Pain, Life, and God: Theodicy Informed by Biology and Evolutionary Medicine

Abstract

Pain is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Since the beginnings of philosophical thought, the question of the nature and origin of pain has developed. However, it also raises the question of how an omnipotent and morally perfect God can allow so much pain and suffering in the world. In this paper, we analyze the findings of biology and evolutionary medicine to better understand the phenomenon of pain. Based on these insights, we then seek to enrich theological and theodicean reflections on the relationship between pain, humans, and God.