What is the nature of evil?

[Mojotronica]

I've always thought of evil as an abstract absolute. It is not quantifiable. No one being is actually evil, but it is possible to engage in activity that is more evil than good. Hitler could be described as evil, but he not BORN evil. He chose to pursue evil ends by evil means. His choices are what justify the widely accepted definition of him as one of the evilest people in history.

The foundation of evil is selfishness: whether it's in the service of RATIONAL self-interest (e.g. you harm someone for an end that benefits you - a sum of money or to shore up your power base) or IRRATIONAL self-interest (e.g. you harm someone just for the pleasure of watching them suffer.)

Nevertheless, the pursuit self-interest is NOT inherently evil.

The best solutions to any problem are collaborative... If possible, everyone should emerge from any negotiation with a resolution they can live with. But when faced with an imminent threat it is not evil to defend one's interests. Or perhaps we are more willing to tolerate evil if we think that it is vital to self-preservation..? In other words, killing another human is ALWAYS evil, but if done in self-defense the evil of being attacked justifies the evil of the counterstrike...

What do you think about the nature of evil?

 

[Tacit_Exit]

I think the concept of evil is a damaging over simplification of the nature of reality that is best left in fairy tales and fantasy novels.

The willingness of a mind to polarize concepts as 'good' and 'evil' is the sign of a weak intellect or just a lazy one.

Its the shades of grey that make for the infinite variation that, in my opinion, makes life worth living, a constant challenge, and just damn spectacular.

My apologies and sorrow to those blinkered others who need a template to judge their lives by, and the promise of a reward at the end to encourage them to 'do unto others . . '

 

[smalltalk]

Any values are only valid against a given matrix of weights. Does the end justify the means ? or rather, do the means justify the ends? This is where the snake bites its tail.

About self interest: you seem to assume there are only games of this type: either I got 10$ or your got 10$. I win and you lose or vice versa. There might also be games like: I win $10 and you win $10.

>Nevertheless, the pursuit self-interest is NOT inherently evil.
Not at all, if you play fair. Probably it is the most urging drive in life. Life is always a compromise between competition and cooperation.

So back to your question: What is evil?

A religious person might answer, being deluded by an evil spirit.
A moral person might answer, evil is as evil does ... if you fail to stand up to your own morality.
Very personally, I will answer, there is no good nor evil, it is only cause and effect.

 

[thestonesfan]

Who are we to judge?

 

[philippe]

evil is a term we use for something that is not for our morals
There is no such thing as evil.

 

[thestonesfan]

Originally posted by philippe
evil is a term we use for something that is not for our morals
There is no such thing as evil.

Not necessarily. We define everything from a human standpoint. So what one person believes is evil, IS evil. What else could it be?

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Originally posted by Tacit_Exit
I think the concept of evil is a damaging over simplification of the nature of reality that is best left in fairy tales and fantasy novels.

The willingness of a mind to polarize concepts as 'good' and 'evil' is the sign of a weak intellect or just a lazy one.

Its the shades of grey that make for the infinite variation that, in my opinion, makes life worth living, a constant challenge, and just damn spectacular.

My apologies and sorrow to those blinkered others who need a template to judge their lives by, and the promise of a reward at the end to encourage them to 'do unto others . . '

This is all absolutely correct.

People like Hitler who believe in "Evil", and who try to use it to spur others to murder or deprive people of their rights in the name of "fighting evil", are the closest thing to evil.

 

[CurtSibling]

There is no good and evil, in my view.
Only human actions, judged by a set of human rationales.

What is 'evil' to one person, may be normal to another.

Human motivation is unquantifiable, except by those who seek to sound wise by making opinions on the nature of humanity...

 

[philippe]

well lets take example:
killing a jew is evil for us but for someone like bin laden its good

 

[gael]

Evil is fundamentally subjective.

It is something that goes against a set of learned morals or social conditioning.

 

[nixon]

Sheer human competitiveness.

 

[Tacit_Exit]

Originally posted by nixon
Sheer human competitiveness.

So evolution is evil? (Hmm heard that somewhere . . )

 

[Remorseless]

No offense intended, but some of these responses, from people I respect, are BULLS***.

I wrote a story for my newspaper today about a woman and her boyfriend who left the woman's two daughters, ages 8 and 7, alone in an abandoned house frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes while they went out to a party. They left a candle burning in the house so the girls wouldn't get scared. The candle started a fire, the little girls lives were snuffed out.

Evil is harming another human being, evil is turning a blind eye to the suffering of others, evil is allowing harm to be done to another human being without stopping it. Evil is torture, murder, child rape, plain old rape, harming others for the "joy" of it. Evil exists, and whether you want to blame it on the supernatural (i.e. the devil) or bad upbringing or mental imbalance, the fact is, evil exists.

 

[sween32]

Originally posted by Remorseless
Evil is harming another human being, evil is turning a blind eye to the suffering of others, evil is allowing harm to be done to another human being without stopping it. Evil is torture, murder, child rape, plain old rape, harming others for the "joy" of it. Evil exists, and whether you want to blame it on the supernatural (i.e. the devil) or bad upbringing or mental imbalance, the fact is, evil exists.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Tacit_Exit]

Originally posted by Remorseless
No offense intended, but some of these responses, from people I respect, are BULLS***.

No. Evil is a catch all basket you choose to lump these shocking occurrences into in an effort to bring order to the world as you perceive it. Helps you sleep at night I presume.

 

[nixon]

No. The inherent human competitiveness drives some to go nuts and their striving for something, which leads them to commit sometimes horrendous acts of evil, but the more they do it, the more casual it becomes for them. We, as spectators, must object because it's utterly repulsive and does not correspond with what is common civilized behavior for example, but what I say is that we're all able to acquire evil, it's the force behind it that is the determining factor.

My theory. Abridged version.

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Yes, Remorseless Relentless, those people, selfish, ignorant, untrustworthy, and if you like, "evil." Tidal waves and earthquakes, not evil. When we use your human definition almost everyone is evil, at least through complacency. And its totally subjective- to some, the protesters who are against war are aiding "evil" by allowing Saddam to stay in place, to others, those would rush to war are "evil" because their will is to harm other human beings. Evil has no place in our political speech, it is too easy a term to abuse. As I've indicated above, to Hitler the Jews, the Communists, were Evil, to the early European settlers of the Americas the heathen Natives and black slaves were evil, to the Templars and the Saracens the foe was evil. Evil does not exist anymore than "red" or "loud" exists- it is a label for thinking with.

 

[thestonesfan]

Evil is a label...used as a word to describe dark aspects of human nature, which most certainly do exist, just as "red" and "loud" exist.

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

The aspects exist, no question. But there is no absolute "red" anywhere that isn't part of a thing. There is no absolute "loud" anywhere that doesn't merely describe a sound. And there is no absolute "evil" anywhere that you could toss into a volcano.

Therefore, evil becomes subjective. Ancient Romans tossed their unwanted babies into the woods, till it became "evil" to do so they didn't have a problem. I consider the acting president of the United States to be, by my standards, an "evil" man, but that opinion isn't universally shared.

There is reason the tree in the Garden of Eden was called the "tree of knowledge of Good and Evil", because once you section your mind off that way you are beholden to the consequences. Eastern religions attempt to train people to rise above such dichotomies, as Nietzche before he went mad may have gotten a glimpse of what lies "jenseits von gute und bose"...

 

[Furry Spatula]

What do people mean when they use the word evil? It is Simply a comparison. Without good you would have nothing to compare evil too. However since every person has slightly or completly different views of good, the views of evil are also different. People who supported Hitler would not call him evil. Those who didn't support him called him evil.

Evil is simply a comparison that people do in their mind. They look at what they consider to be good. and when something is realy far away from that it is considered evil.