Transcendence and Theodicy: An Islamic Theological Approach to Arguments from Evil

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dc.contributorMorrison, Iain
dc.contributorOliveira, Luis R. G.
dc.contributorSommers, Tamler
dc.contributor.authorTayyan, Marwan M.
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-04T21:43:41Z
dc.date.available2020-08-04T21:43:41Z
dc.date.issued2020-05
dc.description.abstractThis thesis presents a response drawn from the Islamic theological tradition to the argument from evil, or the contention that the suffering in our world is evidence against theism. Two types of arguments from evil are distinguished: one claiming that God would eliminate suffering qua normatively perfect agent, and one claiming that God would eliminate suffering qua possessor of traditional theological attributes—mercy, compassion, love, goodness, etc.—understood non-normatively. This thesis is primarily concerned with the first type of argument, and argues that since the Islamic view that God transcends normative standards can be reasonably held, suffering does not constitute even prima facie evidence against Islamic theism. Two lines of argument for the applicability of normative standards to God are considered and rejected. Finally, the outline for an Islamic response to the second type of argument is proposed. This consists in a variant on skeptical theism that emphasizes the limits of our knowledge of God’s nature and perfection.
dc.description.departmentPhilosophy, Department of
dc.description.departmentHonors College
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/6935
dc.language.isoen
dc.relation.ispartofSenior Honors Theses
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectProblem of Evil
dc.subjectArgument from Evil
dc.subjectIslamic Theology
dc.subjectIslam
dc.subjectTheodicy
dc.subjectTheism
dc.subjectMorality
dc.subjectNormative Standards
dc.subjectSuffering
dc.subjectSkeptical Theism
dc.subjectDivine Attributes
dc.subjectDivine Transcendence
dc.subjectDivine Perfection
dc.subjectReligion philosophy
dc.titleTranscendence and Theodicy: An Islamic Theological Approach to Arguments from Evil
dc.typeHonors Thesis
dc.type.dcmiText
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
thesis.degree.levelBachelors
thesis.degree.nameBachelor of Arts

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2019-2020 Senior Honors Theses