What is evil?

[MaxP]

What is evil?
Is it a force that actively seeks to destroy good?
Does it, or good, exist at all, in your opinion?

I personally believe evil is a lack of good; as darkness is a lack of light. Neither is a force per se.

 

[Sitswithamouse]

Evil is just our thoughts and feelings Nothing more , nothing less.
Unless you want to touch on the grey areas.

It would depend on the individual persons thoughts and feelings, their upbringing and moral values. How their lives have transgressed.

What is good ?

Look at the above and turn it around..

Simple for my little world, but then looking at the grey areas.

*SHRUGS*

What are good and evil? Just feelings and concepts. IMHO.

 

[tcampen]

Evil is not a "thing" that exists apart from the mind. It is a value we as people place on certain intentions and actions committed by other people. Good is similar in that it is a value we as people place on things, actions and intentions. It, like evil, does not exist apart from the mind. In fact, both really are abstractions of the mind. That is not to take away the impact of either, but just recognize what they utlimately are.

 

[MaxP]

Evil is not a "thing" that exists apart from the mind. It is a value we as people place on certain intentions and actions committed by other people. Good is similar in that it is a value we as people place on things, actions and intentions. It, like evil, does not exist apart from the mind. In fact, both really are abstractions of the mind. That is not to take away the impact of either, but just recognize what they utlimately are.

Of course; just like mathematics do not, per se, exist outside of the mind, but their correlation to reality is undeniable, as are the concepts of good and evil.
Everything is an abstraction of the mind; even when you say the word "chair" you abstract the chair, remove it from reality. It is the nature of the mind to abstract things; everything we think of is abstracted.

 

[DarkProphet]

What is evil?
Is it a force that actively seeks to destroy good?
Does it, or good, exist at all, in your opinion?

I personally believe evil is a lack of good; as darkness is a lack of light. Neither is a force per se.

You define an abstract word by relating to other abstract concepts. Now you have to define "good". In anycase, most people would say an evil action is an action that causes harm. Yet, it's not always that simple. Take the genocides in the Bible, the Bibles makes the genocides out to be GOOD things yet much harm was done. In the end no one views themselves or their own actions as "evil" so it's ultimately an arbitrary distinction.

 

[MaxP]

You define an abstract word by relating to other abstract concepts. Now you have to define "good". In anycase, most people would say an evil action is an action that causes harm. Yet, it's not always that simple. Take the genocides in the Bible, the Bibles makes the genocides out to be GOOD things yet much harm was done. In the end no one views themselves or their own actions as "evil" so it's ultimately an arbitrary distinction.

Not necessarily; evil can be thought of as the lack of good, and good is that which is most beneficial to greatest possible amount of people.
Killing for absolutely no reason can never be thought of as "good," it benefits no one.

 

[JCFantasy23]

To me evil is a complete lack of love and empathy

 

[tcampen]

Not necessarily; evil can be thought of as the lack of good, and good is that which is most beneficial to greatest possible amount of people.
Killing for absolutely no reason can never be thought of as "good," it benefits no one.

There is also the area of something being neither good nor bad. A tree limb can randomly fall in a park, killing a young child. It is horrible, but the naturally falling tree limb itself is neither good nor evil. That does not change the fact the untimely death of a child is a terrible event. Thus a neutral cause can have an "evil" effect - but that is still the value we as people place on the effect.

 

[MaxP]

There is also the area of something being neither good nor bad. A tree limb can randomly fall in a park, killing a young child. It is horrible, but the naturally falling tree limb itself is neither good nor evil. That does not change the fact the untimely death of a child is a terrible event. Thus a neutral cause can have an "evil" effect - but that is still the value we as people place on the effect.

I see your point, but I would also say things can only be "good," when they are intentional, as well as "evil."
Things that just happen, just happen, and we have words for that - good random events are "luck," bad ones are "tragedies."

So, there is a distinction in the language of man between intentional evil, intentional good, and the unintentional brands.

 

[Isambard]

An arbitrary label slapped on to whatever action is unpopular at the time.

 

[Chesterton]

What is evil?

 

[Nihilismus]

Evil, much like gravity, is a fictitious force.

 

[cantata]

Not necessarily; evil can be thought of as the lack of good, and good is that which is most beneficial to greatest possible amount of people.
Killing for absolutely no reason can never be thought of as "good," it benefits no one.

What are you, some crazy kind of utilitarian?

Is it better to save the life of one person or cure the mild headaches of 50,000 people?

 

[WhatThe]

Evil is what you make of it. It is dependent on many things. What seems evil to one person may not seem so to another. What seems evil to begin with may, when more is known, turn out to be not so. And vice versa.
Evil is a shade of grey.

 

[The Nihilist]

ftw. If being a total dbag were the piano, Blagojovich would be a wild and unpredictable new talent.

 

[Chesterton]

ftw. If being a total dbag were the piano, Blagojovich would be a wild and unpredictable new talent.

That's twice you and I've agreed now. Must have something to do with the approaching 2012 doomsday.

 

[BananaSlug]

What is evil?
Is it a force that actively seeks to destroy good?
Does it, or good, exist at all, in your opinion?

I personally believe evil is a lack of good; as darkness is a lack of light. Neither is a force per se.

Darkness is a lack of light.
Cold is a lack of heat.
Evil is a lack of good?

Sadly this has been passed around due to common internet stories (Einstein and the athiest professor, etc). Light and heat are properties we can physically measure. Good/evil are moral contructs and therefore cannot be measured physically. It is just as easy to say that good is simply a lack of evil.

Is a man who kills a rapist evil? Is a person who walks by without trying to help a woman being raped as responsible as the rapist? Good/evil deeds vary from culture to culture. Killing a person from your tribe is evil but killing someone during a war is not.

I do not think that good or evil exists as a whole. Is a lion that kills all the cubs of his new pride evil? If a human were to do the same thing he would be classified as a murdered and would definitely get the death penalty. Is the death penalty evil?

Here is something to think about. There is a guy sitting on a couch. He is not doing anything at all, just sitting on a couch. Is he good for not doing evil or is he evil because he is not doing good?