essay intro to philosophy, Thesis of Philosophy

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PHI2010 Short Essay PHI 13/02/ Dr. Lauren Willson

There are many arguments for the existence of God, all making use of different kinds of evidence. However, the Problem of Evil attempts to negate the presence of a benevolent being because of the presence of evil in the world. The soul-making response to this issue attacks premise four of the Problem of Evil, stating that some evil is necessary for the development of character. The soul-making response fails to invalidate the Problem of Evil because of its inability to explain evils that don’t build character and inherent inconsistencies with the characteristics of God. The Problem of Evil is a response to the existence of God. It consists of five premises: If God exists, He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent; an omnipotent being can accomplish anything; an omniscient being is all-knowing and knows when evil exists; an omnibenevolent being always prevents evil to the best of its ability; evil exists, therefore God does not exist(Willson, 2026).The Problem of Evil highlights the “apparent incompatibility of the existence of evil with an omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent God.” (Willson, 2026). Essentially, the Problem of Evil points out logical inconsistencies supporting the existence of God. Based on His main characteristics, evil should not exist at all–yet it does. This is one of the main arguments against the existence of God, and there are many points refuting this argument that attack individual premises, such as the Soul-Making response. The Soul-Making response to the Problem of Evil attacks premise four of the argument, asserting that some evil is permissible, or even necessary, for the strengthening of the soul or if it produces a positive effect(Willson, 2026). For instance, C.S Lewis in The Problem of Pain mentions Jesus’s death and resurrection as effecting “a real change in our relations to the “awful” and “righteous” Lord, and a change in our favour.” (Lewis, 1940). Here, Lewis describes Jesus’s death as a necessary suffering for the forgiveness and reconciliation of sin–a positive outcome to

unnecessary complication to a potentially straightforward explanation. Ultimately, the Soul-Making response fails to explain the Problem of Evil due to its inability to explain certain evils and the contradictions it raises. Overall, the Soul-Making response alone fails to negate the Problem of Evil, despite its attempts to justify it through soul-building. While there are certain evils that can contribute to strengthening of character, there exist countless other kinds–such as the Holocaust–that cannot reasonably be attributed to soul-making. Furthermore, C.S. Lewis suggests himself that the existence of God actually creates the Problem of Evil and further complicates the issue. Considering this alongside Occam’s Razor, the existence of an omnibenevolent God that uses the presence of evil as a way of soul-building is less likely than the fact that evil simply exists. Ultimately, the Soul-Making response does not invalidate the Problem of Evil due to its inability to justify all magnitudes of suffering according to God’s characteristics of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence.

Works Cited Lewis, C. S. (1940). The problem of pain. Samizdat University Press.

Willson, L. (2026). The Problem of Evil, Part 1. Retrieved from Florida State University PHI2010: Introduction to Philosophy Canvas site.