Friday, February 25, 2022

PhD: Twitter quote 118-Short on a best possible world

Image credit: Adam Block, Mount Lemmon, SkyCenter University of Arizona

2010 Theodicy and Practical Theology: PhD thesis, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter 


Feinberg holds to modified rationalism which was explained in Chapter Two as the idea that God was not obligated to create anything, including a world, but chose to create purely from his own desires.[1]  Within modified rationalism, the concept of a best possible world is denied in favour of the view that God chose to create the present world which was initially perfectly good.[2] The fact that the problem of evil exists would be seen within modified rationalism as a result of the free choice of human beings to rebel against God in both free will and sovereignty theodicy which both deny the notion of best possible world.[3] Modified rationalism would oppose the best possible world concepts of Leibniz from the Enlightenment era, and Mackie from the modern era.[4]

Twitter version

Modified rationalism is the idea that God was not obligated to create anything, including a world, but chose to create purely from his own desires.

(February 25, 2022: I agree with modified rationalism. I also reject the idea of a best possible world, as any created world/reality, fallen or not, has limited goodness)

(February 25, 2022: Would this not be a best possible worl' to Bob Ross?)

FEINBERG, JOHN.S. (1986) Predestination and Free Will, in David Basinger and Randall Basinger (eds.), Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.

FEINBERG, JOHN.S. (1994) The Many Faces of Evil, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House. 

FEINBERG, JOHN.S. (2001) No One Like Him, John S. Feinberg (gen.ed.), Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books. 

FLEW, ANTONY, R.M. HARE, AND BASIL MITCHELL (1996) ‘The Debate on the Rationality of Religious Belief’, in L.P. Pojman (ed.), Philosophy, The Quest for Truth, New York, Wadsworth Publishing Company.

FLEW, ANTONY AND A.MACINTRYE (1999) ‘Philosophy of Religion’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.

LEIBNIZ, G.W. (1710)(1998) Theodicy, Translated by E.M. Huggard Chicago, Open Court Classics.

MACKIE, J.L. (1955)(1996) ‘Evil and Omnipotence’, in Mind, in Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger (eds.), Philosophy of Religion, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

MACKIE, J.L. (1971)(1977)(2002) ‘Evil and Omnipotence’, in The Philosophy of Religion, in Alvin C. Plantinga, God, Freedom, and Evil, Grand Rapids. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

PLANTINGA, ALVIN C. (1977)(2002) God, Freedom, and Evil, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

PLANTINGA, ALVIN C. (1982) The Nature of Necessity, Oxford, Clarendon Press.

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[1] Feinberg (1994: 36).

[2] Plantinga (1982: 167-189).  Feinberg (1994: 36).

[3] Plantinga (1982: 167-189).  Feinberg (1994: 36).

[4] Leibniz (1710)(1990).  Mackie (1971) in Plantinga (1977)(2002: 32-33). 

archives: best possible world

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