PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy of God and Religion 2

Question 1

Alvin Plantinga's 'free will defense' is primarily deployed against which formulation of the problem of evil?

Accepted Answer

The logical problem of evil

Answer

Plantinga's free will defense aims to show that God and evil are not logically incompatible by appealing to libertarian free will, directly addressing J.L. Mackie's logical version of the problem.

Question 2

Which philosopher introduced the concept of 'divine simplicity' as developed in medieval scholasticism, holding that God has no parts or properties distinct from His essence?

Accepted Answer

Thomas Aquinas

Answer

Thomas Aquinas developed the doctrine of divine simplicity most systematically, arguing in the Summa Theologiae that God's essence, existence, and attributes are all identical.

Question 3

In William Rowe's evidential argument from evil, the existence of 'gratuitous evil' refers to evil that:

Accepted Answer

Serves no greater good that an omnipotent being could not achieve otherwise

Answer

Rowe's evidential argument holds that some evils appear gratuitous—serving no outweighing good—making theism improbable even if not logically impossible.

Question 4

Søren Kierkegaard's concept of the 'teleological suspension of the ethical,' illustrated by Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac, is meant to show that:

Accepted Answer

Faith can require acting against universal ethical norms by divine command

Answer

In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's obedience to God suspended the universal ethical prohibition on murder, placing the religious stage above the ethical.

Question 5

The 'reformed epistemology' of Plantinga, Wolterstorff, and Alston holds that belief in God is:

Accepted Answer

Properly basic and not requiring inferential justification

Answer

Reformed epistemologists argue that theistic belief can be properly basic—rationally held without being inferred from other beliefs—analogous to beliefs about the external world or other minds.

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy of God and Religion 2