Examining the logical argument of the problem of evil from an African perspective

dc.contributor.authorChimakonam, Jonathan Okeke
dc.contributor.authorChimakonam, Amara Esther
dc.contributor.emailjonathan.okeke@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-17T05:24:52Z
dc.date.available2024-07-17T05:24:52Z
dc.date.issued2023-06
dc.description.abstractWe argue that the problem of evil, logically, stems from the unequal binary that characterizes the bivalent structure of Western discourses in the philosophy of religion. This structure pits God against the devil, but also the value of good against evil they are believed to represent. The difficulty is that those who subscribe to creationism, for example, hold that God as an omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect entity created everything. Ironically, this must include evil or the devil himself. If one says He did not create evil, then one is faced with the challenge of explaining how evil emerged and how an omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect God could continue to allow evil in the world. Our strategy would be to dilute the problem by dismantling logical bivalence. With an appropriate logic background like the African truth-glut three-valued system of Ezumezu as an explanatory mechanism, we will demonstrate that the problem of evil is resolvable, even if negatively. Using the principle of value-complementarity, we will argue that the notions of good and evil are not merely opposites but complementary. In this way, God, would be construed, especially from logical ideas inspired by the viewpoint of the African Traditional world-view, as ‘harmony-God’.en_US
dc.description.departmentPhilosophyen_US
dc.description.sdgNoneen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe John Templeton Foundation and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=RESen_US
dc.identifier.citationChimakonam, J.O. & Chimakonam, A.E. Examining the logical argument of the problem of evil from an African perspective. Religious Studies. 2023; 59(2): 326-339. doi:10.1017/S0034412522000300.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0034-4125 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1469-901X (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1017/S0034412522000300
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/97066
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen_US
dc.rights© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.en_US
dc.subjectProblem of evilen_US
dc.subjectLogicen_US
dc.subjectGoden_US
dc.subjectHarmony-Goden_US
dc.subjectLogical argumenten_US
dc.titleExamining the logical argument of the problem of evil from an African perspectiveen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Chimakonam_Examining_2023.pdf
Size:
312.44 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: