The Privative nature of evil and its necessity according to St Thomas

ENSt Thomas’s concept of evil as privation is perhaps one of the most difficult to understand and interpret properly. It demands complex and subtle metaphysical and ethical considerations, as well as a wide and deep knowledge of Thomas’s works. However, even when these demands are met the problem of the existence of evil does not seem satisfactorily solved. Hence, it looks more like a mystery than a problem. In my report, I will consider the privative nature of evil in its relation to existence. Relying on Thomas’s works, I will try to find an answer to the questions: how it is possible that ‘something’, which has no quiditas, exists as a necessary principle of created reality; whence and how it comes into being and why it is necessary.