Thread: What is Evil?

A very simple question.

To you what is evil? How does it manifest itself and do you think there is some kind of war between good and evil? If there is such a war are we merely pawns in it or do we have control over it?

Man, I'm going to enjoy reading this thread.

Originally Posted by richmondesi

Man, I'm going to enjoy reading this thread.

I cant wait to see the worms that crawl out of this can!

OK, I'll start.
(I don't count JMS' response as a legitimate response, though it might truly be evil!)

Skipping any religious aspects, I'll say that evil is the willingness to do whatever you want for your own personal benefit with the full knowledge that what you do will cause harm to others. Evil is not caring at all about the extent of that harm.

Originally Posted by Utopian

OK, I'll start.
(I don't count JMS' response as a legitimate response, though it might truly be evil!)

Skipping any religious aspects, I'll say that evil is the willingness to do whatever you want for your own personal benefit with the full knowledge that what you do will cause harm to others. Evil is not caring at all about the extent of that harm.

Thats not evil. That is simply selfish. There is no such thing as evil or good for that matter, only yin and yang. What some consider evil others regard as a necessary tool to keep balance in this world. Everything exists perfectly in this world to maintain balance. As humans as a whole we thrive off of the so called "evil". It offers as a mechanism to make us stronger and continue to evolve.

The world or human life is not black and white.
I'd like to think that good and evil are relative. By doing an act that looks absolutely 'good' for someone (individual or group), that same act, at the same time, might be something that is pure 'evil' towards someone else. Whether you are aware of all the consequences of your acts is not important: you can't judge your own acts in the terms of good and evil.
And: what are your motives for doing something that looks 'good' or 'evil'. If your motives are selfish, does/doesn't it make the good/evil you make little lesser?

Originally Posted by Bruno

Imo, evil is the absence of empathy. We all have desires and thoughts that we keep suppressed. For most people this is not a problem because they realize that those desires a) bring unfortunate consequences with them and b) they can empathise with other people.

If the above are of no concern, then that means your actions will most likely be or become evil.

That is how i like to think too.

Philosophers have tried to solve this thing for thousands of years without getting absolute truth.
I do not believe such things as absolute good or absolute evil (or at least such things are very very rare).
Just tryin' to do live my life without knowingly hurting anyone, be it human or animal.

Here goes. I myself believe in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Anything that does not comply with this simple rule is evil, of course there may seem to be more socially acceptable levels of evil, but it is evil just the same.

Pretty much what Ron said, only better!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Pretty much what Ron said, only better!

I agree, cuz I'm nicer!

Originally Posted by Utopian

I agree, cuz I'm nicer!

Well we all have our opinions dont we, and opinions are like.....

Malice is evil. Deliberate intent to cause harm to another's mind, body or property without reasonable justification. Revenge is not evil, it is human instinct for some provided that a reasonable person would act this way in the particular circumstance in question. Anything above and beyond is evil I would say.

Some religions believe alcohol and other substances induce evil.

I believe that religion is the greatest evil on the planet. And I'm not even an atheist. Am I evil...yes I am.