Evil

[Eudaimonist]

Evil, in essence, is something destructive of human well-being. I'm speaking from our -- a human -- perspective, of course.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[kopilo]

"The Buddhist understanding is that good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life. This view makes it impossible to label a particular individual or group as "good" or "evil." Every single human being is capable of acts of the most noble good, or the basest evil.

Moreover, good and evil in Buddhism are seen not as absolute but relative or "relational." The good or evil of an act is understood in terms of its actual impact on our own lives and the lives of others, not on abstract rules of conduct.

Evil actions are those which are based on a narrow selfishness, the delusion that our lives are fundamentally disconnected from those of others and that we can benefit at their expense.

Evil views life as a means to be expended, not an end in itself. Good is that which generates connection between ourselves and others, healing and restoring the bonds among human societies."

http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more18.htm

 

[Emmy]

Dear Forest, Christ left us with 2 Commandments, which contain all 10, God gave us. 1) Love God with all your hearts, souls and minds, 2) love each other, as you love YOURSELVES. Any deed, word, or even thought, which is contrary to these God-given Commandments, is evil. No matter what the world, (society at large) or some men or women say, to me, and I believe to many Christians, is evil. I sincerely believe, Forest, with God on our side, (and the Bible is God`s Word) who can be against us? I say this humbly and kindly, and send greetings. Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[kopilo]

Dear Forest, Christ left us with 2 Commandments, which contain all 10, God gave us. 1) Love God with all your hearts, souls and minds, 2) love each other, as you love YOURSELVES. Any deed, word, or even thought, which is contrary to these God-given Commandments, is evil

I fully agree, especially with the first two commandments because they are 'the greatest'.

References:
Matthew 22.34-40
Mark 12.28-34
Luke 10.25-28

 

[Spherical Time]

So you beliveve that evil is when people work against what you consider to be the best interest of society at large, and what is in the best interest of society at large is your opinion, so evil is an opinion?

Since opinions can be anything at all, is evil anything at all?

Pretty much. I certainly don't think that there's an objective evil.

Let me qualify that though. The people that I'm talking about do think that they're doing the right thing. If they thought they were evil, then obviously they would not be doing what they're doing. In fact, I'm almost positive that they consider me evil for opposing them.

People don't blow up buildings because they want to be evil. Instead, they do it becuase they think that blowing up buildings will result in a positive change. That might be delusional, but it's still what they believe.

Of course, the majority of Americans and I disagree, and since we do, I call people who blow up buildings evil. The majority is not always right, but this time I think that it is.

 

[elman]

Pretty much. I certainly don't think that there's an objective evil.

Let me qualify that though. The people that I'm talking about do think that they're doing the right thing. If they thought they were evil, then obviously they would not be doing what they're doing. In fact, I'm almost positive that they consider me evil for opposing them.

People don't blow up buildings because they want to be evil. Instead, they do it becuase they think that blowing up buildings will result in a positive change. That might be delusional, but it's still what they believe.

Of course, the majority of Americans and I disagree, and since we do, I call people who blow up buildings evil. The majority is not always right, but this time I think that it is.

People do evil all the time and know it is evil when they do it. Being unloving is evil and it matters not how delusional someone has become. If they are mentally insane they are not responsible for their actions, but their actions are still evil, as in the mother killing her children. It also does not matter that someone has convinced themselves it is good to kill innocent people. It is still an evil act.

 

[KarateCowboy]

How do you define it?

Ex-girlfriend.

Yeah. That sums it up.

 

[astroweezer]

I don't happen to believe in "evil" or "good" since they are just black and white definitions in a gray world. What is evil to one person may not be evil to another. It's all in the perception of the individual being asked. How does that individual determine what is evil?

The idea of morality is hardwired into our brains. It's a mechanism that ensures that our local populations (or circle of friends/family/acquaintences) survive. It's been a proven point that populations that cooperate and work towards the collective good tend to survive and procreate. Evil, in the perception of a population, is anything that would hamper the cooperation of that population. This is why murder is often considered to be evil. However, it wasn't evil for certain religious sects that believed in sacrifice to appease the gods. It's because they believed that the death of the individual was less harmful than attracting the anger of the god or gods. This was necessarily in those days since the technological level was so low. So many things were out of the hands of the people and belonged to Fate. Now days, most religions have advanced beyond sacrifice as needed to appease gods. This advance in religion is likely due to the advance in technology. The greater the understanding of the world around us, the less we have to rely on god/gods will to help. Thus, murder within a population is not as accepted since there is no benefit from it.

However, this only applies really to our local populations. We still appear to be indifferent to outside populations, or not as outraged. Mainly because we don't technically need those outside populations to survive. So, what does it matter to us that our soldiers kill al-Qaeda or Iraq civilians. In either case, they are not us, and their deaths are acceptable for what we feel is the greater good.

It's even more complex than that, but one could write an entire book discussing it.

=w=

 

[Spherical Time]

People do evil all the time and know it is evil when they do it. Being unloving is evil and it matters not how delusional someone has become. If they are mentally insane they are not responsible for their actions, but their actions are still evil, as in the mother killing her children. It also does not matter that someone has convinced themselves it is good to kill innocent people. It is still an evil act.

Obviously, I disagree.