  The topics that have been discussed thus far are all considered by Ibn Daud to be necessary steps towards the solution of the problem of the freedom of the human will. Towards the end of the book, he finally addresses the issue within the context of a cluster of related problems, such as God’s knowledge, the nature of evil, causality and providence. Ibn Daud’s theory of physical evil is to a large extent based on Ibn Sina’s approach. It is impossible that God should be the agent of evil. The evil that is found in nature is due to matter. In fact, it is a privation, just as darkness is the privation of light. As such it is not-being and cannot be brought about by an agent. Moreover, what an individual considers to be evil can be a benefit for mankind as a whole. In line with Ibn Daud’s conception of man as a microcosm, evil in man is likewise to be ascribed to his matter and to the absence of knowledge. However, man is able to free himself from matter by means of knowledge, that is, by the actualization of his potential intellect with the help of the intelligences so as to be able to discriminate between good and evil. Another remedy for the resistance of evil lies in the Torah. Man’s choice to fight his evil inclination is neither necessary, nor impossible, but possible. To explain this, Ibn Daud states that God provided certain created things with possibility. However, the “possible” can be divided into two kinds, the first being the “possible” that is due to ignorance, for example that the people of Spain do not know whether the king of Babylon died today or whether he is alive. To them the matter is possible because of their ignorance of what happens far away whereas in itself the matter is not possible: one of the alternatives must necessarily be true (ER W 96.11–16; S 205b11–14). With respect to the second kind of the “possible” Ibn Daud says that it is “possible”