Hume on Evil

The Problem of Evil

David Hume, 1711 - 1776, raised arguments not only against the Design argument but against most of the foundational ideas of philosophy. The Problem of Evil poses a philosophical threat to the design argument becauses it implies that the design of the cosmos and the designer of the cosmos are flawed. We can know they are flawed due to the preponderance of evil within the cosmos.

What is the Problem of Evil? Simply, how can there be a caring and benevolent God when there exists so much evil in the world. The glib answer to this question is to say that human moral agents, not God, are the cause of the evil. That is why I prefer to think of the problem as the Problem of Suffering rather than the Problem of Evil. How can you reconcile the existence of so much suffering with the existence of an omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God?

Maybe God knows about the suffering and would stop it but can not stop it - that would imply God is not omnipotent. Maybe God is able to stop the suffering and would want to but does not know about it - that would imply God is not omniscient. Maybe God knows about the suffering and is able to stop it but does not wish to assuage the pain - that would imply God is not omnibenevolent. In the very least, Hume argues, the existence of evil does not justify a belief in a caring Creator.