Define "evil"

[Perfection]

It's all pretty subjective.

So you basicly get a gut "Satany" feeling about something and then say it's evil?

 

[Sidhe]

So you basicly get a gut "Satany" feeling about something and then say it's evil?

Yeah same here I get that feeling with Bush So does Chavez, apparently he smells of sulphur

 

[Kozmos]

Evil? It is evil to deny a man his toast with ham and melted cheese. It is the food of the gods and all should be allowed to consume it without limits!

 

[aneeshm]

It's hard to define, and very rarely do I ever use the word, but I know it when I see it.

 

[Norlamand]

It's hard to define, and very rarely do I ever use the word, but I know it when I see it.

Agreed. I've never seen Curt Sibling and I'm afraid I'd instantly die of fright.

 

[Gladi]

Bright day
I don't know. But something tells me it exists. Is stealing evil? I don't know, probably not. Is putting dissecated children on hooks for one's sexual pleasurment evil? Something tells me that yes. Is it biological imperative? Voice of God? I don't know, but I am trying to find out.

 

[A'AbarachAmadan]

A simple definition is 'morally bad.' Of course defining that will be different for every person. I strongly believe in the concept of good and evil.

I don't consider (most) animals to be good or evil. The lion that kills the antelope for food is surviving. A cat that kills a bird from instinct even though it has plenty of food from its human companions is neither good nor evil.

Higher level animals such as man have a sense of morality, hence can be good or evil. No one is totally either one and we are all capable of both.

I consider the killing / harming / exploitation of others without just cause to be evil.

Saddam, Pol Pot & Hitler were evil.

The Inquisitions were evil.
Radical Islamism is evil.
(and the most evil about the above two is innocent peopel being duped into doing evil deeds)

Racism is evil.
Bigotry is evil.
(and I include denying gay rights as evil here)

Corruption is evil.

All it takes for evil to rule is for good men (or nations) to do nothing. The West did this in Rwanda and is doing it now in Darfur. Some want us to do it in Iraq. It amazes me that in my own nation one political party stated we must go into Bosnia to stop civil war and the other argued against it. Now the opposite is true in Iraq. I guess evil is OK if it your political opponent argues the other way.

 

[azzaman333]

Anything that God says is evil is evil. And could be done by Satan, now don't get me wrong if Satan is runing around ruining peoples lives and tempting them into sin he's working ultimately for the big man, just as he is although unbeknownst to himself in Job, people seem to forget that God created Angels from pure love as a matter of fact, God knows all till the end of time. Why would he create Satan if he didn't know what he was going to do?

Satan works hard at his job while God just sits around? God doesn't look so good now!

 

[Shaihulud]

Its what people don't like.

 

[Nick Garai]

Anything that is opposite of the moral values of a given society.

So, then with that statement, would it be safe to say then that it was "good" to hand over Jews to Nazis to be persecuted and exterminated becase it was consdiered the "good" thing to do? What about if America determined that is was "good" to persecute blacks?

A society can be influenced easily.h

 

[CaptainF]

Evil is a gut feeling.

 

[Tee Kay]

Anything that is opposite of the moral values of a given society.

You see, this is why I started this thread in the first place. If, for instance, immigrants to another country does not share all of the values of that society, then are they evil? Does this make their culture and way of life evil?

 

[WerBackIII]

Me.
A hoax.
Evil is-
Hitler
Saddam
Osama
Parents who don't like rock
Mefistotel
Oskar Wild's characters )some of them)
Zeus
Terrorists
Mao
Stalin

 

[aneeshm]

The first time I was convinced of the existence of evil was when I saw a man's throat being cut open by a knife as the man was lying whimpering on the ground, his hands tied behind his back, and a blindfold over his eyes. His throat was cut open but the spinal cord was not slit, so that he would take a few more seconds to die, and die in intense pain. I could hear his rasping as he tried to breathe through his blood-choked windpipe.

It was then that I knew that what I had seen was evil, that the relativists are wrong, and that evil exists in this world without a doubt.

 

[Ayatollah So]

It's hard to define, and very rarely do I ever use the word, but I know it when I see it.

Most concepts are hard to define. Try this on your friends: ask them to define "chair". Almost all of them will fail - winding up with definitions that exclude legless chairs, or include stools and ladders, or various other mistakes. Now present them a bunch of chairs and other furniture. They won't mistake any of the chairs for non-chairs or vice versa.

That said, here's my attempt: evil = malevolence.

 

[Sidhe]

Satan works hard at his job while God just sits around? God doesn't look so good now!

Yeah reminds me of that fat mama joke, god is everywhere, he doesn't therefore have to work.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Me.
A hoax.
Evil is-
Hitler
Saddam
Osama
Parents who don't like rock
Mefistotel
Oskar Wild's characters )some of them)
Zeus
Terrorists
Mao
Stalin

Why is Zeus evil? Because he wouldn't give man fire?

 

[Xanikk999]

The first time I was convinced of the existence of evil was when I saw a man's throat being cut open by a knife as the man was lying whimpering on the ground, his hands tied behind his back, and a blindfold over his eyes. His throat was cut open but the spinal cord was not slit, so that he would take a few more seconds to die, and die in intense pain. I could hear his rasping as he tried to breathe through his blood-choked windpipe.

It was then that I knew that what I had seen was evil, that the relativists are wrong, and that evil exists in this world without a doubt.

Jeez what kind of neighborhood do you live in????

 

[Atlas14]

So, then with that statement, would it be safe to say then that it was "good" to hand over Jews to Nazis to be persecuted and exterminated becase it was consdiered the "good" thing to do? What about if America determined that is was "good" to persecute blacks?

A society can be influenced easily.h

I am amongst the group that "evil" does not even exist, but instead is a man-made creation. My definition of evil (the one you quoted) is the one society tends to use most often though.

 

[Atlas14]

You see, this is why I started this thread in the first place. If, for instance, immigrants to another country does not share all of the values of that society, then are they evil? Does this make their culture and way of life evil?

Unfortunately it may. If you have a person that has no moral qualms with abortion come over to America, and take up residence in Texas, somebody is going to be viewed as "evil" by certain religious populations.