Evil

What if evil doesn't exist? What if what we think of as evil is just one of two (or more) options. Now, many things seem universally wrong or evil: murder, stealing, rape, child abuse. But this is more likely born out of selfishness (in a sense); we know we wouldn't want it to happen to us, and can understand that another wouldn't want it either. Since we are all human, we will usually all have the same stance on such things. But these things are not always universal; for example, what about masochists, who do want to be hurt? Are they evil, or have they simply lined up their morals in a different way, defined pain as a good thing, rather than an evil thing? Then there are the lesser evils, things in one culture that another culture finds taboo or wrong. These are obviously less universal; culture is a grab bag of choices about what will be accepted. In ancient Greece, homosexuality was accepted as good, today in America, it is generally seen as wrong, or at least fringe. And no matter what, you can always find exceptions to every evil, even the universal ones, as far as perception goes.

We know opposites define each other, and so it seems natural to say that if there is good, there is evil. But this means that if there is no evil, there is no good. Is this acceptable?

What I'm saying is this: if evil exists, then trying to be good is an act of futility. It renders all spiritual practice pointless. As it says in the Tao Te Ching, (paraphrasing) "they that think they know goodness, really only know what evil is!" I think the point is to transcend this duality of good and evil, and see that evil is only what we declare not-good. Evil does not exist as a choice, it is only the emptyness defining the 'entity' of Good. You can no more do an evil deed than an empty void can commit an act. Evil is nothing in itself, it is only the absence of good, just as dark is the absence of light. If we stepped outside our moral lines that we have drawn in the sand, we would still only see one beach. Goodness is all there is. There are many roads in the world of Good, some are straight and easy, others winding, long, and hard. The only difference is expediency.

 

good and evil are just words. they are just human concepts. they are defined by what we enjoy and what we don't enjoy. eg, we enjoy love and selfless kindness(ie "good"), but don't enjoy being killed or raped (ie "evil"). it has evolved into what is socially acceptable, and what is not. obviously this differs from society to society.

unfortunately, religions have gone as far as defining what good things and evil things actually are. they have told us what to enjoy and what not to; what is acceptable and what is not.

and what if we ignore those religious suggestions? like masochists or gay people or bygamists, we define our lives by what WE find acceptable or enjoyable. then we no longer have the need for the concepts of "good" or "evil". instead we fill our vocabularies with words such as Compassion, Empathy and Understanding. i believe this will create a happier and less divided world.

 

Nothing can be said to be inherently good or inherently evil. They are entirely subjective ideas based upon what rules our society and/or religion has given us. Our sense of morality is based upon traditions created by groups as a way of identifying themselves and became a focus of how we should live our lives.

Just because we find murder, rape etc distasteful, it is not to say that they are wrong.

 

mass-extinction is bad . that there were previous extinctions of planetary life is why we are so smart , why we are the guardians of life - but godammit! what sense are we making ? do we know ?

knowledge is inherently good .

to accept the organic purpose that life wills to
go on and on and on is inherently good .

from human negligence , life is dying , and we know it .

if knowledge is not inherently good , then reply ignorantly .

 

maybe to you, they are damn wrong to me. And certain acts are considered evil in all cultures. I believe some actions are good and some are evil, in the real world. Sure, theoretically, in a vacuum, you're right, but I don't live in a vacuum. I find rape and murder a hell of a lot worse than distasteful, and it may not be for me to say if they're wrong, but I will anyway. To me, around me, they are wrong, evil, bad, sin, etc.

 

(my emphasis)

thus proving that good and evil are essentially subjective concepts. they're not inherent or universal. what's good to one may be distateful to another. its just the way it is. i think we get too caught up in defining what things are, and thats when people get confused about their feelings.

for example, religion has defined homosexuality as evil for years, what do you think that does for young gay and lesbian people? it's not evil, but in defining it as such just ruins and confuses people...

 

in a failing society , homosexuality is being promoted as good . it is good for a failing society , but then , the society has failed anyway . the core issue of good/bad is always about a harmony with nature . sex is about making children . is a failed society good for children ? there certainly is an evil at the root of this failure , and it's not subjective nor sexual .

 

So your saying that because gays can't have children, they shouldn't be married or even engage in sexual intercourse. Ok...that would mean any hetero couple that doesn't want children, or cannot have them (senior citizens for example) should not have sex, and furthermore, probably should get a divorce. If they stay married, they should only have sex when trying for a baby. Do this, then wait till you see how many marriages fail, hahaha. Sex is more than procreation, it's a glue that holds a couple together.

And who's to say our society is failing? Maybe by your moral code, but not by everyones. The question remains unanswered, though: Is there such a thing as evil, and if so, what is it?

 

Evil does exist, but I believe we use the term "evil" a little too loosely now-a-days. I believe that murder, rape, violence, child abuse; are all wrong, and evil may stem from these, but they are not inherintly evil.
Evil is on a much more massive scale, both circumstantially and physically. A physical evil we can take to be genocide, take the Nazi regime for example, and Hitler, who know what EXACTLY what he was doing; or Rawanda, in 96 I blieve, the violence taken out on the Tutis by the Hutus was an evil act.
And we can take Charlse Manson or John Wayne Gacey as circumstantially evil: they didn't kill on a massive scale like the Nazi regime, but they did commit evil acts, conciously going out and commiting acts that were wrong over and over again.
Doing concious harm onto others on a regular basis, wether you go out of your way each day to ruin someone elses or you're personally stalking your victums and attacking over and over or are the leader of a massive nation and military and working on the plans to kill hundreds of million of innocent civilians, is evil.

 

I feel rudeness is evil, taking a nickel from someone without consent is evil, mocking someone is evil, gossiping is evil, even stealing a parking spot. Not extremely evil, but on that side of the line.

 

I'm totally with this guy, anything that isn't honest or that causes harm to anyone else is evil

 

Isn't it up to the other person whether they're hurt? Some people don't care about rudeness, they almost don't even notice it. Like I've always said, we can't control anything but our own reactions. I can't do anything to ensure I don't offend someone. If I don't give money to the poor, that's bad, right? What about if I try to give a guy money and his pride is hurt? Either way, I'm screwed?

Not to say one shouldn't proceed with good intention and right action, but even then others can be hurt. You can push a pregnant woman out of the way of a speeding bus, but if she falls hard and unborn baby dies, have you done good or bad? It really depends on the woman's perspective. There are many moral dillemas one could think of, better than what I just gave off the top of my head. But you see my point, I think.

 

The concept exists. The problem with good and bad is that where one man may simply "not be entirely happy" with the actions of another, another man may find it absolutely despicable. The moral code of our society does appear at first glance to be fairly straightforward but is in fact impossible to quantify.

 

I don't think there's such a thing as evil, because we all see everything subjectively, people generally act the way they do because they think its the right way to act, or they feel that they should/need to act in that way, I think people do most things in terms of what it does to them, not what it does to other people, and I don't think I could judge anyone or anything as evil if someone did it, it's my feeling against theirs..

 

good and bad are sentiments that all humanity share. It interests everyone, individually, and as a society, to act in way that is of utility, to ourselves and to society. In all but the most barbaric cultures, there are laws of property and justice. So also are there codes of conduct among people, and even to ourselves. These have all formed naturally and are understood, if not practiced, by everyone. Virtues such as generosity, honesty, perseverance, and many others are all recognizable by anyone that has the least experience in human society. Just as are the vices. These experiences are beyond mere verbal disputes and reasonings of the imagination.

 

What is "good" and "evil" are defined by your culture and society, there are no absolutes. A couple thousand years from now the list of good and evil will be completely different, as it was thousands of years ago.

 

I won't argue that in some times and places there are perversions of justice and that the utility of certain actions toward the good of society can be different. In principal though, and for the most part, actions that are approved or disapproved by society remain the same. And those that pertain to the developement of our own character likewise.

 

What if that parking spot was stolen by and off duty doctor who's rushing into an apartment to save the life of the child... is it still evil?

All you've done is proven that the concept of "evil" is nothing more than a person's own opinion.. But lets take this one step further..

What happens, then, if that child grows up to be a mass murderer? Is it evil then?

Mind boggling, no?

(PS, there is no such thing as evil, concepts such as "good" and "evil" are invented by humans, and in the grand scheme of things, don't exist).

 

The fact that something is invented by people doesn't make it non-existant. Good and bad exist as determined by the utility of that action for society and the individual. Most people agree on what is good or bad, cross all cultures around the world down through the ages. It is more than just a verbal dispute, it is something everyone feels, even the pirates had a code of conduct.

 

Well, in the bible it says that trying to help someone out that God has affllicted will amount to nothing. God causes all these things. So technically, if you got power, you don't have to give a flying fuck about anyone else unless it pleases you to do so, because God gave you power and made the other people weak.