Comparative Theology (Mar 2016)
Philosophical responses of Molla Sadra and Agustine to the problem of evil
Abstract
Abstract Mulla Sadra and Augustine sought to respond to the problem of evil that was one of the most important and controversial issues of philosophy and theology. The philosophers achieved their goal by using a complex method composed of philosophical and theological responses. The paper intends to explain at first the philosophical answers of Mulla Sadra and Augustine to the problem of evil which include temporariness and relativeness of the evil, the excellence of the universe and the necessity of evil for the material world. Then their opinions are compared. In spite of living in different eras, Mulla Sadra and Augustine had very similar views on the problem of evil. Their opinions were very similar because both of them were divine and inspired thinkers, were follower of the opinions of both Plato and Plotinus and brought up the problem of evil and tried to solve it in order to achieve a common purpose, namely to defend Godâs perfect traits. Mulla Sadra and Augustine, besides considering the problem of evil as a theological issue, were very attentive to the philosophical dimension of this debate. Mulla Sadra and Augustine gave a similar definition of evil and both contrasted between good and evil as the Queen and lack of the Queen are contrasted. The philosophers like other ones called special attention to the non-existence of evil. They pursued a common goal by regarding the evil as non-existent. They intended not to harm the goodness of all creatures and on the other hand, they sought to preserve unity in creativity. In fact they propose the non-existence of the evil in response to the dualists, with the difference that dualists who were living in contemporary with Augustine were Manichaeism, but in the age of Mulla Sadra, dualism was widespread, particularly among Zoroastrians. The problem of evil is somehow related to the existentialism because the evilness refers to the presence of the evil-doer, or to its nature. Accordingly Mulla Sadra analyzed the problem of evil according to his own principles of existentialism. Augustine, however, did not point out to existentialism in his work because this issue was raised in the West in the thirteenth century by Aquinas, not in Augustineâs time. Therefore, the acceptance of existentialism in his works and ideas shows the fact that Augustine can be recognized as an existential philosopher. Both philosophers accepted the ambiguity of the evil following the ambiguity of the existence. Mulla Sadra knew the first monster as the lowest level of existence, however, he asserted somewhere that the monster is pure evil. But Augustine did not consider the first material to be pure non-existence and evil. Mulla Sadra provided an argument, in addition to concluding the non-existence of the evil through the equivalence of existence and goodness and introducing it as an obvious argument. Augustine, however, just used the equivalence of existence and goodness to come to the conclusion that evil was non-existent and did not provide an argument for his claim. Another common response between Mulla Sadra and Augustine to the problem of evil is that the evil is relative. Mulla Sadra asserted that the evil is necessary for the material world. Augustine also said that sin and evil were found only in the material creatures of the universe. They both believed in the excellence of the universe and provided reasons, some of which were common between them and some were different. They shared the following: 1- Academic argument(برÙا٠ÙÙ Û): Sadra and Augustine both used this argument to establish a better system. They applied the rules of origin because according to the rule, God is in the highest level of existence and have perfect attributes, then He must create creatures in perfection and beauty. 2- Mulla Sadra and Augustineâ opinion about the excellence of the universe is subject to this requirement that the human must look aesthetically to the universe as a unit and set, otherwise it may happen that affair that are appropriate and homogeneous in the universe be regarded as evil. Mulla Sadra and Augustine believed that the world is more good, rather evil because there is not evil in levels far above the material world and the worlds constitute a substantial portion of the world and since the better system does not just mean a system in which there is no evil, but a system in which evil is rare and goodness is more, such a system may be called a better system, so the existing system is an excellent system.
