Abstract

This work is essentially expositional. Generally speaking, it attempts to render Augustine's understanding of moral evil in a complete and systematic presentation. Specifically, it tries to draw out the enigma of nothingness surrounding his notion of evil. ;The project is developed in three stages. First, it seeks to clarify the what of moral evil. Here, it analyzes the various characterizations of evil used by Augustine. Secondly, it investigates the why of moral evil, seeking to disclose the source both from and through which evil occurs. Here, the free-will of a rational being is examined, along with the choice of evil, or non-being, over goodness . Lastly, it attempts to lay bare the conditions surrounding the how of moral evil. Here, the mutability of creation and the perfection of the created order are brought under close review. ;It becomes evident in the development of this project that within Augustine's understanding of evil there is an implicit dialectical state of tension. In each one of the perspectives addressed, a bifurcation occurs in his thought. A metaphysical vantage point of nature arises alongside and in contrast to an experiential one concerning the soul. The fixed actuality of nature and the unconditioned dynamism of spirit are both necessarily treated in Augustine's attempt to articulate the given parameters of the problem. This inevitably creates a condition of paradox for one trying to achieve a clear and unified understanding of Augustine and the phenomenon of evil itself. Indeed, in one respect, the nothingness of evil shows itself as merely that, being only a state of privation in a good nature. In the other respect, the nothingness of evil is a terrifying nothingness, undermining the very existence of an individual soul. ;We conclude in this work that the enigma of evil is related to the mystery of creation itself: a perfect God perfectly creating an imperfect creature out of nothing, an irrepressible good nature borne by a mutable creature, riddled through to its very core with need. In this design, one finds a perfect call to a perfect love of God's wisdom