Thomas Aquinas Objections To The Problem Of Evil

The problem of evil is a lasting philosophical problem that goes back as far as Epicurus. Aquinas believes that the problem of evil is not a proper question to be asking because those asking it are not taking into account God’s nature. However, I maintain that Aquinas’s philosophy does not refute the problem of evil. To illustrate this I will raise three objections to Aquinas. First, I will show that although Aquinas is not attempting a theodicy, his arguments lead him into a position where one must defend how God can exist in a world with evil. Next, I will argue that moral agency is required for goodness. Then, I will contend that the problem of evil requires a moral justification. The problem of evil examines how can God exist given

Nonetheless, Aquinas believes there is evil in the world. Evil is the “displacement of a good.” He illustrates this view in the Summa Theologiae when he states, “Like night from day, you learn about one opposite from the other. So, you take good in order to grasp what evil means.” When we say X is bad, we are implying that X lacks goodness. Nevertheless, if something is lacking goodness it does not necessarily entail that it is evil. Something is not bad because it lacks the qualities something else possesses. For Aquinas, the fact that a man is not as strong as a lion does not entail evil. Evil is the privation of

One should never ask if God should be morally responsible for allowing evil. It is not a question that would arise in the first place if one was familiar with God’s nature. God is not a morally good individual. God does not have any moral integrity. Being a moral agent is not something that we ascribe God, in the same way we ascribe it to people. Saying God is good for Aquinas is not the same as saying God is moral.

Despite Aquinas’s unique solution, Aquinas’s philosophy does not sufficiently resolve the problem of evil. To illustrate this, I am going to examine what Aquinas directly says regarding the problem of evil. Aquinas acknowledges the problem of evil when he states,

It seems that there is no God. For if one of two contraries were infinite, the other would be completely destroyed. But by the word ‘God’ we understand a certain infinite good. So, if God existed, nobody would ever encounter evil. But we do encounter evil in the world. So, God does not exist.

Aquinas replies to this argument by stating, “ As Augustine says, ‘since God is supremely good, he would not permit any evil at all in his works, unless he were sufficiently powerful and good to bring good even from evil. So it belongs to the limitless goodness of God that he permits evils