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The free will theodicy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1998

Richard Schoenig
Richard Schoenig
Affiliation:
Philosophy Department, San Antonio College, San Antonio, TA 78212
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Abstract

The Free Will Theodicy (FWT) attempts to defeat the Argument from Evil by claiming that the suffering of the innocent (SOI) is justified by the existence of free will (FW). I argue against the FWT by demonstrating that there are at least three logically possible worlds, one without FW and two with it, such that, if given a choice, all conscious beings would act rationally in choosing to live in any of those three worlds rather than in the current world. This choice outcome undermines the FWT's contention that FW adequately justifies the quantity and severity of the SOI in this world.

Type
Research Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 1998 , pp. 457 - 470
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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