RT Article
T1 Horrendous-Difference Disabilities, Resurrected Saints, and the Beatific Vision: A Theodicy
JF Religions
VO 9
IS 2
SP 1
OP 13
A1 Williams, Scott M. 1977-
LA English
PB MDPI
YR 2018
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1586325841
AB Marilyn Adams rightly pointed out that there are many kinds of evil, some of which are horrendous. I claim that one species of horrendous evil is what I call horrendous-difference disabilities. I distinguish two subspecies of horrendous-difference disabilities based in part on the temporal relation between one's rational moral wishing for a certain human function F and its being thwarted by intrinsic and extrinsic conditions. Next, I offer a theodicy for each subspecies of horrendous-difference disability. Although I appeal to some claims made by Marilyn Adams for this theodicy, I reject one particular claim. I deny that one must be aware that one participates in a horrendous evil when the horrific event occurs. To develop this point and its relevance for a theodicy for horrendous-difference disabilities, I engage with Andrew Chignell's work on infant suffering. In doing so, I show that what partly motivates the claim is a time-bias, i.e., near-bias. By rejecting this time-bias, I show how it is possible, given post-mortem life, for persons with profound cognitive disabilities to participate in horrendous evils and how these might be defeated by God.
K1 Marilyn McCord Adams
K1 Disability
K1 Horrendous Evil
K1 problem of evil
K1 rational moral wish satisfaction
K1 Theodicy
DO 10.3390/rel9020052