Question 1

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position: "God was not, then, faced with a choice between making innocent automata and making beings who, in acting freely, would sometimes go wrong: there was open to him the obviously better possibility of making beings who would act freely but always go right. Clearly, his failure to avail himself of this possibility is inconsistent with his being both ___________ and ___________."

Accepted Answer

The inconsistency Mackie points out is inconsistent with God being both omnipotent (all-powerful) and wholly good. If God had the power to create beings who always freely choose to do good, but chose not to, then he cannot be wholly good. If God wanted to create beings with free will, but still ensured that they would always do good, then he could only be described as omnipotent.

Question 2

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position when he says that this "solution of the problem of evil, then, can be maintained only in the form that God has made men so free that he ..."

Accepted Answer

Mackie criticizes the suggestion that evil is due to human free will, arguing that if God has made men so free that he cannot control their wills, then he cannot be held responsible for the evil actions that result from this free will. This idea undermines the traditional concept of an all-powerful and all-good God, as it suggests that there are some things that God cannot do.

Question 3

Mackie calls the question, "Can an omnipotent being make things which he cannot subsequently control?" the ...

Accepted Answer

Mackie's question is commonly referred to as the Paradox of Omnipotence. It arises from the concept of omnipotence, which is the idea that a being is all-powerful and can do anything. However, the paradox questions whether an omnipotent being can create something that they are unable to control, which seems contradictory to the definition of omnipotence.

Question 4

Mackie says that a theologian "can admit that no rational proof of God's existence is possible. And he can still retain all that is essential to his position, by holding that God's existence is known in some other non-rational way."

Accepted Answer

Mackie suggests that a theologian can acknowledge the lack of rational proof for God's existence but still maintain the belief in God through non-rational means.

Question 5

Mackie says, "I think, however, that a more telling criticism can be made by way of the traditional problem of evil. Here it can be shown, not that religious beliefs lack rational support, but that they are positively irrational."

Accepted Answer

Mackie believes that religious beliefs are positively irrational when evaluated in the context of the problem of evil.

Question 6

Mackie says, "In its simplest form the problem is this: God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet God is unknown. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true the third would be false."

Accepted Answer

Mackie's formulation of the problem of evil actually states that God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and yet evil exists. The contradiction he sees is between the existence of evil and the notion of a wholly good, omnipotent God.

Question 7

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is necessary as a means to good."
But Mackie criticizes this position when he says, "so that if God has to introduce evil as a means to good, he must be subject to at least some causal laws. This certainly conflicts with what a theist normally means by omnipotence."

Accepted Answer

Mackie criticizes the idea that evil is necessary as a means to good by pointing out that it would suggest God is subject to causal laws, contradicting the traditional understanding of God's omnipotence.

Question 8

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Good cannot exist without evil." But Mackie criticizes this position when he says, "humans do not have free will."

Accepted Answer

Mackie does not criticize the position that "Good cannot exist without evil" by saying "humans do not have free will." Instead, he argues against this position by stating that it is not necessary for there to be evil in order for there to be good.

Question 9

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "The universe is better with some evil in it than it could be if there were no evil." Mackie criticizes this position when he argues that "we should be well on the way to an infinite regress, where the solution of a problem of evil, stated in terms of evil-n, indicated the existence of an evil-(n + 1), and a farther problem to be solved."

Accepted Answer

Mackie's argument against the suggestion that some evil is necessary for a better universe is that it would lead to an infinite regress of evil. He argues that this would make it impossible to provide a satisfactory solution to the problem of evil.

Question 10

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position: "God was not, then, faced with a choice between making innocent automata and making beings who, in acting freely, would sometimes go wrong: there was open to him the obviously better possibility of making beings who would act freely but always go right. Clearly, his failure to avail himself of this possibility is inconsistent with his being both eternal and timeless."

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested...

Question 11

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position when he says that this "solution of the problem of evil, then, can be maintained only in the form that God has made men so free that he cannot control their wills."

Accepted Answer

Mackie argues that the solution that evil is due to human free will is only tenable if we accept that God has made humans so free that he cannot control their wills, which he finds problematic.

Question 12

Mackie calls the question, "Can an omnipotent being make things which he cannot subsequently control?" the Dilemma of Determinism.

Accepted Answer

Mackie does not call this question the Dilemma of Determinism. The Dilemma of Determinism typically refers to the debate over whether free will can exist in a world governed by deterministic principles, not the question of an omnipotent being's control over its creations.

Question 13

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Evil is necessary as a means to good."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position:...

Question 14

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Good cannot exist without evil."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position:...

Question 15

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "The universe is better with some evil in it than it could be if there were no evil."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position:...

Question 16

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Evil is due to human free will."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position:...

Question 17

According to Mackie, what is the Paradox of Omnipotence?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Mackie, what is the Paradox...

Question 18

Parsons says, "Most theologians and philosophers have taken 'all-powerful' to mean that God can do anything except make ..."

Accepted Answer

Parsons argues that the commonly accepted interpretation of "all-powerful" is that God can do anything except make a contradiction true. Therefore, choice C is the correct answer as it aligns with Parsons' argument. The other options (time stop, multiple universes, humans without free will) are not explicitly mentioned by Parsons and do not necessarily contradict his argument.

Question 19

Parsons says, "Scientists of the 19th century therefore distinguished between ______________, God's direct actions, and _______________, the physical processes whereby God's aims were achieved in the natural world."

Accepted Answer

Parsons directly states that scientists of the 19th century distinguished between primary causes (God's direct actions) and secondary causes (the physical processes whereby God's aims were achieved in the natural world). None of the other options are mentioned by Parsons.

Question 20

Parsons claims that "whatever is brought about by nature or humans is __________ created by God."

Accepted Answer

Parsons believes that God is the ultimate creator and that everything in the world is ultimately connected to God. However, he also believes that humans and nature have agency and can bring about changes in the world independent of God's direct intervention. Therefore, whatever is brought about by humans or nature is indirectly created by God.

Quiz 4: Plato the Beginning of Everything

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position when he says that this "solution of the problem of evil, then, can be maintained only in the form that God has made men so free that he ..."

Mackie calls the question, "Can an omnipotent being make things which he cannot subsequently control?" the ...

Mackie says that a theologian "can admit that no rational proof of God's existence is possible. And he can still retain all that is essential to his position, by holding that God's existence is known in some other non-rational way."

Mackie says, "I think, however, that a more telling criticism can be made by way of the traditional problem of evil. Here it can be shown, not that religious beliefs lack rational support, but that they are positively irrational."

Mackie says, "In its simplest form the problem is this: God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet God is unknown. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true the third would be false."

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Good cannot exist without evil." But Mackie criticizes this position when he says, "humans do not have free will."

According to Mackie, it is sometimes suggested that "Evil is due to human free will." Mackie criticizes this position when he says that this "solution of the problem of evil, then, can be maintained only in the form that God has made men so free that he cannot control their wills."

Mackie calls the question, "Can an omnipotent being make things which he cannot subsequently control?" the Dilemma of Determinism.

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Evil is necessary as a means to good."

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Good cannot exist without evil."

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "The universe is better with some evil in it than it could be if there were no evil."

Explain Mackie's criticism of the following position: "Evil is due to human free will."

According to Mackie, what is the Paradox of Omnipotence?

Parsons says, "Most theologians and philosophers have taken 'all-powerful' to mean that God can do anything except make ..."

Parsons says, "Scientists of the 19th century therefore distinguished between , God's direct actions, and _, the physical processes whereby God's aims were achieved in the natural world."

Parsons claims that "whatever is brought about by nature or humans is __________ created by God."