Description
Book SynopsisIn Evil and Many Worlds: A Free-Will Theodicy, William Hunt presents a unique approach to explaining how God and evil can coexist despite the abundance of moral and natural evils blighting our world, which imply that an omnibenevolent God is unlikely to exist. This theodicy is based upon Huw Everett III's many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, whereby reality is not what it intuitively seems; instead, it is a multiverse comprising a vast number of universes, and we simultaneously exist in many of them. This multiplicity of existence results in a balance of moral good and evil across the multiverse, and through this, the expression of free will—an attribute valued by both persons and God— flourishes. The theodicy explains the coexistence of God and natural evil through the necessity of an evolutionary process that ensures the emergence of free-willed persons. Notwithstanding this universal perspective of Creation, a resurrection possibility would mitigate individual suffering resulting from this divine holistic strategy. Hunt examines this possibility in light of the many-worlds interpretation.
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: The Composition of Reality: Hidden Worlds
Chapter 1: Quantum Mechanics
Chapter 2: The Many-Worlds Interpretation
Chapter 3: The Quantum Multiverse
PART 2: The Problem of Evil: Defense
Chapter 4: Deductive Arguments
Chapter 5: Inductive and Abductive Arguments
Chapter 6: Bayesian Arguments
PART 3: A Free Will Theodicy: An Exordium
Chapter 7: Alternative Theodicies
Chapter 8: The Ethical Perspective
Chapter 9: Free Will
PART 4: A Free-Will Theodicy: Evil and Many Worlds
Chapter 10: Moral Evil and the Quantum Multiverse
Chapter 11: Natural Evil and the Quantum Multiverse
Chapter 12: Resurrection and the Quantum Multiverse
Conclusion
Appendix 1 : Probability Theory
Appendix 2 : Is God a Rule-consequentialist?: Bayesian and Total Probability Arguments
Appendix 3: Propositional Logic: Notation and Rules
Bibliography
