What is "evil"?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Liesje

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Mar 13, 2002
Messages
19,535
Location
In the dog house
I'm looking for fairly simple answers here. Specifically, do you believe "evil" is simply the absence of good/love/compassion/whatever (as darkness is the absence of light, cold the absence of heat), or something else? Is there really a duality?

I'm not looking for a huge debate (or characteristics of evil), I'd just like to know what others think, a 1-2 sentence definition of "evil" if you will...
 
It's hard to simplify evil. There are different forms of evil in my opinion. There are universal evils that we are all aware of - killing, stealing, lying, cheating... etc. There are internal evils, which you personally believe. It could be that drinking milk is wrong (milk does the body good, but some may consider it animal cruelty anyways), that rock n' roll is the devil's work (again, I listen to U2 and other rock bands, I'm talking about those who live in their own little world), etc. Then there may be discussive evils, which you, friends, and aquantances could mostly agree on that may divide others if they would not agree. So to sum it up, evil can be both universally and personally unacceptable behavior, but those are two largely different forms.
 
"Evil" and "good" are merely labels for a myriad of circumstances. As beings with "free will," one cannot exist without the other; and many times, what one person labels as "good," others will label as "evil."

Melon
 
I'd say the absense of good is evil. God said we are born sinful beings and are only justified through Christ's blood. We can't be saved through good works alone, so "being good" obviously isn't true good. Therefore I believe that what the majority of the people in the world are not good, despite what alot of people like to believe.
 
Hmm...is the absence of good, "evil," or is the absence of evil, "good"? Or has humanity created standards that are so impossible that most of the world will never attain by design? Is "good" and "evil" and the attributes that we assign them merely elitism by proxy?

Damn semiotics...

Melon
 
Dictionary.com:

sin1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sn)
n.
A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.
Theology.
Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.
A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.
Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.
 
Dictionary.com again...

6 entries found for evil.
e·vil ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vl)
adj. e·vil·er, e·vil·est
Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.
Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.
Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.
Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.
Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.

n.
The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.
That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.
An evil force, power, or personification.
Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.
 
i don't believe in objective notions of good or evil, but there are acts that can be called good or evil.

i would say that an evil act is an act done with it's primary intention to cause suffering for the sake of causing suffering.

a bit circular, i know.
 
Based on the dictionary definitions of evil being sin and sin being deliberate disobedience to the known will of God, I would argue that we've all committed evil acts.
 
reply

Hi!

The power of the "Golden Ring"............will it be used for good as is the intent....or will the "possessor" ultimately use the power for evil?

Then there is the "quest" for the "Golden Ring".........

:|

carol
wizard2c
 
Ticketbastard.

and the music biz. *



*(not necessarily the artists, but the business itself)
 
The nature of evil is one of the harder things to pin down and it has been a thorn in philosophy and politics and a key element of drama since the dawn of civilization.

The first component that I think that we can agree on is choice, an animal kills out of instinct so we do not consider it evil. A human being on the other hand has concience and makes a choice.

The other component may be one of connection ~ who is more evil, the man who signs off for an entire village to be executed during a revolution or a serial killer. One is a cog in the machine the other is acting alone.

The pleasure derived from the action may also be an element of what we consider to be evil. Cold blooded murder may be different than somebody who really enjoys doing it.

The targets of the crimes, the actions themselves are all factors.

Evil is part of our humanity, it has it's uses in life ~ the balance between surrendering to that darkness and doing right by others is the challenge that every human being must deal with. This is not to say that we are all murderers at heart and we are all fighting that, but there is a softer almost passive piece of human nature that if explored furthur or developed could grow.
 
Back
Top Bottom