Evil and Omnipotence

This seminal article presents one of the most influential formulations of the logical problem of evil in twentieth-century philosophy of religion. Mackie argues that the existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of an omnipotent and wholly good God, thereby establishing what he terms a logical contradiction at the heart of traditional theism.

The argument proceeds through careful analysis of three central propositions that Mackie claims cannot all be true: God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and evil exists. He contends that these propositions form an inconsistent triad, where accepting any two logically requires rejecting the third. The article systematically examines and refutes various theological attempts to resolve this contradiction, including appeals to free will, the notion that evil is necessary for good, and claims about the logical limits of divine power.

Mackie particularly scrutinizes the free will defense, which holds that God permits evil because eliminating it would require eliminating human freedom. He argues that an omnipotent God could create beings who freely choose only good, rendering the free will defense incoherent. Similarly, he challenges the claim that evil serves as a necessary counterpart to good, arguing that an omnipotent being should be able to create good without requiring evil as its logical opposite.

The article's methodological approach exemplifies analytic philosophy's emphasis on logical rigor and conceptual clarity. Mackie employs formal logical analysis to demonstrate that theists face not merely an evidential challenge but a logical impossibility. His treatment differs from earlier formulations of the problem of evil by focusing exclusively on logical consistency rather than moral or probabilistic concerns.

This work fundamentally shaped subsequent debates in philosophy of religion. It forced theistic philosophers to develop more sophisticated responses, including Plantinga's free will defense and various skeptical theist approaches. The article remains central to discussions of divine attributes and continues to be widely anthologized in philosophy of religion courses. Its influence extends beyond academic philosophy, as Mackie's clear presentation of the logical problem has become a standard reference point in popular discussions of atheism and theodicy. The article exemplifies how rigorous philosophical analysis can challenge fundamental religious beliefs through purely logical means.