The Shadow as Absence (Privatio boni): Some Further Considerations

The problem of evil is one of the most persistent themes in Jung’s writings. In his correspondence with Fr. Victor White, it comes to a head and leads directly to his critique of evil as privatio boni (the absence of good) in his controversial late work, Answer to Job.

Jung found the Catholic doctrine of evil as privatio boni to be dangerously inadequate and morally offensive because it did not account for the active presence of evil in the psyche and in the world. And yet, Jung’s use of the term “shadow” in reference to evil suggests that evil lies precisely where light is absent. And a shadow is passive, not active.

What can we say about the shadow of passivity when evil abounds?