THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND THEODICY: ANALYSIS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Abstract

From a historical point of view, the problem of evil has not lost its relevance even though it has been debated since ancient Greek philosophy. This is because evil is an existential phenomenon inseparable from humanity. Especially the most relevant topic of philosophy. Heraclitus, who was concerned about this topic, believed that "good and evil are one thing", while Schelling recognized that "evil is necessary for the emergence of good". Ibn Arabi said, "God created evil because he has pity for it," and Augustine defined it as "God did not create evil, evil is the absence of good." As it can be understood from these results, no philosopher or theologian has avoided this important issue.

This article discusses the problem of evil and deceit, which are one of the main arguments of atheists against the basis of theistic faith. What is evil? What is the ontological structure? Who created it? Has God created evil on earth or is this phenomenon caused by the action of humanity? Is evil a punishment or a test given to humanity? Religious and philosophical questions of this kind have always been discussed in history, but to this day, there is no concrete answer to these questions. This article discusses the content and meaning of the phenomenon of evil, as well as the causes and logical, evidential models. Moreover, in this article, we will outline the traditional ways of solving the problem of evil, based on the views of scientists put forward by various theodicy in Islamic and Western thinking.

Key words: Evil and goodness, evil and God, theodicy, the silence of God.