The Necessity of Gratuitous Evil

Abstract

It is widely accepted that a morally perfect God would prevent all "gratuitous evil", evil which is necessary for some greater good. I argue that this requirement is unsound--that "if God necessarily prevents gratuitous evil, morality is undermined". Objections by William Rowe complicate the discussion of this claim but do not refute it. In conclusion, a parallel argument concerning natural evil is presented.