What is evil?

I've analyzed this much, and I have a theory: evil does not exist. That's right! Evil is fake. Evil is just a creation of the human mind.

Why? Simple. I kill your sister. I enjoyed killing your sister; that is good. You loathe the fact that I killed your sister are sad by it, and now believe I am evil. Another example, you call me a hârlot. You believe I deserved to be called that. I am offended and insulted; I believe your action was evil. See? Evil lies in the eye of the beholder.

Evil is rooted from emotions, that is all. Evil is nothing more than what we make of certain events, such as murder, abortion, marriage, etc. Every negative emotion, come to think of it, is rooted in hurt. I killed your sister and that hurts you, you now hate me, but you don't truly hate me, you are just so deeply hurt you think you do. But true hate does not exist. Thus, evil does not as well. What is or is not Evil simply lies on how we see it, it's an opinion, nothing more or less.

Not even killers or rapists are evil. We make them evil because they hurt us or our society in one way or the other; but they're just doing what they like, what gives them pleasure. They don't believe they are evil. So really, the concept of evil is cancelled out, it should really be removed from the dictionary and everything.

Now, tell me, what, in your eyes, is evil? And let's not talk of Satan nor any other deity that means evil, I mean things that actually exist that you consider evil.

Eugh, well okay. I'm leaving the conversation now. Have fun all.

"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours. That is relativity." - Albert Einstein

But relativity is a necessity of life. It will be there whether you like it or not, so I suggest you get used to it.

Now you begin to understand the travasty of relitivism

Having an extended conversation about something that does not exist...that would make us all insane. Then again....I bet the insane people don't think they're insane, making insanity relative....aw dammit.

quote:

but that it is man in general because He has the law of God written upon his heart.

*grabs an eraser*

It's not just western traditions, research other religions from china, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Africa, you will find that it is not just western tradition, but that it is man in general because He has the law of God written upon his heart.

quote:

Originally posted by depressedwavemaster:
WAITING:
I don't think anything is evil. I think some things cause harm (like your example of murder), and some things are helpful. Why do western traditions always think that there are always two poles to every issue! There isn't a right and wrong, there's many other things as well!

That's kinda what I was saying, DWM...

I mean, you don't think anything is evil...some people think everything is evil...and the majority of us think some things are evil. This is why the concept doesn't exist---because there are so many different views of what it is/isn't. It makes it so relative that evil doesn't exist.

quote:

I wrote my paper on Antigone on something similar to this. Evil really is in the eye of the beholder. But you have to wonder if there is ever anything truely evil, thought to be so by all humans, and if deep down, one side doesn't secretely think they are wrong.

Not that I don't agree on you with this argument, but the real argument here is that evil is relative basically, it's in the eye of the beholder. So your argument does nothing against it.

quote:

So people have no argument for what I say and they ignore it? Or is it some other reason else entirely?

How can I argue against a relative point, as far as I know the point might not even exist, everthing I think might not exist either. And I have never seen evidence that you exist, therfore you might not exist either.

I know I took this a little to the extreme, but seriously how can we debate the point. You can't prove it to be true, and I can't disprove it at this point. If I do think of better arguments, then I will be the first to notify you of them.

I wrote my paper on Antigone on something similar to this. Evil really is in the eye of the beholder. But you have to wonder if there is ever anything truely evil, thought to be so by all humans, and if deep down, one side doesn't secretely think they are wrong.

Is premerital sex wrong?
Is killing a pet wrong?
Is driving drunk wrong?
Is hitting a woman wrong?
Is hitting a child wrong?
Is denying someone medical attention wrong?
What if they can't pay?
What if no one can pay?
Is cannabalism wrong?
Is murdering someone because they killed your wife wrong?
What if they killed your son?
What if they're just black?
What if they're mentally disturbed?
Is torturing someone wrong?
Is rape wrong?
Is child rape wrong?
Is killing a child to get back at a parent wrong?

I'm sure your answers will vary and even within these questions there are ifs ands and buts.

So people have no argument for what I say and they ignore it? Or is it some other reason else entirely?

quote:

In your last post, are you saying every motivation is egotistical? Is there really no such thing as altruism or philanthropy without ulterior motives?

No. We all get something out of everything, and what we do, even if we don't ultimately want to do it (such as a certain job) we do because it will grant us at least something in the minimum form.

quote:

Does this "evil is a point of veiw" and "morality is the human order button" idea give justification for murder? And if so, should you personally want to kill a person, would you?

Yes, it would, even if not everyone would like it.

I'm glad you asked me the second question. I've thought of it often. I wouldn't, not because of guilt or shame, but because I don't want to go to jail. However, if the possibilty is 200% guaranteed that I won't go to jail, then perhaps I would, but still in secret for fear of social stigma/distrust.

Celtic, I remember reaching this thought process a few months ago and asking my mom why it truly makes a difference whether a person dies by murder or in his sleep, besides fear and social horror being a response in murder. She said some typical thing about no one having the right to take some one's life.

Does this "evil is a point of veiw" and "morality is the human order button" idea give justification for murder? And if so, should you personally want to kill a person, would you?

In your last post, are you saying every motivation is egotistical? Is there really no such thing as altruism or philanthropy without ulterior motives?

quote:

we cannot eliminate them because morality exists objectively

Geez....

My point is it's relative to a person. No one on this planet will agree on anything, 100%, being evil. Even terrorist attacks, rapes, and murders will be justified by some.

There is no morality. Morality, like religion, was a creation to maintain order.

The ultimate goal of the human being is NOT to maintain morality or good morals, but to gain for himself/herself. I'll explain in case someone shoots the "I'm a Y or X religion and want to keep good morals!" crap. You keep good morals in the eyes of your religion. Why? Because you want to go to Heaven/whatever holy place/save yourself. Or to please your family members of the same faith. Everything is for personal gain. Even if you give money to a charity or do community service you'll think of how pretty it'll look in your college application. This selfish person the human is cancels the idea of morality, because it means that we would do anything for ourselves as individuals.

quote:

This is evidence that the universe is naturally chaotic. The ideas of "good" and "evil" or "right" and "wrong" are futile efforts to constrain this chaos. Even time is relative, meaning it is also a poor way to order things. A system will naturally become more random over time. It will resist order. In other words, order is unnatural, just as classifications representing order are unnatural.

I think it takes a big leap of faith to translate principles of science to principles of morality.

celticnewager, i understand your intention to not eliminate moral laws because they are necessary- which I agree with! But further to that- we cannot eliminate them because morality exists objectively. Otherwise we would have NO reason to conclude that it is better to have an ordered relatively peaceful world. If evil doesn't exist why not just have a crazy world where everyone can do what they like? There is no legitimation for your view that it is necessary to maintain some sort of stability if you do not intuitively accept that there is a bigger morality than what you feel.

I couldn't have said it better, clpo.

quote:

Let me ask a question, If all things abstract are relative, then the only things we say that actually are factual are those that have evidence correct?

Yes. Anything else is either a theory or a belief that may be wrong or right, or neither, or both.

Correct, BoMoWo. Evidence is the only proof of truth. Everything else is purely theoretical. Ever heard of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle? Basically, you cannot possibly know both the speed and position of a particle because the mere act of observing the particle interferes with the measurements. Thus, there are some things that we will never know for certain, such as the movement of photons or other small particles. We can only guess, based on probability. This is the basis of quantum mechanics.

Now, take a look at Einstein's theories. Einstein thought that everything in the universe could be predicted, from the movements of the planets right down to the timing of natural disasters. To him, everything occurred because of a certain set of circumstances. Now, this is true for large objects, such as planets and humans, however, this all breaks down at the molecular level, where quantum mechanics steps in.

This is evidence that the universe is naturally chaotic. The ideas of "good" and "evil" or "right" and "wrong" are futile efforts to constrain this chaos. Even time is relative, meaning it is also a poor way to order things. A system will naturally become more random over time. It will resist order. In other words, order is unnatural, just as classifications representing order are unnatural.