Department of Philosophy Public Lecture - Anti-Theism Versus the 'Judo Moves'-FR

Event date(s): March 22, 2024
Time(s): 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Category: Fredericton
Location: Fredericton

Mac and Rena Watson Lecture hosted by the department of philosophy
Professor Klaas Kraay, Toronto Metropolitan University
Title: Anti-Theism Versus the 'Judo Moves'

Anti-theists typically argue that the lives of persons will be worse on theism than on naturalism, on the grounds that God’s existence compromises various goods, such as freedom, privacy, dignity, understanding, and meaning. Theists typically hold that (a) if God exists, no evil will be gratuitous, and sometimes also hold that (b) if God exists, involuntary, undeserved suffering will ultimately benefit the sufferer. These claims can be deployed against these anti-theistic considerations, as follows: (i) to the extent that these anti-theistic considerations involve evil, God will ensure that it is non-gratuitous; and (ii) to the extent that these considerations involve involuntary, undeserved suffering, God will ensure that it ultimately benefits the sufferer. Accordingly, (a) and (b) function like ‘judo moves’, by turning the force of these anti-theistic considerations against them. In an important new paper, Guy Kahane attempts to show that these judo moves fail. In this presentation, I respond to Kahane’s arguments.

Building: Toole Hall

Room Number: Rm. 3