A Comparison between the Platonic, Neo-Platonic, Manichean, and Augustine’s Approach to the Problem of Evil (original) (raw)

Attempts to answer to this question usually fall into three broad categories: evil does not exist, and it is only subjective perception that makes something good or bad; evil does exist, but God is not the cause of it (this approach can lead to a dualistic approach of having two gods); or evil exists and God is the cause of it. First this paper, will discuss the viewpoints of three pre-Augustinian philosophical traditions, namely, Platonic (Plato), Neo Platonic (Plotinus), and Manichean. These will provide us a background to Augustine's philosophy. Next, the paper will show how Augustine baptizes the philosophy of his predecessors and enriches the Christian heritage with Greco-Roman heritage. Plato Plato was the student of Socrates and one of the fathers of classical philosophy. He lived during the 5 th and 4 th century B.C.E. He was born in Athens, Greece, and was the founder of the first philosophical school in the western world, called the Academy.