As we discussed in our second meeting, Augustine believed that evil is a privation of good. Like darkness is the absence of light or cold is the absence of heat, evil is nothing in itself, but simply an absence of a good thing. Augustine summarizes his position in the Confessions: "If things are deprived of all good, they cease altogether to be; and this means that as long as they are, they are good. Therefore, whatever is, is good; and evil, the origin of which I was trying to find, is not a substance, because if it were a substance it would be good…So it became obvious to me that all that you have made is good, and that there are no substances whatsoever that were not made by you " (7.12).I think this concept is beautifully depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Robert Barron, a Roman Catholic theologian, has a youtube video which discusses how this concept is on display in the film. Click here to watch it.
Questions/comments are welcome.
