Problem of Evil Syllabus
Professor McCormick
Department of Philosophy
Phil 192P
Fall, 2011
Tuesday, Thursday, 12-1:15
Catalog Description: An analysis of the problem of evil: why does an all powerful and good God allow so much pointless suffering? This course addresses the logical and inductive problems and a variety of the solutions that have been influential in philosophy and theology.
Required text: All readings (listed on the schedule) will be available online as direct links or in a SacCT folder labeled “Readings.” You will need a reliable computer and Internet access for SacCT.
The Course:
The problem of evil, or why an infinitely powerful and good God would permit so much apparently pointless suffering, has been a major focus of philosophers and theologians at least since Epicurus:
If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to then He is not omnipotent.
If He is able, but not willing then He is malevolent.
If He is both able and willing then whence cometh evil?
If He is neither able nor willing then why call Him God?
The controvery has led to important developments in the statement of the problem, its details, and the formulation of a variety of solutions. This course will consider the problem of moral evil, which focuses on the suffering that humans create. It will consider the problem of natural evil, which focuses on suffering that is produced by non-human sources. It will consider the suffering of humans and the suffering of non-human, sentient animals. The course will also consider the logical problem which alleges that the existence of God is logically impossible given the presence of evil. It will consider the inductive problem of evil which alleges that God’s existence is improbable given the existence of so much suffering. We will also consider theodicies and defenses such as Hick’s soul-building defense, Plantinga’s Freewill Defense, skeptical theism, and explanations of divine hiddenness.
Student Outcome Goals:
This course has several major goals for students.
1) To develop the ability to think critically, objectively, and carefully about the problem of evil, related religious claims, and the proposed solutions.
2) To familiarize students with the major issues and arguments in the problem of evil literature.
3) To equip students with a number of advanced skills of philosophical analysis involving writing, argumentation, logical analysis, textual analysis, criticism, and oral discussion/debate skills.
Student Assessment: These goals will be met and assessed with reading assignments, vocabulary assessment, paper assignments, class discussions, lectures, and philosophical research.
Course Policies: All policies concerning office hours, attendance policies, being tardy, late and missed assignments, makeup policy, cheating, intellectual property rights, students with disabilities, and laptops are posted here.
Google Group Discussions:
All students are required to make regular, constructive, and considered contributions to our discussion board on Google Groups:
Problem of Evil--CSUS Discussion Board
1. Go to: https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount If you don't already have an account, create one with the link on the lower right. If you use a pseudonym that is not recognizable as your name, email me to tell me what it is and who you are--I won't be able to give credits for posts from a mystery student named "oNixJUmper3"
2. Once you have an account and you are logged in you can join the group at this address:
http://groups.google.com/group/csus-evil?hl=en
3. Posting questions, comments, and ideas: Under "Discussions," there will be different threads of conversation with questions and comments from Prof. McCormick and other students. Choose topics and questions that you find interesting and make a post, or ask new questions and start a thread of your own.
Grading: Students who make frequent, reflective, and helpful posts (at least 15 for the semester) will receive a full 10% for this portion of the grade. Lesser contributions will be graded proportionally lower. Contributions will be evaluated on the basis of these criteria:
1. How frequently did the student post?
2. How constructive and thoughtful were the student's contributions?
3. To what extent did the student's posts reflect an engagement in the concepts, issues, and philosophical challenges focused on in the course?
4. To what extent did the student's posts reflect his or her familiarity with the assigned readings for the course?
Rules of Engagement:
A. Be polite and respectful of other views.
B. Don't post or email in anger. Reflect on it and cool off before you hit "Send."
C. Take some time to consider what's correct, helpful, or interesting in other people's posts.
D. Give reasons and arguments for conclusions, don't preach.
E. Be prepared to change your mind if there are good grounds for it.
Google Docs
We will write our papers for the course in Google Docs, an online word processor.
Getting Started: Create a Google Account:
1. Go to: https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount If you don't already have an account, create one with the link on the lower right. If you use a pseudonym that is not recognizable as your name, email me to tell me what it is and who you are--I won't be able to give credits for posts from a mystery student named "oNixJUmper3"
2. After you have established a Google account, you can go to this page https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount to access other services.
3. Under "My Products" there should be a link to "Docs"
4. Click on the link to open Google's online word processor.
5. To open a new document, click on "Create New" in the upper left corner, then click on "Document."
6. Type your work and edit it in the window that opens.
7. Give it a title by clicking on "Untitled" in the upper left, and renaming it. You will create one document that will include all of the Weekend Projects for this course, and two other documents for the paper assignments. I will track when the projects and papers were completed with the Revision History function in Google Docs. Any changes made to the documents made after the due date and time will be recorded there.
For our writing assignments, title a document: last name Evil. As each project is due, open the document and add the project at the top so that the document will contain all of them at the end of the semester.
8. Save the document with the "Save" button in the upper right.
9. Also on the upper right is a "Share" button. Click on it, then click on "Invite People." Be sure the "Can Edit" option is checked on the right.
10. In the box that comes up, enter my email address: mccormick@csus.edu
11. Click: Share and Save
12. Be sure to put your name on the document and in the message to me with your assignments.
13. Send it (bottom right), and be sure to send a copy to yourself for backup.
14. Explore the other functions in the Google docs program.
15. If you prefer to write your work in another program, do so, and then cut and paste it into Google Docs.
If you do upload a document, be sure to re-title your essay according to step 6 and follow the rest of the steps. Also be sure that the formatting has been preserved.
Here are a couple of videos explaining how Google Docs works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2quxEDRVfHI
Student Presentations
Every student will choose an article from a folder of Additional Readings in SacCT and give a brief (10 minute) in class presentation on it. The goals are: 1) charitably and accurately present the author's conclusion and the reasoning that leads to it, 2) facilitate discussion in class of the ideas that are relevant to our course themes, 3) generate questions, 4) answer questions on behalf of the author. Students will be graded on their presentation on the basis of these criteria.
The articles are in a folder in SacCT labeled Additional Articles. Take a look at the articles, choose one you would like to present on, and then notify me with your choice. Everyone should commit to their article by Sept. 15. I'll post your name along with your choice.
Your fourth paper will be based on this in class presentation and the discussion and ideas that come from it. See the schedule for details.
The presentation is worth 8% of the overall grade and the paper based upon it is worth 10%, so choose the article carefully and work hard on the paper. The requirements for the paper will vary on the article, but here's a place to start. Carefully and charitably reconstruct the author's reasoning and conclusion. Explain his or her reasoning including objections and rebuttals if they are discussed. Then do a critical evaluation of the argument of your own. What are the most serious philosophical objections to the position that you can construct? Are they successful? Can the argument be defended? What is your view about the matter under consideration?