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Publication: The Vermilion, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette LA.
Philosopher of religion William Rowe died on Aug. 22, and though he was hardly a household name (which living philosophers are?), you've probably heard his most famous argument.
He developed the Evidential Problem of Evil, an argument against the existence of god. This modification was so influential that in philosophy, its family of arguments are called "Rowe-style" arguments.
Rowe's argument is very simple -- there exists in the world instances of gratuitous and unnecessary suffering that do not result in a greater good. An all-powerful and all-good being would have reason to prevent these instances, yet they still occur. Thus, it is unlikely that an all-powerful and all-good being exists. It's a more thorough form of the question: "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
In his landmark paper "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism," Rowe argues:...