University of Birmingham
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 2015
Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  •  326
    In Defence of Moralising Anti-Theodicy: A Reply to Snellman
    European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 11 (1): 213-226. 2019.
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    I argue that the problem of evil can be a moral objection to theistic belief. The thesis has three broad sections, each establishing an element in this argument. Section one establishes the logically binding nature of the problem of evil: The problem of evil must be solved, if you are to believe in God. And yet, I borrow from J. L. Mackie’s criticisms of the moral argument for the existence of God, and argue that the fundamentally evaluative nature of the premises within the problem of evil enta…Read more
  •  137
    Fairness and futility
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 79 (2): 101-111. 2016.
    William Lane Craig argues that both God and immortality are required for life to have meaning; life is futile without either of the two. I argue that combining William Lane Craig’s arguments for the futility of life without God or immortality, together with a plausible amendment to his working definition of ‘futility’, entails the counterintuitive conclusion that life is futile if God does exist. Craig says that God must exist as a guarantor of ultimate justice, and that this ultimate ‘fairness’…Read more
  •  63
    Ivan Karamazov is a hopeless romantic
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 77 (1): 65-73. 2015.
    Ivan Karamazov is frequently used, and misused, in discussions concerning the problem of evil. The purpose of this article is to correct some pervasive misinterpretations of Ivan’s statement, as found in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. I criticise some common misinterpretations, as exemplified in the theodical work of Marilyn Adams and John Hick, as well as the more nuanced interpretation of Stewart Sutherland. Though Sutherland’s interpretation is the strongest, it nevertheless misses the …Read more
  •  141
    Anti‐Theodicy
    Philosophy Compass 11 (1): 56-65. 2016.
    In this article, I outline the major themes of ‘anti-theodicy’. Anti-theodicy is characterised as a reaction, as rejection, against traditional solutions to the problem of evil and against the traditional formulations of the problem of evil to which those solutions respond. I detail numerous ‘moral’ anti-theodical objections to theodicy, illustrating the central claim of anti-theodicy: Theodicy is morally objectionable. I also detail some ‘non-moral’ anti-theodical objections, illustrating the s…Read more