The Rationalization of Suffering: An Epistemic Approach to the Evidential Problem of Evil in the World
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15691/0718-5448Vol7Iss2a458Keywords:
Evil, Theism, Atheism, Rationality, RationalizationAbstract
There is suffering in the world, there is evil in the world. That evidence seems to be irrefutable. Not all suffering seems to be in view of a greater good. That is to say, there seem to be cases of gratuitous or unjustified evil. Last February 2, 2024, we observed in Viña del Mar - Chile the tragic consequences of a devastating forest fire, probably provoked or intentionally provoked by human beings. In the face of such scenarios, the epistemic challenge for those of us who believe in God is to ask ourselves if this is a case of unnecessary evil and if so, whether it has any implications for belief in God. In this paper I will raise the risks of rationalizing suffering, without implying that the search for reasons for it (its explanation) leads to an indirect justification of it. Ultimately, it is a matter of distinguishing between evaluating the causes of an event, and its justification and ethical evaluation.
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