Confronting the horror of natural evil: An exchange between Peter Coghlan and Nick Trakakis

Journal article

Coghlan, Peter and Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Confronting the horror of natural evil: An exchange between Peter Coghlan and Nick Trakakis. Sophia. 45(2), pp. 5 - 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782478
AuthorsCoghlan, Peter and Trakakis, Nick
Abstract

In this exchange, Peter Coghlan and Nick Trakakis discuss the problem of natural evil in the light of the recent Asian tsunami disaster. The exchange begins with an extract from a newspaper article written by Coghlan on the tsunami, followed by three rounds of replies and counter-replies, and ending with some final comments from Trakakis. While critical of any attempt to show that human life is good overall despite its natural evils, Coghlan argues that instances of natural evil, even horrific ones, can be justified as the unavoidable by-product of a natural system on which human life and culture depends. Trakakis, however, rejects this view, counselling instead a degree of skepticism about our ability to construct a plausible theodicy for horrific evil.

KeywordsHuman Life; Psychological Harm; Christian Tradition; Moral Evil; Natural Evil
Year2006
JournalSophia
Journal citation45 (2), pp. 5 - 26
ISSN1873-930X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782478
Page range5 - 26
Research GroupSchool of Philosophy
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8925x/confronting-the-horror-of-natural-evil-an-exchange-between-peter-coghlan-and-nick-trakakis

Log in to edit

Restricted files

Publisher's version

  • 174
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

Tasos Leivaditis’s blind man with the lamp as anti-philosopher
Trakakis, Nick. (2024). Tasos Leivaditis’s blind man with the lamp as anti-philosopher. In In Mukhopadhyay, Anway, Mallick, Saptarshi and Dattaray, Debashree (Ed.). Finding Philosophers in Global Fiction - Redefining the Philosopher in Multi-cultural Contexts pp. 33 Bloomsbury Publishing plc.
Idealism after Existentialism : Encounters in Philosophy of Religion
Trakakis, Nick. (2023). Idealism after Existentialism : Encounters in Philosophy of Religion Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003378624
Tasos Leivaditis - The Three
Trakakis, N. N. (Nick). (2022). Tasos Leivaditis - The Three. Australian Association for Literary Translation (AALITRA) Review. 17, pp. 87-100.
Introduction
Trakakis, Nick N. N.. (2022). Introduction. In In Trakakis, Nick N. N. (Ed.). Tasos Leivaditis' triptych : Battle at the Edge of the Night, This Star is for All of Us, the Wind at the Crossroads of the World  pp. 1-39 Anthem Press.
Life and finite individuality : Revisiting a debate in British idealism
Trakakis, N. N.. (2022). Life and finite individuality : Revisiting a debate in British idealism. In In Kittle, Simon and Gasser, Georg (Ed.). The divine nature : Personal and a-personal perspectives pp. 42-61 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003111436-4
Swinburne vs. Swinburne
Trakakis, N. N.. (2021). Swinburne vs. Swinburne. In In Loftus, John W. (Ed.). God and horrendous suffering pp. 51-62 Global Center for Religious Research Press. https://doi.org/10.33929/GCRRPress.2021.05
‘And therefore I hasten to return my ticket’ : Anti-theodicy radicalised
Trakakis, N. N.. (2021). ‘And therefore I hasten to return my ticket’ : Anti-theodicy radicalised. Sophia. 60(3), pp. 699-720. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-021-00871-3
How to be an agnostic
Trakakis, Nick. (2021). How to be an agnostic. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 13(2), pp. 179-194. https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2021.3689
Orthodox Christianity
Trakakis, Nick. (2018). Orthodox Christianity. In In G. Oppy and N. N. Trakakis (Ed.). Inter-Christian Philosophical Dialogues pp. 89 - 110 Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315111032
Response to Rea: (Reformed) Protestantism
Trakakis, Nick. (2018). Response to Rea: (Reformed) Protestantism. In In G. Oppy and N. N. Trakakis (Ed.). Inter-Christian philosophical dialogues pp. 67 - 88 Routledge.
First response
Trakakis, Nick. (2018). First response. In In G. Oppy and N. N. Trakakis (Ed.). Inter-Christian philosophical dialogues; Volume 4 pp. 178 - 194 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315111032
Love and marriage, yesterday and today
Trakakis, N. N.. (2017). Love and marriage, yesterday and today. Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology. 14(2), pp. 7-36. https://doi.org/10.3726/CUL.2017.02.01
Philosophy and religious commitment
Trakakis, Nick. (2017). Philosophy and religious commitment. Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 56(4), pp. 605 - 630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-017-0575-z
Absolute idealism and the problem of evil
Trakakis, Nick. (2017). Absolute idealism and the problem of evil. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 82(1), pp. 47 - 69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-017-9624-3
What's love got to do with it?
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). What's love got to do with it? Roczniki Filozoficzne. 63(3), pp. 43-54. https://doi.org/10.18290/rf.2015.63.3-4
Appearance and Reality
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). Appearance and Reality
Philosophy mashed-up and in crisis
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). Philosophy mashed-up and in crisis. The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory. 14(2), pp. 287 - 298.
Postmodern approaches to religion
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). Postmodern approaches to religion. In In G. Oppy (Ed.). The Routledge handbook of contemporary philosophy of religion pp. 32 - 50 Routledge.
The ecclesiological problem of evil
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). The ecclesiological problem of evil. In In J. Kvanig (Ed.). Oxford Studies in philosophy of religion volume 6 pp. 245 - 268 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198722335.003.0011
The Hidden Divinity and What it Reveals
Trakakis, Nick. (2015). The Hidden Divinity and What it Reveals. In In A Green and E Stump (Ed.). Hidden Divinity and Religious Belief: New Perspectives pp. 192 - 209 Cambridge University Press.
The New Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy of Religion
Trakakis, N. N.. (2014). The New Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy of Religion. The Heythrop Journal: a bi-monthly review of philosophy and theology. 55(4), pp. 670 - 690. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2265.2012.00782.x
Who is Nikos Kazantzakis' God?
Trakakis, Nick N.. (2014). Who is Nikos Kazantzakis' God? Modern Greek Studies (Australia & New Zealand). 16-17(B), pp. 387 - 418.
The paradox of humility and dogmatism
Trakakis, N. N.. (2014). The paradox of humility and dogmatism. In In Dougherty, T. and McBrayer, J. P. (Ed.). Skeptical Theism pp. 85 - 100 Oxford University Press.
The blind man with the lamp
Leivaditis, Tasos and Trakakis, N. N. (translator). (2014). The blind man with the lamp Denise Harvey.
A Companion to Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand
Trakakis, Nick. In G. Oppy and N. Trakakis (Ed.). (2014). A Companion to Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand Monash University Publishing.
Truth, or the futures of philosophy of religion
Trakakis, Nick N.. (2013). Truth, or the futures of philosophy of religion. International Journal of Philosophy and Theology. 74(5), pp. 366 - 390. https://doi.org/10.1080/21692327.2014.899156
The absurdity of evil
Trakakis, Nick. (2013). The absurdity of evil. In In DG Kirchhoffer and R Horner (Ed.). Being human: groundwork for a theological anthropology for the 21st century pp. 203 - 216 Mosaic Press.
Antitheodicy
Trakakis, N. N.. (2013). Antitheodicy. In In McBrayer, J. P. and Howard-Snyder, D. (Ed.). The Blackwell companion to the problem of evil pp. 363 - 376 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd..
Deus Loci: The place of God and the God of place in philosophy and theology
Trakakis, Nick N.. (2013). Deus Loci: The place of God and the God of place in philosophy and theology. Sophia. 52(2), pp. 315 - 333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-012-0314-4
Antitheodicy
Trakakis, Nick. (2013). Antitheodicy. In In J P McBrayer and D Howard-Snyder (Ed.). The Blackwell companion to the problem of evil pp. 363 - 376 Wiley-Blackwell.
The sense and reference of the essence and energies
Trakakis, Nick. (2013). The sense and reference of the essence and energies. In In C Athanasopoulos and C Schneider (Ed.). Divine essence and divine energies: ecumenical reflections on the presence of God in Eastern Orthodoxy pp. 210 - 231 James Clarke & Co..
An Unorthodox Existentialist: N.A. Berdyaev
Trakakis, Nick. (2013). An Unorthodox Existentialist: N.A. Berdyaev. In In V. Jezek (Ed.). Christianity and the Development of Culture pp. 180 - 185 University of Presov Publishing.
From Dusk to Dawn
Trakakis, Nick. (2012). From Dusk to Dawn
Doing Philosophy in Style : A New Look at the Analytic/Continental Divide
Trakakis, Nick. (2012). Doing Philosophy in Style : A New Look at the Analytic/Continental Divide. Philosophy Compass. 7(12), pp. 919 - 942.
Southern Sun, Aegean Light: Poetry of Second-Generation Greek-Australians
Trakakis, Nick. In N. Trakakis (Ed.). (2011). Southern Sun, Aegean Light: Poetry of Second-Generation Greek-Australians Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Clearings
Trakakis, Nick. (2011). Clearings
Presence and absence: The paintings of Andrew Musgrave
Trakakis, Nick. (2010). Presence and absence: The paintings of Andrew Musgrave. Literature and Aesthetics. 20(2), pp. 92 - 105.
Does univocity entail idolatry?
Trakakis, Nick. (2010). Does univocity entail idolatry? Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 49(4), pp. 535 - 555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-010-0222-4
Against theodicy: A response to Peter Forrest
Trakakis, Nick. (2010). Against theodicy: A response to Peter Forrest. Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 49(1), pp. 129 - 140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-009-0150-3
Late twentieth-century atheism
Oppy, Graham and Trakakis, Nick. (2009). Late twentieth-century atheism. In In G. Oppy and N. Trakakis (Ed.). History of Western Philosophy of Religion pp. 301 - 312 Acumen.
Via Dolorosa
Trakakis, Nick. (2008). Via Dolorosa
The end of philosophy of religion
Trakakis, Nick. (2008). The end of philosophy of religion Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Kazantzakis' poor man of God: Philosophy without philosophy
Trakakis, Nick. (2008). Kazantzakis' poor man of God: Philosophy without philosophy. Colloquy: text theory critique. 15, pp. 1 - 28.
Theodicy: The solution to the problem of evil, or part of the problem?
Trakakis, Nick. (2008). Theodicy: The solution to the problem of evil, or part of the problem? Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 47(2), pp. 161 - 191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-008-0063-6
Religious language games
Oppy, Graham and Trakakis, Nick. (2007). Religious language games. In In A. Moore and M. Scott (Ed.). Realism and Religion: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives pp. 103 - 130 Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Whither morality in a hard determinist world?
Trakakis, Nick. (2007). Whither morality in a hard determinist world? Sorites: digital journal of analytical philosophy. 19, pp. 1 - 37.
An Epistemically Distant God? A Critique of John Hick's Response to the Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Trakakis, Nick. (2007). An Epistemically Distant God? A Critique of John Hick's Response to the Problem of Divine Hiddenness. Heythrop Journal: a Quarterly Review of Philosophy and Theology. 48(2), pp. 214 - 226. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2265.2007.00313.x
The desert
Trakakis, Nick. (2007). The desert. Philotheos: International Journal for Philosophy and Theology. 7, pp. 491 - 495.
Karma and the Problem of Evil: A Response to Kaufman
Trakakis, Nick and Chadha, Monima. (2007). Karma and the Problem of Evil: A Response to Kaufman. Philosophy East and West: a quarterly of comparative philosophy. 57(4), pp. 533 - 556. https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.2007.0043
The God beyond belief: In defence of William Rowe's evidential argument from evil
Trakakis, Nick. (2007). The God beyond belief: In defence of William Rowe's evidential argument from evil Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5145-X
Meta-Philosophy of Religion: The Analytic-Continental Divide in Philosophy of Religion
Trakakis, Nick. (2007). Meta-Philosophy of Religion: The Analytic-Continental Divide in Philosophy of Religion. Ars Disputandi: the online journal for philosophy of religion. 7, pp. 1 - 42.
Becoming Children: The Hidden Meaning of the Incarnation
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Becoming Children: The Hidden Meaning of the Incarnation. Theandros. 3(3), pp. 1 - 5.
Silent Transfigurations
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Silent Transfigurations Australia: Nick Trakakis.
Nietzsche's perspectivism and problems of self-refutation
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Nietzsche's perspectivism and problems of self-refutation. International Philosophical Quarterly. 46(1), pp. 91 - 110.
Rowe's New Evidential Argument from Evil: Problems and Prospects
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Rowe's New Evidential Argument from Evil: Problems and Prospects. Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 45(1), pp. 57 - 77.
Why There Is Reason to Remain Sceptical of Durston's Scepticism
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Why There Is Reason to Remain Sceptical of Durston's Scepticism. Religious Studies. 42(1), pp. 101 - 109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412505008140
A Third (Meta-)Critique
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). A Third (Meta-)Critique. Sophia: international journal of philosophy and traditions. 45(2), pp. 139 - 142.
Does Hard Determinism Render the Problem of Evil even Harder?
Trakakis, Nick. (2006). Does Hard Determinism Render the Problem of Evil even Harder? Ars Disputandi: the online journal for philosophy of religion. 6, pp. 1 - 26.
An Interview with the Very Rev. Dr. Themistocles Adamopoulo, Apostle to the Poor and Oppressed
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). An Interview with the Very Rev. Dr. Themistocles Adamopoulo, Apostle to the Poor and Oppressed. Theandros. 3(2), pp. 1 - 17.
Tears: 1993-2005
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). Tears: 1993-2005 Australia: Nick Trakakis.
Piety and Pietism
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). Piety and Pietism. Theandros. 2(3), pp. 1 - 6.
The prodigal and his brother: Impartiality and the equal consideration of interests
Coghlan, Peter. (2005). The prodigal and his brother: Impartiality and the equal consideration of interests. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. 26(3), pp. 195 - 206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-005-3978-8
Gregory Palamas on the Relationship Between Philosophy and Theology
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). Gregory Palamas on the Relationship Between Philosophy and Theology. Theandros. 3(1), pp. 1 - 10.
What was the Iconoclast Controversy About?
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). What was the Iconoclast Controversy About? Theandros. 2(2), pp. 1 - 8.
Is theism capable of accounting for any natural evil at all?
Trakakis, Nick. (2005). Is theism capable of accounting for any natural evil at all? International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 57(1), pp. 35 - 66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-004-5895-6
Pitfalls in the intelligent design debate
Coghlan, Peter. (2005). Pitfalls in the intelligent design debate. Ethics Education: a journal for applied philosophy and ethics in the Christian tradition. 11(2), pp. 34 - 38.
Intimation: Argument and faith
Coghlan, Peter Edward. (2004). Intimation: Argument and faith. In In A. Fisher OP and H. Ramsay (Ed.). Faith and Reason: Friends or Foes in the New Millennium? pp. 58 - 74 Australian Theological Forum Press.
War and liberation
Coghlan, Peter Edward. (2003). War and liberation. In In R. Gaita (Ed.). Why the War was Wrong pp. 113 - 145 Text Publishing.