There is no such thing as ''evil''?

[blue-ice-cube]

I had a thought today and i thought id share it here, something that always made me think was the word ''evil'' i found that there is no such thing as evil. lets take world war 2 for example, the US thought that germany was evil and germany thought the US was evil. that shows that evil can generally be biased depending on where you live and or to what you political party like how some people think communism is good and others think its evil. now we have the word ''good'' which is the opposite of evil, now heres a religious example: according to christians satan is evil and god is good. well, if you take a look at that you see that according to satanist you will see that satan to them is good and god is evil.

so what i have found out is that there is no such thing as ''evil'' and it is a biased word and its definition and who can be called it varies to what your political party is, what your religious views are, or where you live so that means evil doesn't exist.

any thoughts?

[Ytaker]

At 5/24/10 03:02 PM, blue-ice-cube wrote: I had a thought today and i thought id share it here, something that always made me think was the word ''evil'' i found that there is no such thing as evil. lets take world war 2 for example, the US thought that germany was evil and germany thought the US was evil. that shows that evil can generally be biased depending on where you live and or to what you political party like how some people think communism is good and others think its evil. now we have the word ''good'' which is the opposite of evil, now heres a religious example: according to christians satan is evil and god is good. well, if you take a look at that you see that according to satanist you will see that satan to them is good and god is evil.

1. I like how you use Nazi Germany as an example of how morality is relative. They had few morals, and they murdered millions of people. Or more precisely, their party did. And the french. The german people were more moral in general, and resisted extensively.

2. Some people think the theory of communism is good, not many think the practise is good. What with the whole, over a hundred million people died thing.

3. They view Satan as a fount of knowledge, the one who revealed all knowledge to mankind (gnostic overtones). They don't believe in universal morals, but believe in gaining personal advantage via the use of magical rituals, and they believe that God is oppressive with all his morality and rules.

Basically, what you're describing is one group which believes in good and evil, and another which believes in personal advancement, via magic and knowledge or tribal allegiance.

Do you believe the mass murder of homosexuals, gypsies, jews, and russians is a morally neutral act, as there's no evil, as the germans viewed it as right?

so what i have found out is that there is no such thing as ''evil'' and it is a biased word and its definition and who can be called it varies to what your political party is, what your religious views are, or where you live so that means evil doesn't exist.

any thoughts?

It's so clear to me now how mass murdering innocent individuals to ensure racial purity is surely incredibly relative. You have opened my eyes.

Really, you should try and start with the hard examples. Is genocide of innocent individuals, or child rape and murder morally relative?

[sweet21]

gah, also too long! MY ATTENTION SPAN!

[blue-ice-cube]

At 5/24/10 04:16 PM, Ytaker wrote:
It's so clear to me now how mass murdering innocent individuals to ensure racial purity is surely incredibly relative. You have opened my eyes.

I didnt fucking mean for this to turn into a conversation about fucking genocides im just saying that in mans own eyes everything is ok.

[RubberTrucky]

At 5/24/10 04:16 PM, Ytaker wrote: Really, you should try and start with the hard examples. Is genocide of innocent individuals, or child rape and murder morally relative?

Controversially said, people don't commit genocide if they feel there is no reason to it. People don't commit acts of attrocities for the sake of being evil. And even so, is a paedophile by default unable to do good deeds? Can't a nazi be a good father for his family?

Evil is only a term used by those who feel themselves being righteous.

[darkrchaos]

Nothing in this world is evil only people with different idea on what is right and wrong.

[JorNcar]

Germany did not think america was evil...

but anyways

there is such thing as good and evil, but it is relative. Ones own moral codes can decide whether some action is good or bad. While people may do the opposite, to oneself evil does exist. Ultimately this is what religion is for. It creates moral codes. It defines what is good and evil for all of humanity. Most religions have rules and regulations. Good and Evil are just constructs of social interaction thus people raised by wolves may find it fine to slaughter humans and eat them (as their family would) but people raised in a regular community would probably experience some sort of moral code.

This is the strongest aspect of religion. Screw the spiritual connection you get from religion. Take it for what it is and understand religion = rules for living "good".

[Ytaker]

At 5/24/10 06:00 PM, RubberTrucky wrote:

Controversially said, people don't commit genocide if they feel there is no reason to it. People don't commit acts of attrocities for the sake of being evil. And even so, is a paedophile by default unable to do good deeds? Can't a nazi be a good father for his family?

Yes, hitler's reason was that to ensure the greatness of the the german race, and secure the rights history had given it, they had to exterminate the lesser, barely human and lazy jews, who were stealing all the german jobs and had complete control over the world, and they would weaken the german genome, thus rendering germans less manly.

He had a reason, but it was a fairly evil reason.

You don't have to do acts for the purpose of evil to be evil. The fact that you're willing to allow justifications for evil acts, that is clear evidence that your lack of a sense of good or evil is weakening your moral character. We have to recognise that people- like you or me- can be evil, and still be human, have reasons, if irrational reasons.

Also, note what you're doing with a paedophile and a Nazi. Is a paedophile unable to do good deeds, is a nazi unable to be a good father? That's not what we're debating. Your problem isn't with the definition of good or evil, but with good or evil being used to stereotype a person. But really, there's a reason we focus on that one attribute. A nazi might send tens or hundreds of people to their death. A pedophile might render hundreds of children mentally destroyed, cause them to abuse more, kill more, take drugs, steal. That is far more signifigant than minor acts of good they do.

Evil is only a term used by those who feel themselves being righteous.

And people who want to challenge pedophiles. If a policeman says "Well, maybe I'll ignore the bruise marks on that kid, he seems nice to his wife" then he's not doing his job right. Evil allows us to focus on the important attributes. Seeing the good in someone might be good to rehabilitate them- but in capturing them, stopping them, seeing evil is more important.

Blue
"I didnt fucking mean for this to turn into a conversation about fucking genocides im just saying that in mans own eyes everything is ok.
"

You talked about Nazis. In their eyes, genocide was ok. However, almost everyone, except jew haters, thinks they're bastards, and recognises that killing people in a long and horrible way is wrong.

[Ericho]

Some people would say that evil does not exist in the sense that evil is the absence of good, or on a religious level, the abscence of God. There are some people who claim that Albert Einstein said this (using God) but there is in fact no evidence of him ever saying that. Evil exists in the sense that evil actions exist.

[sinfulwolf]

At 5/24/10 06:00 PM, blue-ice-cube wrote:

I didnt fucking mean for this to turn into a conversation about fucking genocides im just saying that in mans own eyes everything is ok.

You can not bring up WWII and the Nazis in a conversation about good and evil and not expect talk of Genocide. To ignore that is to ignore a key piece of the debate. It's easy to say there's no good or evil in the world if we ignore the worst atrocities committed.

[Ytaker]

At 5/24/10 06:00 PM, RubberTrucky wrote: Evil is only a term used by those who feel themselves being righteous.

Let's hear from the book "Life and death of Adolf Hitler

"The man who spilled so much blood... never dared to look at the dead or the dying, never visited a military hospital... when he travelled through bombed towns, he drew the window shades for fear that the sight of the destruction he caused would weaken his resolve. In the darkness, behind shuttered windows remote from the world as in a grave he terrorised the world he never understood and never wanted to understand."

He knew the evil he had caused. He hid from it, but there's extensive evidence he knew what he was doing was wrong, was unwilling to confront the consequences. This isn't an isolated thing. Bar a select few people, people know when they do wrong. They may hide it behind justifications, lies, and ego, but they know. They suffer from the pangs of conscience.