Evil as Privation | Prof. Thomas Ward

<p>Prof. Thomas Ward explains the classical Christian theory that evil is not a real entity but a privation of goodness, drawing from thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, and Boethius to address philosophical and theological challenges about the nature of evil.</p><p><br /></p><p>This lecture was given on February 22nd, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.</p><p><br /></p><p>For more information on upcoming events, visit us at <a href="https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events" target="_blank">thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>About the Speaker:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thomas M. Ward is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He specializes in the history of philosophy and theology of the Middle Ages and has contributed over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters to these fields of study. Ward is the author of </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Word on Fire, 2024), </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ordered by Love: An Introduction to John Duns Scotus</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Angelico, 2022), </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Divine Ideas</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Cambridge University Press, 2020), and has translated, with commentary, John Duns Scotus’s </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Treatise on the First Principle</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Hackett, 2024). He has been a NEH Fellow (2022) and Harvey Fellow (2009-2011), and is a past winner of the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy Founder's Award (2013) and the </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Rising Scholar Essay Contest (2018). Before taking up his current post at Baylor, Ward taught in California at Azusa Pacific University (2011-2012) and Loyola Marymount University (2012-2017). He studied philosophy at Biola University (BA 2004) and theology at Oxford University (M.Phil 2006), where he was Head Resident at the Kilns, the former residence of C.S. Lewis. His&nbsp; PhD in philosophy is from UCLA (2011). Ward is married with six children and is a member of St. Peter Catholic Student Center in Waco.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Keywords: </span>Augustine, Boethius, <em>Consolation Of Philosophy</em>, Evil As Privation, Moral Philosophy, Ontology Of Evil, Privation Theory, Problem Of Evil, Theodicy, Wickedness</p>