Hale Lecture Series

Wednesday, October 17th4-5:30 PMGosnell HallRoom A300 Robert AudiUniversity of Notre DameJohn A. O’Brien Professor of PhilosophyDepartment of Philosophy The Problem of Evil as a Challenge to Theology and Philosophy:  Can Theistic Faith Be Rational Given the Evils of History?  Can the amount and kind of evil in the world be reconciled with the possible existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly loving God?  If this is a world under God so conceived, how could there be the apparently unending killing and suffering that history has revealed?  This perennial “problem of evil” has occupied philosophers and theologians since at least the medieval period.  It cannot be resolved without adequate conceptions of God, of love, of human freedom, and of the nature of evil and its place in human life.  Does solving the problem of evil require revising the classical perfect being conception of God?  Can evil be regarded (or “blunted”) by reconception? Might evil as we know it have an essential place in a larger good?  If so, would that by itself solve the problem or would a good life be “owed” to each human being if this is a world under a perfect God? Drawing on extensive work on all of these topics, this presentation will outline an approach intended to lay the groundwork for dealing with the problem. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLICInterpreters provided upon request & subject to availability.Please make your request TODAY by going to Access.rit.edu.