Global InformationSkeptical theism information
Skeptical theism is the view that people should remain skeptical of their ability to discern whether their perceptions about evil can be considered good evidence against the existence of the orthodox Christian God.[1] The central thesis of skeptical theism is that it would not be surprising for an infinitely intelligent and knowledgeable being's reasons for permitting evils to be beyond human comprehension.[2] That is, what may seem like pointless evils may be necessary for a greater good or to prevent equal or even greater evils. This central thesis may be argued from a theistic perspective, but is also argued to defend positions of agnosticism.[3][4]
Skeptical theism can be an informally held belief based on theistic doctrine,[5] but the origin of the term skeptical theist is the 1996 paper "The Skeptical Theist" by philosopher Paul Draper.[6][7] Following Draper's publication, the term skeptical theism was adopted in academic philosophy and has developed into a family of positions supporting skeptical theism's central skeptical thesis; we should remain skeptical of claims that human beings can discern God's reasons for evils. One argument is based on analogy, likening our understanding of God's motives to those of a child grasping a parent's reasons for seeking painful medical treatment, for example. Other approaches are the limitations on the human ability to understand the moral realm, and appeals to epistemic factors such as sensitivity or contextual requirements.[8]
In the philosophy of religion, skeptical theism is not a broad skepticism toward human knowledge of God, but is instead putatively presented as a response to philosophical propositions, such as those focused on drawing "all things considered" inductive conclusions about God's motives from perceived circumstances.[9] Additionally, skeptical theism is not a position used to defend all forms of theism, though it is most often presented in the defense of orthodox Christian theism. Moreover, skeptical theism is not supported by all theists and some who support its skeptical positions are not theists.[6][10]
In philosophy, skeptical theism is a defense of theistic or agnostic positions[11] argued to undercut a crucial premise in atheological arguments from evil, a claim that God could have no good reasons for allowing certain types of evil.[11][12] It is also presented in response to other atheological arguments claiming to know God's purposes based on circumstances, such as the argument from divine hiddenness.[13]
- ^ McBrayer, Justin (2015). "Sceptical theism". The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
Sceptical theists are ... sceptical of our abilities to discern whether the evils in our world constitute good evidence against the existence of God.
For a state of the art discussion of its merits and drawbacks, see Benton, Matthew A.; Hawthorne, John; Isaacs, Yoaav (2016). "Evil and Evidence" (PDF). Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion. 7: 1–31. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198757702.003.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-875770-2.. - ^ "Skeptical Theism". Internet Dictionary of Philosophy. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
In particular, says the skeptical theist, we should not grant that our inability to think of a good reason for doing or allowing something is indicative of whether or not God might have a good reason for doing or allowing something.
- ^ "Skeptical theism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. January 25, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
Alston is not quite as explicit, but seems to agree. He calls the position he defends "agnosticism" (1996, 98). He says that our cognitive resources are "radically insufficient to provide sufficient warrant to accepting [the main premise of the evidential argument]," so much so that "the inductive argument collapses"
- ^ Alston, William (1996). Howard-Snyder, Daniel (ed.). Some (temporarily) Final Thoughts on Evidential Arguments from Evil (in The Evidential Argument from Evil, ed Howard-Snyder). Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 98 (article), 311–332 (book).
- ^ Book of Isaiah 55:8 (New Living Translation).
My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine
- ^ a b Craig, William Lane (February 2013). "Debate Transcript William Lane Craig vs. Dr. Rosenberg "Is Faith in God Reasonable?", Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana". Reasonable Faith.
Paul Draper... is an agnostic philosopher here in the Department at Purdue
- ^ Draper, Paul (1996). Snyder, Daniel (ed.). Paul Draper, "The Skeptical Theist" in The Evidential Argument from Evil. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1996), p. 176-77. pp. 176–177. ISBN 9780253210289.
- ^ McBrayer, Justin (2015). "Sceptical theism". Skeptical Theism. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. doi:10.4324/9780415249126-K3583-1. ISBN 9780415250696. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
Contemporary philosophers have further refined sceptical theism into a family of related views, each with a different defence. These defences include appeals to analogies (for example the parent/child relationship), appeals to the limitations of our grasp of the moral realm and appeals to epistemic requirements (for example sensitivity requirements or contextual requirements).
- ^ McBrayer, Justin P. "Skeptical Theism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
It is important to get clear on the scope of the skepticism endorsed by skeptical theists. First, it is not a global skepticism—skeptical theists are not committed to the view that we cannot know anything at all. Instead, the skepticism is (putatively) limited to a narrow range of propositions, namely those having to do with God's reasons for action. For example, a skeptical theist could admit that humans have ceteris paribus knowledge of God's reasons for actions. An example of such knowledge might be the following: other-things-being-equal, God will eliminate suffering when he is able to do so. However, knowing this latter claim is consistent with denying that we know the following: God will eliminate this particular instance of suffering. Holding the combination of these two views is possible for the following reason: while we might know that other-things-being-equal, God will eliminate suffering when he is able to do so, we might not know whether or not other things are equal in any particular instance of suffering.
- ^ McBrayer, Justine. "Skeptical Theism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
Not all theists are skeptical theists, and not all of the philosophers who endorse the skeptical component of skeptical theism are theists.
- ^ a b Bergmann, Michael (2009). Flint, Thomas (ed.). Oxford Handbook to Philosophical Theology (Skeptical Theism and the Problem of Evil) (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 374–99.
- ^ "Skeptical Theism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
If skeptical theism is true, it appears to undercut the primary argument for atheism, namely the argument from evil. This is because skeptical theism provides a reason to be skeptical of a crucial premise in the argument from evil, namely the premise that asserts that at least some of the evils in our world are gratuitous.
- ^ McBrayer, Justin (2015). "Sceptical theism". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
The sceptical element of sceptical theism can be used to undermine various arguments for atheism including both the argument from evil and the argument from divine hiddenness.