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It seems to me that there's a difference between "evil" as a noun and "evil" as an adjective. I don't believe that Good and Evil are independent forces, but I do believe that actions committed by humans can be judged as good, evil, or somewhere in between. I see it as a sliding scale, with some actions that are almost universally considered evil, and some actions that are almost universally considered good, and a huge gray area in between. If I had to define evil, I'd say "knowingly causing great harm for purely selfish reasons." "Evil" is on the extreme end of "bad," which is why I said "great harm" rather than just "harm." When a school bully trips someone in the cafeteria to give himself a sense of power, that's bad. When he comes in with a gun and massacres his classmates, that's evil.
Most people would classify the Holocaust as evil. I imagine that some Nazis considered what they were doing as evil, but enjoyed it, just as serial killers enjoy what they do. But other Nazis thought that what they were doing was good, and that Jews were evil. So on some level, what we define as evil is based on majority opinion.
Last night, I saw a documentary on women who kill their own children. One was Susan Smith, who drowned her two children in a lake because the man she was seeing (she was cheating on her husband) didn't want kids, and she'd hoped to leave her husband and marry her lover. That fits my criteria for evil. But Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children, literally believed that she was sending them to heaven before Satan could take their souls, because she was a bad mother and Satan was trying to take over her body. That, to me, isn't evil, because her intentions were good. It's sad, and it's horrifying, and it's indicative of mental illness, but it isn't evil.
For those who believe that Evil is an independent force, do you believe that it only applies to humans? As neotrix2000 pointed out, chimps sometimes kill other chimps. Can an animal discern right from wrong? My dog knows when he's done something wrong. Sometimes, when he's home alone, he'll rummage through the recycle bins or knock over the the trash can, looking for food. When we get home, he gets a sheepish look on his face. When we see the strewn trash, he starts whimpering and putting his tail between his legs. He never rummages when people are home. One day recently, everyone except me went out. I was in a back room, and I don't think he knew I was home. Less than a minute after the family left, I heard him knock over the kitchen wastebasket. He was surprised when I entered the kitchen, and he went into submissive "I've been busted!" posture. So is he capable of moral choice? Some would say it's merely a conditioned response: he wants food, and he doesn't see anything wrong with going through the trash, but he knows that it will make his humans angry. But couldn't the same be said for human children? They learn right and wrong from their parents. You might argue that they eventually understand why certain things are wrong, and they develop empathy, but empathy has been demonstrated in animals, too.
And what of nature? Does anyone consider the Haitian earthquake "evil"? If a terrorist group had set off a nuclear weapon on Haiti, it would have been considered one of the most evil acts ever committed. An earthquake, though, just is.
What about war? Most cultures consider it acceptable to kill other people in self-defense, or even preemptively. Quakers, though (as I understand it) don't believe in killing under any circumstances. So is killing others evil, period? Or is "the lesser of two evils" a valid concept? When we bomb the Taliban, we know that at least some innocent civilians inevitably will die in the process. Are we committing an act that's both good and evil, or do we only speak in terms of "net good" and "net evil"? You could make a stretch and say that we're knowingly causing great harm to innocent people so that we can selfishly maintain our American lifestyle.
That's why I believe in very few absolutes in life. In most situations, there are complicating factors that prevent them from being completely black or white.
It seems to me that there's a difference between "evil" as a noun and "evil" as an adjective. I don't believe that Good and Evil are independent forces, but I do believe that actions committed by humans can be judged as good, evil, or somewhere in between. I see it as a sliding scale, with some actions that are almost universally considered evil, and some actions that are almost universally considered good, and a huge gray area in between. If I had to define evil, I'd say "knowingly causing great harm for purely selfish reasons." "Evil" is on the extreme end of "bad," which is why I said "great harm" rather than just "harm." When a school bully trips someone in the cafeteria to give himself a sense of power, that's bad. When he comes in with a gun and massacres his classmates, that's evil.
Most people would classify the Holocaust as evil. I imagine that some Nazis considered what they were doing as evil, but enjoyed it, just as serial killers enjoy what they do. But other Nazis thought that what they were doing was good, and that Jews were evil. So on some level, what we define as evil is based on majority opinion.
Last night, I saw a documentary on women who kill their own children. One was Susan Smith, who drowned her two children in a lake because the man she was seeing (she was cheating on her husband) didn't want kids, and she'd hoped to leave her husband and marry her lover. That fits my criteria for evil. But Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children, literally believed that she was sending them to heaven before Satan could take their souls, because she was a bad mother and Satan was trying to take over her body. That, to me, isn't evil, because her intentions were good. It's sad, and it's horrifying, and it's indicative of mental illness, but it isn't evil.
For those who believe that Evil is an independent force, do you believe that it only applies to humans? As neotrix2000 pointed out, chimps sometimes kill other chimps. Can an animal discern right from wrong? My dog knows when he's done something wrong. Sometimes, when he's home alone, he'll rummage through the recycle bins or knock over the the trash can, looking for food. When we get home, he gets a sheepish look on his face. When we see the strewn trash, he starts whimpering and putting his tail between his legs. He never rummages when people are home. One day recently, everyone except me went out. I was in a back room, and I don't think he knew I was home. Less than a minute after the family left, I heard him knock over the kitchen wastebasket. He was surprised when I entered the kitchen, and he went into submissive "I've been busted!" posture. So is he capable of moral choice? Some would say it's merely a conditioned response: he wants food, and he doesn't see anything wrong with going through the trash, but he knows that it will make his humans angry. But couldn't the same be said for human children? They learn right and wrong from their parents. You might argue that they eventually understand why certain things are wrong, and they develop empathy, but empathy has been demonstrated in animals, too.
And what of nature? Does anyone consider the Haitian earthquake "evil"? If a terrorist group had set off a nuclear weapon on Haiti, it would have been considered one of the most evil acts ever committed. An earthquake, though, just is.
What about war? Most cultures consider it acceptable to kill other people in self-defense, or even preemptively. Quakers, though (as I understand it) don't believe in killing under any circumstances. So is killing others evil, period? Or is "the lesser of two evils" a valid concept? When we bomb the Taliban, we know that at least some innocent civilians inevitably will die in the process. Are we committing an act that's both good and evil, or do we only speak in terms of "net good" and "net evil"? You could make a stretch and say that we're knowingly causing great harm to innocent people so that we can selfishly maintain our American lifestyle.
That's why I believe in very few absolutes in life. In most situations, there are complicating factors that prevent them from being completely black or white.
HonuMan... just wanted to let u know I am basically in full agreement with your statement and just wanted to add a couple of additional points. First of all... can u imagine the conclusion a person would draw if they saw an epileptic have a "grand mal" or if they came in contact with some one who suffered from a mental disease such as schizophrenia? No doubt these people were considered demonized! Finally... when u look at death row inmates, you would be hard pressed to find a psychologist that does at the very least agree that these individuals suffer from one or more psychological / emotional issues! These people are no more evil than people born with heart or skin abnormalities, unfortunately for them... their physical ailment is in the brain!
evil is the most base of all human nature. It is innate and philosophers that practice Taoism will tell you that we struggle to be good out of the perception that we are combating our dark natures. I would like to tell you personally that i'm evil, that I am to my core a dark and deceptive being, that I have many flaws. But I have morals as well, and as humans the ones that really are human, we have that ability to choose right from wrong. You don't really need a God or devil to paint the image of right and wrong, you need them for some spiritual guidance. But evil itself is just society failing to make a person's good qualities come out.
As a Pagan I don't believe in the mythcial Satan running around telling humans to do bad things. I think it's a choice someone taught you the difference between good & evil. The rest is up to you. Nor do I believe that we're all born into sin because some women took a bite of an apple. However I do believe there are things you don't need to be messing with that can harm you.
In other words: Never poke a sleeping dragon.
evil is the most base of all human nature. It is innate and philosophers that practice Taoism will tell you that we struggle to be good out of the perception that we are combating our dark natures. I would like to tell you personally that i'm evil, that I am to my core a dark and deceptive being, that I have many flaws. But I have morals as well, and as humans the ones that really are human, we have that ability to choose right from wrong. You don't really need a God or devil to paint the image of right and wrong, you need them for some spiritual guidance. But evil itself is just society failing to make a person's good qualities come out.
And people wonder what is wrong with religions. "I would like to tell you personally" that I have many ingrained instincts that are/were required for basic survival.
Many of these things do not have be brought into play anymore and when the thoughts arise to act on them, they must be fought against because they have become unneccessary or harmful to the 'group' (society)
None of those instincts are evil....neither am I.
Ok kids, here's something we can toss around and argue about. What I'm really asking is if you believe that evil is something in and of itself or if it's how we would define destructive human behavior. This has religious implications because religion is often as seen as a struggle between good and evil. Of course the concept of satan represents evil so I'm wondering how people actually view that in a practical way. There are many examples of behavior that I think all of us would agree is evil such as the horrible killings at Virginia Tech recently or the murdering of innocent civilians by bombers in Iraq. I don't think we should try to explain away any behavior like this and let the person off the hook for it but in order to understand it we need to know the cause. Personally I don't believe that evil is something that exists on it's own but rather it's a manifestation of cruel and unacceptable behavior that could be caused by a variety of things. It sounds like the VT killer was mentally deranged and could be described as a sociopath. That of course is someone who has no feelings of compassion or caring for other human beings and no sense of guilt. So to believers and non believers alike I'm wondering how you view evil.
I would say the destruction of the World Trade Center by an over-zelous religious group is nothing but pure evil.
On the other-hand if the United States did not defend itself from the instigaters of this pure evil, then the leaders of this country would also be guilty of evil, simply by not taking on the responsibily bestowed upon them by the citizens of this county by protecting them from evil intruders. A president has a tremendous responsibiliy, to sherk his duties (which is evil), or do what the constitution requires him to do, (defend this country.)
Ok kids, here's something we can toss around and argue about. What I'm really asking is if you believe that evil is something in and of itself or if it's how we would define destructive human behavior. This has religious implications because religion is often as seen as a struggle between good and evil. Of course the concept of satan represents evil so I'm wondering how people actually view that in a practical way. There are many examples of behavior that I think all of us would agree is evil such as the horrible killings at Virginia Tech recently or the murdering of innocent civilians by bombers in Iraq. I don't think we should try to explain away any behavior like this and let the person off the hook for it but in order to understand it we need to know the cause. Personally I don't believe that evil is something that exists on it's own but rather it's a manifestation of cruel and unacceptable behavior that could be caused by a variety of things. It sounds like the VT killer was mentally deranged and could be described as a sociopath. That of course is someone who has no feelings of compassion or caring for other human beings and no sense of guilt. So to believers and non believers alike I'm wondering how you view evil.
There is no pure evil as a person or a being. Evil is hard to describe.
First, I was going to say that evil is something that brings destruction. But medicine brings destruction to cancer cells, so it's not evil then. Not to humans anyways.
I was going to say that evil is something that brings pain. But a dentist or a doctor brings pain and he is not evil.
What is considered "evil" is also dependent on the culture and customs. In some cases, marrying two wives at the same time would be considered evil for some people, but not by other people.
Stealing - a person steals money from someone to feed his family. He is finding ways to help his family. Is it evil?
Is killing evil? Well, it depends. The government kills in order to do "justice". The people kill each other during war and yet they don't consider themselves murderers but heroes.
A mother kills a man in order to protect her child.
A robber kills a person in order to gain something for himself. So he is seeking happiness at the expense of another's person's happiness.
But isn't divorce the same thing? Hurting your partner because you are seeking your own happiness? So then is divorce evil or does it make the one who divorces evil?
Is torturing someone evil? What if it's during the war and they are trying to find out information?
Is torturing someone for purposes of feeling pleasure evil? Well, it seems that way. But all people do things that bring them pleasure. So if someone gets his pleasure out of bringing other people pain, is seeking pleasure for himself considered evil?
Is killing infants evil? There were stories of persecution of Christians and how other people killed their infants as a form of persecution. I doubt that those people who were persecuting others were considering themselves evil people...
So evil is when something is not going well for you, something that is making you unhappy. But then unhappiness sometimes makes people do great things and become great people. So even that is not always evil.
As a conclusion. It's very hard to describe what's evil or not. I think it doesn't exist apart from things. It's also a matter of from whose perspective the action is to be considered (whether it will appear evil or not).
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However I do believe there are things you don't need to be messing with that can harm you.
What I'm really asking is if you believe that evil is something in and of itself or if it's how we would define destructive human behavior. This has religious implications because religion is often as seen as a struggle between good and evil. Of course the concept of satan represents evil so I'm wondering how people actually view that in a practical way. There are many examples of behavior that I think all of us would agree is evil such as the horrible killings at Virginia Tech recently or the murdering of innocent civilians by bombers in Iraq. I don't think we should try to explain away any behavior like this and let the person off the hook for it but in order to understand it we need to know the cause. Personally I don't believe that evil is something that exists on it's own but rather it's a manifestation of cruel and unacceptable behavior that could be caused by a variety of things. It sounds like the VT killer was mentally deranged and could be described as a sociopath. That of course is someone who has no feelings of compassion or caring for other human beings and no sense of guilt. So to believers and non believers alike I'm wondering how you view evil.
