Boethius :: essays research papers

â€Å"Evil is Nothing† Her argument of Evil is Nothing is very simple. She begins by speaking with Boethius and getting at the definition of what is good and how that is related to God. She starts out by stating that they agree on the fact of God. Then they come to the agreement that God is the good itself. They then state that there is nothing that can go against God and still have power because God is all-powerful and all good. Lady Philosophy then says, â€Å"No one could doubt that God is omnipotent,† and Boethius responds by saying no one in their right mind could deny it. And she says that God can also do evil, which Boethius immediately states â€Å"No.† After that remark she goes on to make her argument by stating that evil must be nothing because God can do anything but God can not do evil so therefore there is no such thing as evil. In this discussion, Lady Philosophy states that because God can do anything and that God cannot do evil then evil is noth ing. Her statement is sound if you believe the statements that they both agreed on. First they said yes there is a God and yes God is good. They then agree on their good God being omnipotent, meaning that their God can do anything. Lady Philosophy then brings up her big argument. She says that God can do anything in the world that he wants to, anything at all, and that he is good. But she also says that God can do evil. This is usually a perspective that humans in general do not look at. We see God as being the good of the world and something to look up to. Her idea of God doing evil is rejected by Boetheius. This meaning that if he believes in evil then he cannot believe in a God that is all-powerful and cannot do good. Therefore Boethius contradicts himself, and Lady Philosophy is found to be correct. However, I agree with this idea and that her statement is sound. However, unlike Boethius I don’t believe that God cannot do evil. If God is all powerful then of course he can do evil, rather he chooses not to, and because of this God is represented as only allowed to do good. But how can anything that is as powerful as that not be able to do something horrible.