Global philosophy of religion and the supernatural practical response to the problem of evil: In conversation with Yujin Nagasawa

Abstract

In his book The Problem of Evil for Atheists, Yujin Nagasawa argues that the problem of evil is not a challenge for theists alone. He also argues that theism, which usually implies supernaturalism, responds to the problem more successfully than atheism and non-theism, which usually imply naturalism. All of this is advanced from the perspective of a project of global philosophy of religion, that is, an attempt to bring Western philosophy of religion into interaction with other philosophical traditions. In my contribution to this book symposium, I intend to deepen some aspects of Nagasawa’s reflections. First, I identify relevant convergences in the West with Eastern traditions regarding the importance of a practical and existential, rather than merely theoretical, response to the problem of evil. Second, I use these convergences to support, in a way different from his own, the author’s thesis that supernaturalism has an advantage over naturalism in responding to the problem.