VEJOH Volume 6 Number 1 2025

Critical Examination of Leslie Allan’s Response to Alvin Plantinga’s Freewill Defense against the Problem of Evil

Peace Onyekachi Usim
Abstract

Leslie Allan's response to the problem of evil is a direct reaction to Alvin Plantinga's freewill defense on the existence of evil. In providing solution to the problem of evil, Platinga attributes evil to the consequences of free will.Some theist scholars like St. Augustine believes and upholds this view that evil does not exist independently, but that the lack of proper use of good by man creates evil in the world. Thus, God is perfectly good and evil is because of man's freewill. However, critics such as Leslie Allan argues that Plantinga's free will defense inadequately addresses natural evils, such as disasters, which are not solely attributable to human choices. While Plantinga's position could be considered to have answered other problems of evil in the world created by the theistic God, the question of the existence of natural evil remains unanswered. This paper critically examines Leslie Allan's critique of Plantinga's freewill defense. The paper employs historical and phenomenological research methodologies. Data are generated from secondary sources and analyzed with descriptive analytical style. The research recommends amongst other things that nature is not evil. Natural disasters can cause harm but cannot perform evil actions because they are not moral agents. Evils are consequences of the free choices of moral agents such as human beings. Nature is not a moral agent, therefore cannot perform

Keywords: allan’s, alvin, critical, defense, evil, examination, freewill, leslie, plantinga’s, problem, response
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