Augustine Good And Evil Essay

In history, several previous philosophers questioned how the existence of evil became possible with the existence of one benevolent and omnipotent God. Augustine, the “Philosopher of Freedom”, attempted to explain the concept of evil through the ability of free will present in the nature of humans and the misuse of such. In other words, evil is not the creation of God, rather it is the inherent ability of humans to negate ‘good will’. The philosophy of Augustine examines the human capacity for evil, even in large scales and concludes that human existence is the product of an original sin created by an alienation from God. Augustine derives this conclusion from experiences such as the “theft of pears” episode in Book 2, chapter 4 of The Confessions.

Curiosity, then, lends humans the capacity to deviate from God, like Adam and Eve which in Christian religion represent the original sin and the fall of man. The forbidden fruit was the consumption of knowledge, both good and evil. Augustine’s actions in stealing the fruit reflected in him his original human sin, which later led to the sins of general physical desire. The difference between the Garden of Eden episode and the account of the Theft of Pears is that Augustine stole/sinned “to enjoy theft for its own sake, and the sin” (Augustine Book 2,4), not out of desire. Augustine explains that this is the worst sin of all, which can be examined through Augustine’s self-excusing of fornication due to the constant feeling of loneliness and desire to love and be loved. The act of sinning without temptation or further desire reflects an intentional destruction of a depraved soul and reflects the intentions to break God’s laws. To reiterate, Augustine could find no defense for his sin, one that he could use to excuse himself and ask for