Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies
This paper compares three twentieth-century examples of antitheodicist thought in the philosophy of religion (and, more generally, ethics): William James’s pragmatism, D.Z. Phillips’s Wittgensteinianism, and Emmanuel Levinas’s post-Holocaust ethical reflection on suffering. It is argued that all thr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/4/98 |
| _version_ | 1811236599659233280 |
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| author | Sami Pihlström |
| author_facet | Sami Pihlström |
| author_sort | Sami Pihlström |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper compares three twentieth-century examples of antitheodicist thought in the philosophy of religion (and, more generally, ethics): William James’s pragmatism, D.Z. Phillips’s Wittgensteinianism, and Emmanuel Levinas’s post-Holocaust ethical reflection on suffering. It is argued that all three—despite their enormous differences, given that the three thinkers discussed come from distinct philosophical traditions—share the fundamental antitheodicist argument according to which theodicies seeking to justify God’s reasons for allowing the world to contain horrible evil and suffering amount to morally problematic, or even immoral, failures to acknowledge other human beings and their meaningless suffering. Furthermore, it is suggested that this antitheodicist line of thought shared by all three is based on a Kantian transcendental analysis of the necessary conditions for the possibility of occupying a moral perspective on the world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:10:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3a96a45ea404ae8843f9e6f71326f9d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:10:44Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3a96a45ea404ae8843f9e6f71326f9d2022-12-22T03:33:35ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872017-12-01649810.3390/h6040098h6040098Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical AntitheodiciesSami Pihlström0Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, FinlandThis paper compares three twentieth-century examples of antitheodicist thought in the philosophy of religion (and, more generally, ethics): William James’s pragmatism, D.Z. Phillips’s Wittgensteinianism, and Emmanuel Levinas’s post-Holocaust ethical reflection on suffering. It is argued that all three—despite their enormous differences, given that the three thinkers discussed come from distinct philosophical traditions—share the fundamental antitheodicist argument according to which theodicies seeking to justify God’s reasons for allowing the world to contain horrible evil and suffering amount to morally problematic, or even immoral, failures to acknowledge other human beings and their meaningless suffering. Furthermore, it is suggested that this antitheodicist line of thought shared by all three is based on a Kantian transcendental analysis of the necessary conditions for the possibility of occupying a moral perspective on the world.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/4/98evilsufferingtheodicyantitheodicytheodicismantitheodicismrecognitionacknowledgmentW. JamesD. Z. PhillipsE. Levinas |
| spellingShingle | Sami Pihlström Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies Humanities evil suffering theodicy antitheodicy theodicism antitheodicism recognition acknowledgment W. James D. Z. Phillips E. Levinas |
| title | Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies |
| title_full | Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies |
| title_fullStr | Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies |
| title_short | Comparing Three Twentieth-Century Philosophical Antitheodicies |
| title_sort | comparing three twentieth century philosophical antitheodicies |
| topic | evil suffering theodicy antitheodicy theodicism antitheodicism recognition acknowledgment W. James D. Z. Phillips E. Levinas |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/4/98 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samipihlstrom comparingthreetwentiethcenturyphilosophicalantitheodicies |