Theproblem of evilin the late Stoa philosophy

This study aims to address the essence and source of the problem of evil within the scope of the moral teachings of late Stoa philosophy. These moral teachings reveal the origins of place and true nature of the concept of "will" in human life, which is of great importance in the problem of evil. In the context of these origins, evil in the late Stoa philosophy is within the boundaries of human will and bears no reality in itself. For in Stoa philosophy, things that dominate the universe in the sight of providence and fate are seen as necessary and useful for each other rather than being distinguished as good and evil.Therefore, in fact, evil is the product of the false value judgements that human beings ascribe to things, it is not something in itself. Evil produced from the misjudgements of human beings is tried to be explained through the concept of "undifferentated" in Stoa philosophy. According to the late Stoa philosophers, everything beyond human will is indistinguishable from each other for human beings. For instance, things like property, poverty, disease, health, exile etc. are beyond humans will and are indistinguishable from each other. Hence, the only important thing which make humans reach virtue, wisdom and happiness is will. Through the will, there is a self which is free of false value judgments in the form of a life dominated by virtue, wisdom and happiness. So things that happens in this self's life are not evil or good in theirselves, rather they are all parts of life.