Aquinas on Evil Thomas Aquinas 1225 1274 presented
- Slides: 7
Aquinas on Evil Thomas Aquinas (1225 -1274) presented an argument that stated that the existence of God is logically impossible in the face of the existence of evil. He then set out to prove this position to be false.
• “It seems that God does not exist: because if one of two contraries be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the nature of God means that He is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist. ” Summa Theologica
• Aquinas defined God as infinitely good: the existence of evil constitutes a challenge to the existence of such a God. Even the smallest amount of evil removes the possibility of infinite goodness. • His argument stands if we accept that God is infinitely good, and if we use the word ‘good’ in the same way for God as for humanity. • Aquinas was an Aristotelian – he believed that goodness is wrapped up in cause and purpose. An act is good in so far as it achieves its potential.
• Aquinas’s application of Aristotelian causation is the foundation of Roman Catholic morality. Every action has a purpose given it by God. For example • The purpose of sexual intercourse is to have children. • Any sexual activity that denies the possibility of conception is therefore ‘wrong’, because it falls short of the potential for life.
• In keeping with Augustinian theodicy, which we will study next, evil is seen not as an objective ontology, but as a privation, or absence of good.
Sin and Repentance Two Greek words used in the New Testament may be relevant to the debate. 1. Hamartia – this is the word used for sin – it means (roughly) to ‘fall short of the mark’, or to ‘fail to achieve the potential’. 2. Metanoia – this is the word for repentance – it means to ‘turn around’, or to ‘turn the back on’.
Thus moral evil can be seen to achieve potential – this could be in the Aristotelian sense, or it could refer to the potential for humanity to behave in a compassionate way.
