About the Author
Bryan Frances is the world’s only intellectual wisdom coach. He’s a former professor of philosophy & logic, doing research & teaching at universities in the US, UK, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He teaches you how to become the wisest thinker in the room—which is different from being the most knowledgeable or having the highest IQ. Contact for a free session.
In response to the Problem of Evil, some theists say this:
A huge portion of the many trillions of cases of horrific suffering are justified by the fact that in order for us to develop our souls properly we need to experience and know of that suffering. That is, a huge portion of that suffering is the price of having appropriately developed souls. God gave us the ability to develop our souls so that we may experience or be in intimate contact with him, which is an incredibly valuable good—maybe the greatest good there is—but in order to develop our souls properly we need to know and experience suffering. So, the ability to cultivate our souls exists, is extremely valuable, and is intimately linked with suffering.
I haven’t said what a “properly developed soul” would be. Some people think it’s a virtuous soul; others say it’s a saved soul. Still others say it’s a soul that is in communion with God. My remarks below apply to all these as well as other readings.
There are intelligent doubts about the success of this proposal. When you read the material below, always, always, always keep in mind the context: what you’re reading are introductory remarks only, meant to encourage reasonable evaluation of the proposal.