Most of us know what philosophy and theology are. However, very few people know the interpretation of the term "theodicy". This, meanwhile, is a very important philosophical doctrine, on some ideas of which, without knowing it, everyone thought at least once in his life. Let's find out what it studies and on what principles it is based.
Origin of the word
This term came from ancient Greek. It is formed from the words theos ("God") and dike ("justice").
When and by whom it was first used was not revealed. However, long before theodicy was used as a special term, the word appeared in separate works of many thinkers and philosophers.
What is theodicy?
Having considered what the studied noun means, it will be easier to understand its meaning. Indeed, it is in this name that lies the essence of theodicy, which means a set of religious and philosophical doctrines aimed at justifying the presence of evil in the world, provided that the universe is controlled by the almighty and good Almighty.
Basic principles
Quite often, theodicy is called "justification of God," although throughout its existence some philosophers and theologians have argued about the advisability of trying to judge the actions of the Creator of the universe.
The one who dared to talk about the causes of people's suffering, always had to build his arguments taking into account 4 principles:
- God exists.
- He is all-good (kind).
- Almighty.
- Evil really exists.
It turned out that in itself each principle of theodicy was not contrary to another.
However, if we consider them all at the same time, contradictions arose, which they still try to explain.
Who is the "father" of theodicy
This term was introduced with the light hand of the famous German philosopher, logician and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
This man was truly a universal genius. It was he who developed the foundations of the binary system of calculus, without which computer science could not exist.
In addition, Leibniz became the father of the science of combinatorics and, in parallel with Newton, developed differential and integral calculus.
Among the other achievements of Gottfried Leibniz was the discovery of the law of conservation of energy and the invention of the first mechanical calculating machine, which was able not only to add and subtract, but also to multiply and divide.
In addition to an active interest in the exact sciences, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz also studied philosophy and theology. Being a scientist, he remained a sincere believer. Moreover, he was of the opinion that science and the Christian religion are not enemies, but allies.
Like any rational person with well-developed logical thinking, Leibniz could not help but notice some contradictions in Christian dogmas about the goodness of the Most High and world evil.
In order to somehow settle this unspoken "conflict", in 1710 the scientist published a treatise "Theodicy experience on the goodness of God, human freedom and the origin of evil."
This work became very popular and gave an incentive to the final formation of the doctrine of theodicy.
This has become a very popular topic for controversy, not only in philosophy, but also in literature.
Theodicy in antiquity
Attempts to explain why the Creator allows suffering and injustice have been in ancient times. However, in the era of polytheism (polytheism), this issue was considered in a slightly different vein. Since each of the deities had its own sphere of influence, one could always find someone to blame for the problems of mankind.
But even at that time, thinkers were already thinking about the root of evil in principle and the conniving attitude of higher powers towards it.
So, one of the first discussions on this subject belongs to Epicurus Samosky. He expressed 4 logical explanations of how a good higher power is capable of allowing evil.
- God wants to rid the world of suffering, but it is not in His power.
- God can save the world from evil, but does not want to.
- God cannot and does not want to rid the world of suffering.
- God may and wants to save the world from suffering, but does not.
In addition to Epicurus, other ancient thinkers thought about this. So already in those days there was a very tangible manifestation of theodicy in philosophy. This is typical of the writings of Lucian (the dialogue "Zeus convicted") and Plato (argued that the existence of evil is not a reliable argument against the existence of the Almighty and his good character).
They were later used by Christian theologians to form their own doctrine.
The fact that Epicurus, Lucian, Plato and other ancient philosophers reflected on the paradox of the existence of suffering and divine kindness back in the era of polytheism suggests that the problem of theodicy is older than many modern religions.
Medieval theodicy
After Christianity finally took shape as a religion and even acquired a militant form, for several centuries philosophers and theologians could not even afford to voice ideas about the imperfection of the world. After all, the Inquisition was on guard, ready to take the life of anyone who dares only reflect on the shortcomings of Christianity. And there were a lot of them, and both secular and religious authorities did not hesitate to oppress ordinary people, covering their actions with divine will.
It got to the point that in Europe they began to slowly withdraw the Holy Scripture from the hands of ordinary people, depriving them of the opportunity to check whether priests and rulers speak the truth.
For these reasons, in the Middle Ages theodicy was underground. Among the few who at least somehow touched on this topic, we can name the legendary church leader and philosopher Augustine Aurelius (Blessed Augustine).
In his writings, he adhered to the idea that God has no guilt for the evil existing in the world, since it is a consequence of human sinfulness. a similar doctrine, by the way, is still used today in many Christian denominations.
What thinkers have considered this topic.
In later centuries (when the church lost its influence on society) it became quite fashionable to blaspheme the dogmas of religion. In this vein, many thought about theodicy. It became as popular as writing religious treatises in the Middle Ages.
In response to the work of Leibniz, which Voltaire considered overly optimistic, this author wrote his own philosophical novel "Candide" (1759). In it, he rather caustically walked through many modern realities and expressed the idea of the meaninglessness of suffering. Thus denying the theodicy idea that God permits evil in the name of a specific goal.
P. A. Golbach was able to more systematically criticize all the ideas of Leibniz. He suggested that there is no room for theodicy in philosophy. This was done in the "System of Nature" (1770).
Among other critically minded individuals are F. M. Dostoevsky. In his novel The Brothers Karamazov, he expresses a denial of the dissolution of the torment or guilt of one person in harmony with the whole world.
In addition to Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy in the work “Pillar and statement of Truth.”
Theodicy today
In most modern civilized countries, the imposition of one's own religious views is a thing of the past and is even punishable by law. Thus, a person has the opportunity to choose how to believe in God and whether to believe at all.
This situation contributed to the emergence of new arguments in favor of theodicy. This is primarily due to the results of numerous experiments, which proved that for the formation of a person’s personality and its constant development, from time to time it needs certain stresses from contact with evil.
So in 1972 in the United States a famous experiment was conducted with mice, called the "Universe-25." The bottom line was that 4 pairs of healthy mice of childbearing age were placed in a huge tank with all the amenities. At first, they actively multiplied and settled in free space.
When the inhabitants of the mouse paradise became quite a lot, they developed a hierarchy in which there were both the elite and the outcasts. And all this despite ideal living conditions (protection against infections, cold and hunger).
However, gradually so-called beautiful mice began to appear more and more among males. They cared only about their appearance, health and food. At the same time, they did not want to take part in the life of their community, fight for territory, protect females, mate and breed.
In parallel with this, a similar female mouse model of behavior appeared. Gradually, the number of offspring decreased until the mice stopped mating at all and all died of old age.
Based on the results of such an experiment (as well as on other observations and psychological experiments), mankind came to the conclusion that the absolute satisfaction of all desires and the absence of dangers and needs are contraindicated in the individual. For it thus loses the incentive to develop and invariably degrades, first morally, and then physically.
That is why the main argument of modern theodicy (which justifies the existence of misfortunes in the world, subject to the existence of the almighty good God) is that He allows a certain level of evil, as an incentive to educate humanity, in general, and each of its representatives in particular.
In addition, today the opinion continues that the negative in the life of people is sent by the Almighty as a peculiar manifester of their true essence, as in the biblical story with Job. So, with the help of suffering, God helps a person to open up and show his gut, what would he not do if he had problems.
What is evil: the imperfection of the Almighty, His indifference, the incentive for the development of mankind, or the catalyst for the manifestation of its true essence? Theologians and philosophers will argue about this issue as long as there is intelligent life on Earth and are unlikely to come to a consensus. Since how to react to evil and reconcile its presence with your faith, each person ultimately decides for himself.