Page "Problem of evil" Paragraph 29

The logical possibility of hidden or unknown reasons for the existence of evil still exist.

However, the existence of God is viewed as any large-scale hypothesis or explanatory theory that aims to make sense of some pertinent facts.

To the extent that it fails to do so it is disconfirmed.

According to Occam's razor, one should make as few assumptions as possible.

Hidden reasons are assumptions, as is the assumption that all pertinent facts can be observed, or that facts and theories humans have not discerned are indeed hidden.

Thus, as per Draper's argument above, the theory that there is an omniscient and omnipotent being who is indifferent requires no hidden reasons in order to explain evil.

It is thus a simpler theory than one that also requires hidden reasons regarding evil in order to include omnibenevolence.

Similarly, for every hidden argument that completely or partially justifies observed evils it is equally likely that there is a hidden argument that actually makes the observed evils worse than they appear without hidden arguments.

As such, from a probabilistic viewpoint hidden arguments will neutralize one another.