There Is No God
Mon, Mar 27
In this session we consider natural a-theology: arguments that no rational person should believe that a god exists. In particular, we will focus on the Problem of Evil. To guide our thinking, we will consider some real world tragedies and the burden that theists have in understanding them. We'll also consider one of the most important meditations on evil in the history of literature: Ivan's "Rebellion" speech in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.
We have three main learning goals for this day. You will:
- Understand the philosophical "problem of evil" and some leading theodicies
- Reflect on whether there are any morally satisfying resolutions to the problem of evil, given the actual evils we find in the world
- Reflect on the appropriate effect evils should have on theistic faith.
Read This:
Prof. Blaschko's students should read this: Interactive Essay: Dostoyevsky's Rebellion: Reject God
Prof. Christy's students should read and annotate this same text via Perusall.
Do This:
Prof. Blaschko's students: Read and annotate the short "Application Article" on Perusall.
Prof. Christy's students: Read the short "Application Article" on Perusall.
All students: After you've finished today's reading, make sure you complete the reading quiz, which you can access through your section's Canvas page.