Quick Answer
The privation theory holds that evil is not a created substance but a defect, absence, or corruption of a good that ought to be present.
Key Takeaways
- ✦It opposes a dualism of equal good and evil powers.
- ✦It explains moral evil as disordered willing.
- ✦It does not by itself explain why defects occur.
Question
What does it mean to call evil a privation?
Quick Answer
Blindness is not a thing added to sight but a lack of sight where sight belongs; the theory treats many evils analogously.
Strength and Limit
The view protects the thought that being as such is good. Critics reply that naming suffering a lack does not ease the question of why a good creator permits it.
Continue Learning
Knowledge NetworkDeep Dive
Explore related concepts
- topic
Evil: The Philosophy of Suffering & Wickedness
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- answer
What Is a Theodicy?
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- answer
What Is the Problem of Evil?
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- philosophy
Philosophy of Evil
Related through evil
- wisdom
Evil: The Wisdom of Confronting Darkness
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- book
The City of God by Augustine of Hippo
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- answer
What Is the Evidential Problem of Evil?
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
- answer
What Is the Problem of Gratuitous Evil?
Related through Philosophy Of Evil
Archive references
Sources
- 01AugustineBy Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyConsult source
ZHAIBIAN Editorial Board reviewed
Reviewed by ZHAIBIAN AI Editorial Review · 2026-08-23