Skeptical Theism, Moral Skepticism, and Divine Deception

Abstract

Skeptical theism – a strategy for dealing with so-called ‘evidential arguments from evil’ – is often held to lead to moral skepticism. In this paper I look at some of the responses open to the skeptical theist to the contention that her position leads to moral skepticism, and argue that they are ultimately unsuccessful, since they leave the skeptical theist with no grounds for ruling out the possibility of maximal divine deception. I then go on to argue that the situation is particularly bleak for the skeptical theist, since the most prominent ways of dealing with this pervasive type of skepticism are not available to her. Furthermore, since this pervasive type of skepticism entails moral skepticism, it follows that moral skepticism will after all have found a way in ‘through the back door’. In order to solidify my case, I go on to outline and deal with three potential objections. Skeptical theists attempt to defuse the threat posed to theistic belief by the presence in the world of apparently pointless evil by exploiting the claim that, when it comes to good and evil, the ways of God are mysterious. A familiar problem with this move is that, when it comes to good and evil, the ways of God cannot be too mysterious, lest the skeptical theist become engulfed in an all-encompassing moral skepticism. Now, the skeptical theist has a number of replies at her disposal. In this paper I examine some of these replies, and argue that moral skepticism has a way of ‘slipping in through the back door’. The new challenge for the skeptical theist, then, lies in blocking the back as well as the front entrance. I argue that there are good reasons for thinking that the skeptical theist will not be able to do this. Finally, I go on to outline and deal with three potential objections. FORUM PHILOSOPHICUM 15(2010), pp. 251-274