Among the major themes that govern, the question of evil is one of the most troubling issues that many theologians and philosophers have been confronted with. Many thinkers have clearly admitted their dismay and uncertainties in the face of this problem, and others have complained of their inability to provide a satisfactory answer. Many atheists have tried to take advantage of this difficulty. They have then used this question to try to call into question the existence of God and thus arouse doubt in believers. More than a theme, it is a guiding idea although it changes value during the journey. Thus, the question of evil, which raises different types of questions, interests mythology, theology and philosophy. Evil is this transhistorical and inescapable pandemic, to which it is useless to add, is universal. It is indifferent to no one and the adiaphoras of the Stoics only concern what does not depend on us. In the very extension of the concept, several possible approaches must be taken into account: does evil come from our physical suffering, from the sensible; or is it moral in the sense that it touches on sin? Or finally, is it simply a metaphysical evil, this anguish of man in the face of his imperfection? Some philosophers, including Leibniz, have looked into the question. This article presents some reflections of philosophers and especially a critical reflection of the thought of the illustrious man of science Leibniz, on the subject.
| Published in | International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 9, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20 |
| Page(s) | 368-376 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
God, Evil, Responsible, Theodicy, Origin
| [1] | Scholasticism is a philosophical teaching which was given in Europe from the 10th to the 16th century. and which consisted of linking Christian dogmas and Revelation to traditional philosophy in a complete formalism on the level of discourse. (This teaching was based on grammatical, logical, syllogistic and ontological concepts from Aristotle.) |
| [2] | Manichaeism is, in its contemporary meaning, in the figurative and literary sense, an attitude consisting of simplifying the relationships of the world, reduced to a simple opposition of good and evil. |
| [3] | Emmanuel Kant, Religion within the limits of simple reason, 1, 4, Éd. Vrin, trad. J. Gibelin revew by M. Naar, 1983, pp. 82-83. |
| [4] | Paul Ricœur, Evil: a challenge to philosophy and theology, in Lectures 3, Ed. Seuil, 1994, pp. 229-230. |
| [5] | Leibniz, citing the mentality of certain philosophers. Theodicy at Garnier, Flam-marion-France, 1969, § 7. |
| [6] | Leibniz, citing the mentality of certain philosophers. Theodicy at Garnier, Flam-marion-France, 1969, § 18. |
| [7] | Leibniz, citing the mentality of certain philosophers. Theodicy at Garnier, Flam-marion-France, 1969, § 20. |
| [8] | The Molists share the theory of Luis de Molina, born on September 29, 1535 in Cuenca (Spain) and died on October 12, 1600 in Madrid. He was one of the most famous Spanish Jesuit theologians of the 16th century. It is at the origin of a particular theory of the relations between divine grace and human freedom which has since been called molinism. |
| [9] | Action in the ordinary sense and not the opposite of passion. |
| [10] | Leibniz, citing the mentality of certain philosophers. Theodicy at Garnier, Flam-marion-France, 1969, § 91. |
| [11] | German expression meaning literally: "situation in life"; can also be the cultural background, social background or historical context in which a work is produced. |
APA Style
Kuate, H. D. (2024). The Question of Evil in Philosophy: A Critical Reading of Leibniz’s Thinking. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 9(6), 368-376. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20
ACS Style
Kuate, H. D. The Question of Evil in Philosophy: A Critical Reading of Leibniz’s Thinking. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2024, 9(6), 368-376. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20,
author = {Herve Djilo Kuate},
title = {The Question of Evil in Philosophy: A Critical Reading of Leibniz’s Thinking
},
journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
volume = {9},
number = {6},
pages = {368-376},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20240906.20},
abstract = {Among the major themes that govern, the question of evil is one of the most troubling issues that many theologians and philosophers have been confronted with. Many thinkers have clearly admitted their dismay and uncertainties in the face of this problem, and others have complained of their inability to provide a satisfactory answer. Many atheists have tried to take advantage of this difficulty. They have then used this question to try to call into question the existence of God and thus arouse doubt in believers. More than a theme, it is a guiding idea although it changes value during the journey. Thus, the question of evil, which raises different types of questions, interests mythology, theology and philosophy. Evil is this transhistorical and inescapable pandemic, to which it is useless to add, is universal. It is indifferent to no one and the adiaphoras of the Stoics only concern what does not depend on us. In the very extension of the concept, several possible approaches must be taken into account: does evil come from our physical suffering, from the sensible; or is it moral in the sense that it touches on sin? Or finally, is it simply a metaphysical evil, this anguish of man in the face of his imperfection? Some philosophers, including Leibniz, have looked into the question. This article presents some reflections of philosophers and especially a critical reflection of the thought of the illustrious man of science Leibniz, on the subject.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Question of Evil in Philosophy: A Critical Reading of Leibniz’s Thinking AU - Herve Djilo Kuate Y1 - 2024/12/27 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20 DO - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20 T2 - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society JF - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society JO - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society SP - 368 EP - 376 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3363 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20240906.20 AB - Among the major themes that govern, the question of evil is one of the most troubling issues that many theologians and philosophers have been confronted with. Many thinkers have clearly admitted their dismay and uncertainties in the face of this problem, and others have complained of their inability to provide a satisfactory answer. Many atheists have tried to take advantage of this difficulty. They have then used this question to try to call into question the existence of God and thus arouse doubt in believers. More than a theme, it is a guiding idea although it changes value during the journey. Thus, the question of evil, which raises different types of questions, interests mythology, theology and philosophy. Evil is this transhistorical and inescapable pandemic, to which it is useless to add, is universal. It is indifferent to no one and the adiaphoras of the Stoics only concern what does not depend on us. In the very extension of the concept, several possible approaches must be taken into account: does evil come from our physical suffering, from the sensible; or is it moral in the sense that it touches on sin? Or finally, is it simply a metaphysical evil, this anguish of man in the face of his imperfection? Some philosophers, including Leibniz, have looked into the question. This article presents some reflections of philosophers and especially a critical reflection of the thought of the illustrious man of science Leibniz, on the subject. VL - 9 IS - 6 ER -
Faculty of Theology and Religious Sciences, Protestant University of Central Africa, Yaoundé, Cameroon
