Philosophy Friday: Augustine

Augustine: 354-430 A.D

           Augustine of Hippo (go ahead and have a good laugh before continuing) bridges the gap between the Platonic philosophy prevalent in the Ancient Period and the Christian philosophy that arises in The Medieval Period. A pagan rhetorician turned Christian bishop, Augustine's philosophy is an important transition and becomes foundational to the works of many Christian philosophers to follow. Though he wrote many pieces, among which are On Free Will, The Confessions, and The City of God, he is perhaps most famous for the answer he provides to the Problem of Evil in On Free Will.[1]

One of the most common challenges posed to the existence of God is the Problem of Evil. According to the Problem of Evil, the existence of evil conflicts with the existence of a good God. The Problem of Evil is formally written in a logical syllogism:

1.      If God exists, then God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect.

2.      If God is omnipotent, then God has the power to eliminate all evil.

3.      If God is omniscient, then God knows when evil exists.

4.      If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil.

5.      Evil exists.

6.      If evil exists and God exists, then either God doesn't have the power to eliminate all evil, or doesn't know when evil exists, or doesn't have the desire to eliminate all evil.

7.      Therefore, God doesn't exist.[2]

While the argument is valid, it is certainly not sound as Augustine proves. Augustine defines evil as the absence of good. It is not some entity or force created by God, but rather it should be likened to a disease which corrupts a good thing. Evil originates with the will. The will is necessary for good, but it also allows for evil. Similarly, a body hosts both health and disease. According to Augustine, because Adam, the first being, chose evil over goodness the free will of the whole human race would be changed so that of themselves they would also choose evil. So in summary, Augustine argued against the sixth premise of the syllogism. While God has the knowledge of evil, the power to eliminate all evil, and the desire to remove evil, he allows humanity to choose evil in order to grant them free will. [3]

            Among his many other accomplishments, Augustine provided a much needed answer to one of Christianity’s toughest question—The Problem of Evil. His knowledge of rhetoric enabled him to make a logical defense for God’s existence. He set a stage of rational argumentation for other Christian philosophers such as Anselm and Thomas Aquinas who would follow shortly after.

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[1]. Pojman and Vaughn, “Augustine,” Classics of Philosophy, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 395.

[2]. Michael Tooley, "The Problem of Evil", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Summer 2013 ed., ed. Edward N. Zalta (Stanford: The Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of Language and Information, 2012)

[3]. Pojman and Vaughn, “Augustine,” Classics of Philosophy, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 395-6.