@article{2017,title={AUGUSTINE, LEIBNIZ AND KANT: A RHAPSODY ON EVIL},abstractNode={In this article the concept of evil is discussed in the context of Augustine, Leibniz and Kant’s thoughts. Augustine embraces the concept of evil within the limits of theodicy. According to Augustine, human being is a being that has reason and free will. Moral evil arises because of using these faculties not proper for their purpose of issue. Natural/physical evil is for the punishment of moral evil. This punishment accords with God’s justice and purpose of creation. Leibniz takes the concept of evil in the context of theodicy too. For him God is a being that can think infinite possibility together through his reason. At the same time he is omnibenevolence. In this context this world must be the best world of all worlds. On the other side God creates everything good. To make higher goods available God allows lower goods, namely evil. Kant takes the concept of evil as a part of ethics as well as a part of rational theology. For him human being can design a moral law through his practical reason. By means of his free will human being can choose to accord to this law which moral goodness comes to exist. Otherwise, namely under the conditions that law doesn’t determine will solely, moral evil arises. For this reason moral nature of human being has a binary structure. Kant states that because of his binary nature human being propensity to evil. He calls this propensity as radical evil.},author={Metin TOPUZ-- Taşkıner KETENCİ},year={2017},journal={The Journal of Social Sciences}}