Evil and its origins is a very difficult subject to understand. It's a concept that people have thought about for centuries. At the forefront of this topic are the arguments made by two of history's most famous philosophers, St. Augustine and Friedrich Nietzsche. The two men come from very different eras, each with different influences and cultures. It is therefore appropriate to analyze and differentiate the arguments of these men with reference to the “problem of evil”. Their views contrast sharply with each other and each provides compelling arguments as to which approach is most feasible. The two approaches also appeal to different groups. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Augustine provides insight in a religious context and relates the “problem of evil” to the absence of good or the absence of God. Nietzsche proposes an approach through the concept “God is dead” which brings ethical implications. Nietzsche's approach to the "problem of evil" is more compelling because of his position on the "death of God", its moral and ethical implications, and its connection to humanism. In order to decide which approach is more compelling, it is important to understand the fundamentals of each argument. For Augustine, the basis of his argument begins with the reality that he accepts God as all-powerful and all-good: “Is not my God only good, but the Supreme Good? This concept is important to understand because Augustine was a devout Christian. Augustine struggled to understand how evil could exist and persist in the world if it was created by an all-knowing, all-knowing God. Augustine believed that evil must have an origin other than God. After all, he devoted a good part of his Confessions to trying to find this origin. Augustine came to two conclusions about the origin of evil. The first conclusion was that evil arises from free will, “namely, that the free choice of the will is the reason why we do evil and suffer your just judgment” (p. 133, Confessions). The term Augustine used for free will was greed, which is uncontrolled greed and desire. Properly using free will is something that Augustine struggled with in his life, a good example being his sexual adventures when he was young. However, if God has given us free will, he has essentially given us the will to do evil. The second conclusion is the idea that evil is essentially a privation, or lack of good: “'For evil has no positive nature; but the loss of good has received the name “evil”” (City of God, chapter 9). Through this line of thought, it remains questionable because how could evil exist if God created this world to be entirely good? How can there be a loss of God in a world that is supposed to be entirely good? The two conclusions put forward by Augustine are remarkable, but they are still incomplete. They do not provide a clear answer to the “problem of evil”. As for Nietzsche, one of the ways he addresses the “problem of evil” is through his famous phrase “God is dead.” For most of his adult life, Nietzsche was an atheist. He lived at a time when scientific discovery was beginning to challenge the divine laws that had previously dominated science. Since he was an atheist, he did not believe that evil was in any way connected to religion. Instead, he believed that evil was simply a part of life and that we must accept it as such. It's through our language and our psychological discomfortthat we give evil its negative connotations and its relationship to religion. As Nietzsche says in The Twilight of the Idols, “explanation of general unpleasant feelings.” They come from beings who are hostile to us (evil spirits: the most famous case). They result from actions we cannot approve of” (p. 63, Twilight of the Idols). However, the title of this extract comes from "the entire realm of morality and religion falls under this concept of imaginary causes" (p. 63 Twilight of the Idols). Imaginary causes is the key phrase to understand because according to Nietzsche, the ideas surrounding evil are more real than evil itself. Humans make evil what it is by giving it a negative connotation. Nietzsche proposes that people completely disconnect the concept of evil and religion. Instead, people should accept the idea that evil is a natural part of life. Another compelling argument that can be drawn from Nietzsche's approach to the problem of evil concerns its ethical and moral implications. Nietzsche is considered one of the fathers of existentialism and one of the five characteristics of existentialism is its ethical dimension. It's about the choices people must make about what to do and how to live their lives authentically. Evil is a reality for Nietzsche to the extent that people give it meaning and power. It is stated in Twilight of the Idols: "I fear we will not get rid of God because we still believe in grammar" (p. 48, Twilight of the Idols). In this case, it is important to note that God can be interchanged with any word. Put evil in God's place and it doesn't change what Nietzsche is trying to say. Evil will exist as long as grammar allows it. If people continue to use evil in the way it has always been understood, then it will continue to persist. People will not consider the ethical and moral implications when thinking about evil and will continue to treat others horribly. This is even more evident today, because there is much evil in the world, and yet nothing is being done to change its meaning. This will continue to limit the positive effect that individuals can have on each other, thereby limiting the potential for human growth. The final major way in which the “problem of evil” can be analyzed through Nietzsche's approach is its relationship to humanism. Besides ethical orientation, humanism is another major characteristic of existentialism. Humanism focuses on how people can find meaning in their lives. A major limitation in seeking this meaning is the “problem of evil” and how people interpret it. Nietzsche proposes that “morality is only an interpretation of certain phenomena, more precisely an erroneous interpretation” (p. 66, Twilight of the Idols). Nietzsche says that people react to something because they need an explanation for everything. It is human nature to seek answers to difficult questions. This causes people to interpret things a certain way. These different interpretations can lead people to discover the hidden meaning of their lives. One way to discover these meanings is to understand evil in a different way. Instead of interpreting evil as a bad thing or in a moral sense, we should interpret it as biological or in a naturalistic sense. Interpreting evil in this way can help people understand the underlying meaning of their lives, because they are no longer limited to thinking about evil in a certain way. This could open people up to different avenues of thought that could lead to the discovery of different truths about life,whatever they are. The major difference between the arguments offered by Augustine and Nietzsche regarding the “problem of evil” lies in their relationship to religion. Through Augustine's arguments, we can infer that they stem from his belief in the existence of an all-good and omnipotent God. Augustine also seemed concerned with the problem of evil, not only because he is a devout Christian, but also because he experienced evil throughout his life. In fact, everyone experiences evil at some point in their lives, and Augustine knows that evil is a real force in the world. As for Nietzsche, he tries to disconnect evil from religion. He proposed that people view evil as a natural part of life. Nietzsche was very concerned with getting people to think in a certain way. Rather than developing reason through religion, people should develop themselves through education and culture. For Nietzsche, evil is dangerous to the potential for human growth because it focuses on negative emotions. For Augustine, evil is seen more as sin, suffering, and disconnection from God. A major problem with Augustine's approach is that it appeals only to Christianity. True, he was a devout Christian and lived at a time when Christianity was growing, but his views still appealed only to Christian followers. I am Catholic and my faith is very important to me, but another flaw for me is that Augustine's approach is not complete. I am left with too many questions and contradictions in Augustine's approach. Free will and the deprivation of good arguments only raise more questions regarding the existence of evil. Evil itself must come from somewhere, it is not just the result or absence of something. That being said, there may be some advantages to adopting Augustine's approach. Although I disagree with the following view, some may agree that free will is the true source of evil in the world. This can be demonstrated by past and current events. However, in this case, evil is the result of something, it is not something in itself. Although I find Nietzsche's approach to the "problem of evil" more convincing, that does not mean that his arguments are flawed. One of the major flaws in Nietzsche's approach is his inability to explain the existence of evil as a natural part of life, much less a good thing. It would be difficult to explain to a mother that her child was killed in a school shooting simply because it is a natural part of life. The fact that evil is natural and people should accept it is highly unlikely in extreme cases like this. However, people will have bad days where things just don't go well. For example, someone might miss their train or stick their toe in a door. Would these things be considered bad? This is where I see a major advantage in Nietzsche's approach. When it comes to smaller cases like these, it will be easier to think of them as natural things and they can happen to anyone. These cases can be more easily explained in the context of evil, which is a natural part of what happens in everyday life. I find Nietzsche's approach more compelling because many of my personal experiences relate better to the arguments Nietzsche offers. Throughout my childhood and into high school, I played several sports ranging from soccer to track and field. As many people know, sports lead to injuries. I was specifically bogged down by injury while..