Problem of Evil (Spring 2015, 2014, and Fall 2008)

Spring 2015 syllabus

Phil. 702: Philosophy of Religion Seminar:

The Problem of Evil

Spring 2014
Thursdays, 1:30-3:20, LC 105
Keith DeRose,
office hours: Tu (Tuesdays on which classes meet) 9:40-11; 410 Connecticut Hall

A study of the major forms of the challenge to traditional theism posed by the evil in the
world, together with the main lines of response to these various forms of the problem of
evil. The focus will be on recent philosophical writings – from the last few decades.
For the Spring of 2014, our focus will be on the Free Will Defense and the Problem
of Hell.

Enrollment: Here at Yale, you can never know how many students are coming to a class until it meets. (And sometimes not even then!) If there are too many students for the class to function effectively as a seminar, I will have to limit enrollment. I will do this by having every student fill out a card with their vital information at the first meeting, and then posting the next day a list of those who are admitted into the seminar.

Book: There are no required textbooks for this class. However, several of our readings will be from M. Adams and R. Adams, ed., The Problem of Evil (Oxford University Press, 1990), so some students who like books with covers might want to buy that book (perhaps from amazon.com).

Written Work will consist of a paper proposal, due on Thursday, March 27, by 5:00 PM, and the course paper itself, due Friday, April 25, at 5:00. Both should be submitted by email attachment (Word or pdf formats should be fine; otherwise check with me before the due date).
Course papers must directly and substantially critically engage with one or more of the assigned readings for our course. Successful papers will clearly explain the issues involved and the key argumentative moves made in the readings and/or discussed in class and sections, and will also advance the discussion/argument in significant ways with new considerations or lines of argument of your own. The paper proposal should be 1-2 pages (in a normal format). It will not be given a letter grade, though the quality of the proposal will be taken into account in determining your course grade, and the proposal must be submitted to pass the course. Its purpose, in addition to prodding some to start work on their papers, is to give me a chance to check whether your proposed topic is sufficiently relevant to our course, and in some cases to suggest additional reading you might want to consult in writing your paper. The course paper itself is to be 12-17 pages (in a normal format). Please note the due date for papers in deciding whether to take this seminar, since it is earlier than the due date for papers for many seminars. Please use page numbers.

Grading: Attendance at seminar meetings is mandatory; unexcused absences are grounds for failing the course, even if one’s written work is good. Supposing that atendance is not a problem, grades will be based primarily on the above written work, but participation in seminar discussions will also be taken into account.

In our first meetings, we will start with a general look at the problem of evil and defenses from it; the problem of hell; the free will defense; and, more generally, cause-and-effect theodicy. If possible, have read the following in preparation for the first seminar meeting (Jan. 16):

K. DeRose, "Might God Have Reasons for not                 pdf.                
  Preventing Evils?" 

J. Hick, "Soul-Making and Suffering,"* a longer
selection from E&GL, which includes what's in, and 
will replace the above selection

D. Lewis, "Evil for Freedom's Sake?, pp. 149-152           pdf.

On the Problem of Hell, our readings will include:

M. Adams, "The Problem of Hell: A Problem of Evil
  for Christians"*

E. Stump, "The Problem of Evil"                            pdf.

E. Stump, "Dante's Hell, Aquinas's Moral Theory, and       link.
the Love of God," skipping pp. 181.4 - 191.7

As we continue discussing the Free Will Defense, further readings will include:

D. Lewis, "Evil for Freedom's Sake," rest of paper         pdf.

R. Adams, "Middle Knowledge and the Problem of Evil"       link.

Other Readings:

M. Adams, "Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God"       link.

Readings for the rest of the semester will be announced later

Phil. 702: Philosophy of Religion Seminar:

The Problem of Evil

Fall 2008
Tuesdays, 9:25-11:15, LC 103

Keith DeRose,
office hours: Mondays 10-12; 410 Connecticut Hall

Enrollment: Here at Yale, you can never know how many students are coming to a class until it meets. (And sometimes not even then!) But there are some indications to think it possible that we may have too many students for the class to function effectively as a seminar. If that happens, I will have to limit enrollment. I will do this by having every student fill out a card with their vital information at the first meeting, and then posting the next day a list of those who are admitted into the seminar.

Books/Readings: There are no required textbooks for this class. However, several of our readings will be from M. Adams and R. Adams, ed., The Problem of Evil (Oxford University Press, 1990), so some students who like books with covers might want to buy that book (perhaps from amazon.com).

Written Work will consist of a 1-2 page paper proposal, due on Friday, Nov. 7, by 4:00 PM (submitted by e-mail attachment), and the course paper itself, due Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the start of our seminar meeting (submit a paper copy).
Expanded description of written work: Course papers must directly and substantially critically engage with one or more of the assigned readings for our course. Successful papers will clearly explain the issues involved and the key argumentative moves made in the readings and/or discussed in class and sections, and will also advance the discussion/argument in significant ways with new considerations or lines of argument of your own. A 1-2 page paper proposal is due on Friday, Nov. 7, by 4:00 PM. This proposal can be turned in by e-mail attachment. It will not be given a letter grade, though the quality of the proposal will be taken into account in determining your course grade, and the course cannot be passed without completing the proposal on time. Its purpose, in addition to prodding some to start work on their papers, is to give me a chance to check whether your proposed topic is sufficiently relevant to our course, and in some cases to suggest additional reading you might want to consult in writing your paper. The course paper itself is to be 12-17 pages (typed, double-spaced). A paper copy of this should be submitted in class. The paper itself is due at the start of our last seminar meeting, on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Please note this due date in deciding whether to take this seminar, since it is earlier than the due date for papers for many seminars. Please use page numbers, and staple your paper together.

Topics and Readings (still subject to change):

Introduction — Sept. 9

K. DeRose, "Might God Have Reasons for not           [pdf].                
  Preventing Evils?"

Cause & Effect Theodicy and Hick’s Defense — Sept. 16

J. Hick, "Soul-Making and Suffering"*                A&A, pp. 168-188
D. Lewis, "Evil for Freedom's Sake?"* introductory
   material before section I

Free Will Defense — Sept. 23, 30, Oct. 7

D. Lewis, "Evil for Freedom's Sake"*
R. Adams, "Middle Knowledge and the Problem of       A&A, 110-125
   Evil"*
A. Plantinga, "God, Evil, and the Metaphysics of     A&A, 83-109
   Freedom"*
K. DeRose, "Plantinga, Presumption, Possibility,
   and the Problem of Evil"*

Skeptical Theism & The Concrete, Evidential Problem of Evil — Oct. 14

S. Wykstra, "The Humean Obstacle to Evidential       link (also in A&A, 138-160)
   Arguments from Suffering: On Avoiding the Evils
   of 'Appearance'"*
W. Rowe, "Evil and the Theistic Hypothesis: A        link (also in A&A, 161-167)
   Response to Wykstra"*

Defeat of Evil, Best of All Possible Worlds Defense — Oct. 28

M. Adams, "The Best of All Possible Worlds and the   A&A, pp. 4-10 
   Defeat of Evils" section of "Introduction"*
G. Leibniz, some short passages                      word.
N. Pike, "Hume on Evil"                              JSTOR link. (also A&A, 38-52)
R. Adams, "Must God Create the Best?"                JSTOR link.
..

Horrendous Evil — Nov. 4

M. Adams, "Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of      JSTOR link. (Also in A&A, 209-221)
   of God"
W. Placher, "An engagement with Marilyn McCord       link.
   Adams's Horrendous Evils and the Goodness 
   of God"
M. Adams, "Horrors in theological context"           link.
.

Problem of Hell, Course Wrap-Up — Nov. 11, 18, Dec. 2

D. Lewis, "Divine Evil"*
W. Craig, "'No Other Name': A Middle Knowledge       link.
   Perspective on the Exclusivity of Salvation 
   Through Christ"
M. Adams, "The Problem of Hell: A Problem of Evil
   for Christians"*
R. Swinburne, "A Theodicy of Heaven and Hell"*
T. Sider, "Hell and Vagueness"*


Some non-assigned, but relevant, readings & other potentially useful links:

Problem of Evil Bibliography: link.
W. Rowe, "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties     A&A, 126-137
   of Atheism"*
N. Trakakis, "Theodicy: The Solution to the          link.
   Problem of Evil, or Part of the Problem?,"
   Sophia 47 (2008): 161-191.
K. DeRose, "The Conditionals of Deliberation"        pdf.
R. Adams, "Existence, Self-Interest, and the         JSTOR link. 
   Problem of Evil"
R. Adams, "Time and Thisness," Midwest Studies
   in Philosophy 11 (1986): 315-329. [There
   doesn't seem to be Yale on-line access to this]
blog post: "The Frowns on the Jugglers and the       link.  
   Clowns"
                    a link to the video that works:  link.