In its classic formulation the problem raised regarding the existence of evil is: Why does a good, all-powerful and allknowing deity create evil or even allow evil to occur - whether the evil consists of natural disasters, disease, or the evils humans perpetrate against each other. In other words, why are the innocent allowed by God to suffer while we often see the evil flourish. Maimonides addresses this problem but he is much more interested in reformulating it. Rather than a problem that questions God’s goodness or power, it is a problem Maimonides transforms into a call for action on the part of human beings to recognize the true nature of the evils that affect them and adopt a course of action to limit these evils as much as possible.
The problem of why God creates evil is solved by Maimonides by considering all evils as privations of the good, that is to say, privations in that which exists rather than something existent in its own right. They indicate a lack of a quality, such as blindness is a lack of sight or death is a lack of life, and are not something positive. What does not exist cannot be said to be created; hence, God does not create evil but creates entities lacking certain qualities. This argument appears to be begging the question, for then the problem arises why God does not create a world without privation, a world without floods and earthquakes, diseases and deformities, etc. Maimonides indicates that the essence ofearthly matter is characterized by privations and change which allows for the world’s continuity. His answer suggests that anyone who asks why God does not create a world without natural evils or even human evils is asking why God created the world at all, for such evils inevitably characterize earthly matter. Underlying this answer appears to be a view of divine plenitude. A world which is characterized by all possible levels of existence - form without matter (Separate
Intellects), form with changeless matter except for motion (the spheres), and form with matter in a state of constant generation and corruption (the existents on the earth) - is more complete or perfect than a world lacking one of these levels. A perfect world then inevitably contains evils consequent upon earthly matter.
The real problem thus becomes what humans can do given this state of affairs. The answer is that they can recognize the nature of the hierarchy of existence and their place in it. More important they can recognize the nature of true human perfection and strive to attain it, in the process avoiding many of the evils that normally affect them. Maimonides points out that there are three types of evils affecting human beings. The first and least prevalent from Maimonides’ standpoint are natural evils, such as natural disasters or the death of infants. Maimonides’ earlier discussion of the phenomenon of prophecy suggests that even many of these evils may be avoided by advanced knowledge of the future. For example, knowing in advance when a flood will occur allows for saving oneself from the flood. Far more prevalent than this type of evil are the evils humans perpetrate against each other. Given the fact that these evils result from human choice, it is clear that it is in our hands to avoid practicing them.
The most prevalent type of evil, however, is neither of these two, but the evils the individual perpetrates against himself. For Maimonides, any action that brings the individual a step away from perfection is an evil; every action bringing one closer to perfection is good. Human perfection lies in putting an end to our greatest privation, the privation of knowledge, specifically knowledge of God and the manner of divine governance of the world. It lies in adopting a life of moral virtue in order to free oneself from the slavery of one’s passions and live a life of intellect. In short, we practice evils against ourselves and others because of a lack of knowledge, which in turn leads to our maintaining a false value system by which we allow ourselves to be ruled by a craving for physical pleasures, jealousy, feelings of honor, etc. without realizing that all these goals are essentially meaningless and distance us from true perfection. A world united in the desire to attain knowledge of the one God, according to Maimonides, is one in which people will no longer practice so much evil against others and against themselves. The problem of evil, thus, is one that demands of us to stop asking why God does not do more to create a better world for human beings, but what we should be doing in order to create such a world and achieve true human perfection.
On the issue of divine providence Maimonides at first glance adopts a radical interventionist view of God’s activity in the world. Nothing, either good or bad, happens to Human beings that does not constitute their just deserts in consequence of their freely willed actions. He rejects the view of the Epicurians who maintain that everything in the world happens by chance as well as the view of the Moslem theologians belonging to the Ash'ariyya who maintain that everything that happens in the world, including all human actions, result from divine decree. The view of the Mu'tazilite theologians that God exercises providence over all beings, not only humans, but human beings enjoy some limited form of free will is also rejected. The same is the case with the Aristotelian view that God exercises providence only over the species - by the instruments he gives to each to preserve one’s life and to propagate the species - and not over individuals of the species, whose circumstances are governed by chance. Maimonides’ own position is closest to the Aristotelian view with the critical proviso that in the case of human beings, as opposed to all other species, God exercises providence over all individuals and nothing happening to them should be attributed to chance. His view that the ‘‘otherness’’ of God’s knowledge allows the Deity to know all particulars through all time without this knowledge necessitating change or plurality in God on one hand, nor human determinism on the other, serves to bolster this view of providence.
Maimonides’ approach to divine providence, however, undergoes a subtle and radical change as his discussion unfolds, essentially moving him even closer to the Aristotelian position. He maintains that the degree of providence that humans enjoy is in direct proportion to the perfection of the intellect. One who does not develop one’s intellect is in fact subject to the vicissitudes of chance, just as the case of the individuals of all other species, and enjoys no special protection. His view suggests that the intellect itself is the basic instrument of divine providence. A person who perfects the intellect adopts a lifestyle which minimizes the evils that befall human beings since this person does not indulge the appetites leading to physical and psychological maladies, is satisfied with little and maintains a moral equilibrium. The individual attaining perfection may also acquire prophecy allowing him or her to foresee impending evils that others wish to perpetrate, or impending natural disasters, allowing the individual to take the proper precautions for avoiding them. Most important, one of perfect intellect realizes that all evils connected to corporeal being - whether they affect his possessions, family, or body - have no real significance, hence the individual should not feel psychologically affected by them. Thus, the evils that befall the imperfect individual by chance may be said to be this person’s ‘‘just deserts’’ for not striving to attain perfection. This interpretation of Maimonides’ position is reinforced by his discussion of the book of Job which he treats as a philosophical parable. Satan represents the evils associated with matter that cannot affect the immortal soul of the individual. Job finally attains enlightenment on the nature of the world order, realizing that all the evils affecting him are inevitable aspects of God’s wondrous created order. It is left to the individual to view these evils in the proper perspective and pursue what truly has lasting value - the true understanding of God and the world.
Maimonides concludes his treatise reiterating his philosophic approach to human perfection. He also alludes to the philosophic view that only those who attain the perfection of the intellect attain immortality, their intellect existing in its state of contemplation of the eternal truths through eternity. The ending of the Guide introduces an additional aspect of human perfection. Those attaining intellectual human perfection should also engage in extending their perfection to improving the surrounding society, just as God’s perfection emanates to all existents by ordering their circumstances in an ideal manner, thereby extending the divine goodness to all that exists. Imitatio Dei lies in living simultaneously a life of active contemplation and one of governing others in accordance with the perfection one has attained.
See also: > Aristotle, Arabic > Divine Law > al-FarabI, Abti Nasr > al-(GazalI, Abti Hamid Multammad > Ibn Sina, Abti ‘All (Avicenna) > Natural Philosophy, Jewish > Philosophical Theology, Jewish > Political Philosophy, Arabic > Political Philosophy, Jewish > Proofs of the Existence of God > Theology Versus Philosophy in the Arab World > Thomas Aquinas
World History
