Doctrine of theodicy in a scientific age: examining the evolutionary theology of John Haught and the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi
dc.contributor.advisor
Harris, Mark
en
dc.contributor.advisor
Gentz, Joachim
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dc.contributor.author
Jang, Jaeho
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dc.contributor.sponsor
other
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dc.date.accessioned
2017-12-21T14:47:51Z
dc.date.available
2017-12-21T14:47:51Z
dc.date.issued
2017-11-27
dc.description.abstract
Modern evolutionary science has brought a sharp focus to bear on the problem of
evil, and especially of natural evil and suffering in the natural world. Moreover, I
believe that contemporary theodicy may benefit from engagement with the East
Asian religion, Daoism. Therefore, I will comparatively examine the work of the
evolutionary theodicy of Haught and the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi. I will not
cover all of the thought of Haught and Zhuangzi, but instead I will focus on their
ideas concerning the problem of evil, and develop them in harmony with
evolutionary science.
In order to do this comparative study, I will suggest the necessity of a new
methodology, and propose five steps for the comparative work between religion and
science and between Christianity and Daoism: description, comparison,
generalisation, differentiation and supplementation. Based on this methodology, I
will generalise the ideas of Haught and Zhuangzi on evil into seven different
theodicies (the natural state defence, the free action defence, the suffering God
defence, the hidden God defence, the harmony defence, the progress defence, and the
final fulfilment defence). I will then supplement the evolutionary theodicy of Haught
with the Daoist ideas of Zhuangzi on the basis of their differences.
The main aim of this study is to develop Christian theodicies to inform both the
West and the East in a scientific age by comparing the evolutionary theology of
Haught and the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi. I will suggest that Western
evolutionary theodicies would benefit from engagement with the Daoist philosophy
of Zhuangzi, and that the evolutionary theodicy of John Haught might be of benefit
in an Asian Christian context. I also expect that the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi
can be seen in a new light through conversation with the evolutionary theology of
Haught and evolutionary science generally. I hope that this thesis can be a catalyst
for comparative study between religion and science and between Christianity and
Daoism.
en
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1842/25822
dc.language.iso
en
dc.publisher
The University of Edinburgh
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dc.subject
evolutionary theodicy
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dc.subject
evolutionary theology
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dc.subject
Daoism
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dc.subject
John Haught
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dc.subject
Zhuangzi
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dc.subject
theodicy
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dc.title
Doctrine of theodicy in a scientific age: examining the evolutionary theology of John Haught and the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi
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dc.type
Thesis or Dissertation
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dc.type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
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dc.type.qualificationname
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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