En casos como éste, la fabricación de almas de Hick no parece ser suficiente. 在这种情况下,希克的灵魂塑造似乎不够。 You can't really argue that “whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger,” because, sometimes, evil does kill us. 你不能真的说“不把我们打垮的东西让我们更强大”,因为有时邪恶确实会杀死我们。 A lot of us. And sometimes it kills us before we have a chance to grow and learn from the suffering we've endured. Despite these and other philosophical sticking points, a lot of people have found a theodicy that satisfies them – one that they believe reconciles the apparent evil in the world with God's existence. 尽管存在这些和其他哲学上的争执点,很多人已经找到了一种能让他们满意的神辩——一种能让他们相信能够调和世界上表面的邪恶与上帝存在的神辩。 Others find all of these theodicies to be flawed, and they reject God's omni-nature, preserving their belief in God by finding him to be less than perfectly powerful, or knowledgeable, or good. 其他人发现所有这些神辩都有缺陷,他们拒绝上帝的全能本质,通过认为上帝不是绝对的强大、全知、或善良来保持对上帝的信仰。 Still others are convinced that the evil in the world is simply incompatible with the existence of a god, or at least any god worth worshipping. 还有一些人坚信世界上的邪恶与上帝的存在是完全不可调和的,或者至少是不值得崇拜的任何神。 Wherever you end up, this is a problem that needs to be grappled with. And you'll probably be thinking about it long after this lesson has ended. After all, today we have considered the biggest problem in theism – the problem of evil. We've thought about different theodicies – or ways that we might reconcile the existence of evil and the existence of god, and we've explored whether those responses are sufficient. Next time, we'll consider what kinds of justification we need to have for our religious beliefs. 下次,我们将考虑我们的宗教信仰需要什么样的理由。 This episode of Crash Course Philosophy is made possible by Squarespace. 这一集《碰撞课程哲学》得以呈现,感谢Squarespace的支持。 Squarespace is a way to create a website, blog or online store for you and your ideas. Squarespace是一个为您和您的创意创建网站、博客或在线商店的方式。

Squarespace features a user-friendly interface, custom templates and 24/7 customer support. Try Squarespace at squarespace.com/crash course for a special offer. Squarespace: share your passion with the world.

Crash Course Philosophy is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios. You can head over to their channel to check out amazing shows like PBS Idea Channel, The Chatterbox, and PBS Space Time.

This episode of Crash Course was filmed in the Doctor Cheryl C. Kinney Crash Course Studio with the help of these awesome people and our equally fantastic graphics team is Thought Cafe.