The Problem Of Evil By St. Augustine
Augustine and the Problem of Evil
Introduction
When St. Augustine wrote Enchiridion, The City of God, and On the Free Choice of the Will he certainly had various reasons in mind and multiple arguments he was seeking to prove. One common thread throughout is the problem of reconciling the existence of evil in a world in which God exists as well. This is the problem of evil. I will show that Augustine attempts to solve the problem by denying that evil exists as such and by saying that what we think of as evil is caused by human free will, which is a good more valuable than a world without evil. I will show that his argument that evil does not exist as such is unconvincing because there is still human suffering, and that his argument that …show more content…
That is because a benevolent God would not want evil to exist, causing humans to suffer. God is capable of making evil not exist because he is omnipotent. If we believe that there is evil, an inference from observing the world around us, then we seem to have either a contradiction with the idea that God is good and omnipotent, or even existent, or at least we have evidence against that idea.
Augustine’s solution
Augustine offers a preliminary solution to the problem of evil in Enchiridion and then expands upon it in City of God. First, he says that there is no such thing as evil, then he says that what we think of as evil is caused by human free will, which is necessary to gain valuable goods so the world is better with some so-called evil in it. In this way, Augustine hopes to remove the tension between the existence of God and the existence of evil, saying that the two are not opposed because evil does nto exist as such.
Enchiridion
In chapters ten and eleven of Enchiridion, Augustine sets out an argument to show that all things are …show more content…
This concept of so-called evil as a lack becomes very important in Augustine’s thinking. He describes evil as a wound on good, meaning that it is an imperfection, “not a substance” in and of itself (Klima, 309). This view is the opposite of the concept of the devil, or some evil incarnate, as an enemy of God.
One consequence of the view of evil as a lack is that nothing can be wholly evil because it would cease to exist (Kilma, 310). It is the nature of things to be good, as all things in existence were made by a wholly good God. So if something had no good at all it would not have a nature or an existence, it would be entirely evil, which is to say that it would be entirely a lack of good. Lack does not exist in itself, and so neither does evil, and so nothing that exists is completely evil.
Augustine continues to explain the nature of evil in chapter thirteen, as he says that all things are both good and evil. This makes sense, in fact it is necessary in his world view, because all things are good, but not wholly good. Anything lacking in good has some evil, since evil and the lack of good are synonymous. Therefore all things by nature must be good and
Introduction
When St. Augustine wrote Enchiridion, The City of God, and On the Free Choice of the Will he certainly had various reasons in mind and multiple arguments he was seeking to prove. One common thread throughout is the problem of reconciling the existence of evil in a world in which God exists as well. This is the problem of evil. I will show that Augustine attempts to solve the problem by denying that evil exists as such and by saying that what we think of as evil is caused by human free will, which is a good more valuable than a world without evil. I will show that his argument that evil does not exist as such is unconvincing because there is still human suffering, and that his argument that …show more content…
That is because a benevolent God would not want evil to exist, causing humans to suffer. God is capable of making evil not exist because he is omnipotent. If we believe that there is evil, an inference from observing the world around us, then we seem to have either a contradiction with the idea that God is good and omnipotent, or even existent, or at least we have evidence against that idea.
Augustine’s solution
Augustine offers a preliminary solution to the problem of evil in Enchiridion and then expands upon it in City of God. First, he says that there is no such thing as evil, then he says that what we think of as evil is caused by human free will, which is necessary to gain valuable goods so the world is better with some so-called evil in it. In this way, Augustine hopes to remove the tension between the existence of God and the existence of evil, saying that the two are not opposed because evil does nto exist as such.
Enchiridion
In chapters ten and eleven of Enchiridion, Augustine sets out an argument to show that all things are …show more content…
This concept of so-called evil as a lack becomes very important in Augustine’s thinking. He describes evil as a wound on good, meaning that it is an imperfection, “not a substance” in and of itself (Klima, 309). This view is the opposite of the concept of the devil, or some evil incarnate, as an enemy of God.
One consequence of the view of evil as a lack is that nothing can be wholly evil because it would cease to exist (Kilma, 310). It is the nature of things to be good, as all things in existence were made by a wholly good God. So if something had no good at all it would not have a nature or an existence, it would be entirely evil, which is to say that it would be entirely a lack of good. Lack does not exist in itself, and so neither does evil, and so nothing that exists is completely evil.
Augustine continues to explain the nature of evil in chapter thirteen, as he says that all things are both good and evil. This makes sense, in fact it is necessary in his world view, because all things are good, but not wholly good. Anything lacking in good has some evil, since evil and the lack of good are synonymous. Therefore all things by nature must be good and