Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal SufferingWhile the problem of evil remains a perennial challenge to theistic belief, little attention has been paid to the special problem of animal pain and suffering. This absence is especially conspicuous in our Darwinian era when theists are forced to confront the fact that animal pain and suffering has gone on for at least tens of millions of years, through billions of animal generations. Evil of this sort might not be especially problematic if the standard of explanations for evilemployed by theists could be applied in this instance as well. But there is the central problem: all or most of the explanations for evil cited by theists seem impotent to explain the reality of animal pain and suffering through evolutionary history. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw addresses the evil ofanimal pain and suffering directly, scrutinizing explanations that have been offered for such evil. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 Problems of and Explanations for Evil | 10 |
2 NeoCartesianism | 41 |
3 Animal Suffering and the Fall | 73 |
Animal Pain and Animal Wellbeing | 107 |
5 Natural Evil Nomic Regularity and Animal Suffering | 130 |
6 Chaos Order and Evolution | 166 |
7 Combining CDs | 193 |
200 | |
207 | |
Other editions - View all
Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal Suffering Michael Murray Limited preview - 2008 |
Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal Suffering Michael Murray No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
able accept action actual allow animal pain animal suffering appears argue argument attempts avoid awareness behavior belief bring capacity cause Chapter choice choose Christian claim consciousness consequences consider contains course created creation creatures critic death defended described developed discussion distinct divine effective evidence Evidential evolutionary example existence experience explanations fact fail Fall Fall CDs freedom further give greater hand human important intellectual intentional intrinsic lack laws least less living look means mental moral morally significant natural evil necessary neo-Cartesian nomic regularity nonhuman noted objection organisms outweighing pain and suffering perhaps permission permitting phenomenal philosophers pleasure position possible present Press problem question reality reason regard rejecting relevant require response result securing seems serve simply sort sufficient theists things true turn types universe