Date of Award
Spring 5-2019
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy
Advisor/Committee Chair
Nathan Powers, Ph.D.
Abstract
Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been formulated in terms of a consequentialist moral system: the basic strategy has been to claim that evils in the world (like human suffering) are justified by greater goods that they bring about (or greater goods to which they are concomitant). Recently several philosophers have challenged the effectiveness of this strategy, arguing that theodicy would be better served by a strategy that appeals primarily to deontological considerations: perhaps, for example, God has obligations or duties whose fulfillment requires him to permit the human suffering that we observe. This paper explores two distinct approaches to a deontological theodicy suggested by J. Mooney (2017). I argue that one of these approaches is unpromising; but that the other, itself based on a suggestion by E. Reitan (2014), shows promise. I conclude with a suggestion about how to further develop a theodicy along these lines.
Recommended Citation
Zaloom, Gregory, "A Consideration of Deontological Approaches to Theodicy" (2019). Philosophy. 10.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_philosophy/10