Abstract

This volume is the published version of a dissertation presented for the Doctorate in Theology at the Institut Catholique of Paris. The author has chosen a historical method to investigate this complex question. His main thesis is that Aquinas is free from the unacceptable position held by Leibniz concerning the necessity of evil in the created world. In order to make his point, Sentis divides his work into four different chapters preceded by a lengthy introduction. Chapter 1 and 2 with the second part of the introduction constitutes an exegesis of the main texts in Aquinas dealing with the question of evil. Chapter 3 and 4 follow the prolongation of the treatment of this question in Western thought.