Evil

[Jake Huether]

Like I've said, I've been reading St. Augustine’s Confessions, and he comes to a point where he finally understands that Evil is not a substance.

Here is his logic (paraphrased).


Everything that is corruptible is good. The Supreme Good is incorruptible. But everything below the Supreme Good is good. If it wasn't corruptible, than it would have to be the Supreme Good, because you cannot say that something is completely corrupt to the point that it is incorruptible, for then it is in a better state than it was before. If it now is incorruptible it is better than when it was corrupting. And this is pure nonsense because if it was corrupting, than it had good in it, but now this completely corrupt thing is better than it use to be. So if something has no good in it, than it must not exist. If there exists something that is incorruptible, then it can either be the Supreme Good, or have nothing in it to corrupt. But again, if it has nothing in it to corrupt, than it is in a better state than something that has good in it to corrupt. So an incorruptible thing can only be the Supreme Good. And everything else is good.

In other words, everything God made is good. We know this precisely because it corrupts. For if it wasn't to corrupt, than we'd fall back to the same argument as before: it must be either the Supreme Good, or an incorruptible substance which lacks all good - which cannot exist, for this would be better than something good that is corrupting.

So St. Augustine was able to come to the conclusion that Evil wasn't a substance (i.e. God didn't create it).

But my question is this then...
God Created Satan. Satan was created good.
Satan corrupted. But Satan cannot be more corrupt... He is the epitome of corruption. So he is now incorruptible.

How does this work? We know that he isn't in a better state than he was before, yet we know he exists.

Does Satan still have good in him which continues to corrupt? Or is he incorruptible?

Remember, we aren't talking simply physical corruption, but just corruption (i.e. the deterioration of good).

Thanks!

[jmjtina]

Incorruptible therefore must go both ways. Full of the corruption and lack of the corruption.

Would the only good be that God wills him to exsist?

Jake, you always get me thinking.

[Apotheoun]

In so far as Satan exists, that is, in so far as he is a being, he is good. Evil has its origin in the disordered actions of the will, and not in the essence of the being.