Phil - 110 - Final terms

St. Augustine on God’s relation to time

• God is not in time but causes it

• Foreknows past, present, and future at the same time

• God foreknows all things without forcing outcomes

Why free will is good

• There is nothing good that is not from God

• Enables humans to live rightly—not given to sin

• Permits praise of right choice and punishment for wrong

Evidence that we have free will

• It is in our power to will—we will it and it is present

• Only voluntary movements can be judged—not natural movements

• God’s foreknowledge does not coerce our will

Beauty of the Universe Theory (on evil)

• Superior and inferior souls are necessary for the beauty and order of the whole

• Lowest souls still have dignity—superior to material objects

• Lowest souls contribute to the order—dignity through punishment

God’s foreknowledge and freedom

• God exists outside of time and sees past, present, and future all at once

• He foreknows what we are going to will, but does not coerce us in our decision

• God foreknows both what he causes and what he permits

St. Augustine on suffering of innocents

• Temporal adversities for adults to fix their behavior

• Born in a fallen condition of original sin

• Child martyrs are honored by God

Definition of Moral Evil

• Evil done

• Defective movement of choosing temporal things over eternal

Natural evil

• Evil suffered

• Consequence of disorder introduced by sin

Source of Moral Evil

• The will of the individual is the source—not an external force

• Turning away from eternal things for temporal things

• Root of moral evil is cupidity—inordinate desire

Problem with relativism; skepticism

• Subjective truth is relative to a subject

• Skepticism—involves performative contradictions like no truth can be known

• Objective truths like numbers exist independent from the knower

St. Augustine’s argument for God and existence of evil

• All things created by God are good

• Evil actions are defects to the nature of the soul