What is Evil?

Question

I am almost positive it doesn't exist. So what do you all think? I am after a philosophical answer, not a religous one.

Answer 1

Socrates had a very excellent argument from the opposite angle about the nature of good. It's contained in the book "Euthyphro", which I highly recommend reading (the first link, below). It's unusual among the Socratic dialogues in that it does not come to any definite kind of conclusion - Socrates cannot find a definition of what is good, even though everyone seems to think they know what it is.

You'll note we see the same thing here. Everyone has asserted strongly that they know of evil and it definitely exists. They can provide numerous examples of evil, but no concrete definition that will embrace all the supposed evil acts and leave none of them out. I suspect even those who could cough up a kind of definition would only be able to do so by closing their eyes to some atrocities and giving black marks to some acts of generousity.

Certainly if we take the stance that some have that evil is the opposite or absense of good, then we have basically said that evil does not exist, as you seem to suspect. Consider light. You might call the opposite of light 'darkness', but there is no REAL darkness. You cannot put darkness on a table like you can put light. Darkness has no existance. It is just a short way of saying, "the light is not here", and provides no additional information other than that. By the same token, if evil is ONLY not-good, then there is no evil.

A good way to determine if the latter is the case, is to see if you can find an example of something that is BOTH good AND evil. If you can simultaneously have both qualities in the same thing, then they are different qualities, obviously enough.

Personally, I take the position that good always has an implied 'for'. There is nothing that is just good, and what is good for one thing could be (and usually is) evil for another thing. In that sense it IS possible to be both good and evil at the same time, just 'for' different things. To put forward an example, the good of the human race sometimes requires evil of the individual (and vice versa!). I have yet to discover any thing which could be considered universally good and thus to have no evil whatsoever.

I also tend to equate good with 'promoting survival' and evil with 'reducing survival'. Thus something can be notgood without being evil if it just has no effect on the survival of whatever it is you are considering.

But those latter things are just me. What do you think?

Answer 2

Evil - is an eternal state of being...existing way before time on earth was even set in motion..over the years it has been pulled down by the human race with the aid of the source of that initially mentioned eternal state of being (who's name i'm not going to mention - else this answer will turn out to be a religious one and not philosophical) and now dwelling in the heart and minds of mankind...

Answer 3

Evil does exist, in ways. I'm not saying that everything bad is evil because without the bad things that go on, there would be no good in the world. But the definition of evil really depends on a persons personal morality.

Answer 4

yes, evil is very much alive and well in our world. it is a basic part of the human condition. don't believe it doesn't exist for one second, because then you can be used more easily as its tool without even realizing it. at the same time, if you are too worried about it you can fall under its thrall just as much.
evil is when two people love each other and try to do what they think is best but end up only hurting each other. evil is cigarrette burns against the genitals of a 5 year old child. evil is what stops you from reaching your full potential as a human being, and without it you would be seated at the right hand of God (take that with whatever religious or metaphoric connotations you need to to understand what I mean). evil is in your heart, and sometimes you do evil things knowing full well that they are evil, sometimes you do them in ignorance without realizing the harm you are doing. evil is in the deathcamps and in the places where refugees are forced to hide with no hope for generations at a time. evil is in the greed of warlords and war profiteers who waste so much life and so many resources.
this is not much of a philosophy. there is no justification that we can understand that explains evil. the only way we can do that is with religious responses, or whatever else we do to face and address the unknown and inexplicable.
it is hard for me to understand how you think evil may not exist. perhaps you look for other explanations for the terrible things you see in the world. but, dialectically speaking, if you would deny evil then you also deny that there is anything good in this world.
in all likelihood, one day you will look on evil and your reason will fail you, comprehension will not be possible, or it will not help or make any difference. you will realize just how much of your life and the lives of everyone around you are touched by evil. I hope when that day comes you will choose to fight against it because, for whatever reasons it exists, its perpetuation is not in our best interests.

Answer 5

Evil is what goads you on to the greatest good. It's like the yin and the yang: if there is no evil, there wouldn't exist the concepts of right or wrong. Evil is necessary for the world and life and reality to function coherently and for humanity to 'grow' towards light (I don't mean God; yr perception of 'light' depends on yr convictions).

without criminals and evil people, there would not be police nor law. we would just be a bunch of blissful, happy-go-lucky, BORING fools in our paradise. i don't mean that i love the company of rapists and murderers but come on, the world needs to be a more interesting than that. most of our positive qualities are constructed from evil: think about it - willpower to resist temptation, courage in adversity etc

Answer 6

Ahhh, what a good question. I feel evil is a trait that is unique to humans. I think evil exists in the hearts of men.
Evil is summed up in what the church calls the seven deadly sins.
Most suffering in the history of humanity can be traced to one of these sins (or concepts). Of all of these I feel greed is the strongest.
Evil is when one man exploits thousands of people so he may be rich and powerful. Evil is when a molester injures a child to satisfy his sick urges. Evil is when a man dumps toxic material in the ocean to make money. Evil is when a person is angry so they take another's life. Evil is when a man uses violence to oppress a group of people so that he may gain wealth and power.
As you can see from my examples evil is in the hearts of men. When a man does something that hurts one or more people so that he and only he profits in some manner he has done something evil.

Answer 7

if it didn't exist you wouldn't have known the word or be able to find it in the dictionary, as it would have been nonexistant.

As civilization continues to slide into the pits of hell, ie. just this week, pedophile congressman/ slaughterer of amish children, you need to decide since it does "exist"(in the dictionary) are you going to take a stand against it or not?

evil is like a mudslide or a leak in a levee, left to it's own devices it destroys everything in its own path. And like a plague it leaves everyone it touches worse off.

Answer 8

You cannot know the warmth of the light unless you have walked through the darkness.

in other words, How could you experience ultimate bliss, unless we have seen the darkest of times.

I personally believe evil only has as much power as you give it. Kinda like a bully, if you ignore him he'll go away right? well the devil,or whatever name you want to give it can only emerge if you call to it, so if you don't aknowledge evil, evil won't poses your life.

" In order for the most beautiful rose to grow, a little rain must fall."

Answer 9

Evil: The opposite of absence of good. One form of evil, physical evil, is a result of the "state of journeying" toward its ultimate perfection involving the existence of the less perfect alongside the more perfect, the contructive and destructive forces of nature, the appearance and disappearance of bertain beings.

Answer 10

In religion and ethics, evil refers to the "bad" aspects of the behaviour and reasoning of human beings —those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton desire for destruction. Evil is sometimes defined as the absence of a good which could and should be present; the absence of which is a void in what should be. In most cultures, the word is used to describe acts, thoughts, and ideas which are thought to (either directly or causally) bring about affliction and death —the opposite of goodness, which itself refers to aspects which are life-affirming, peaceful, and constructive. Aspects regarded as "evil" are thought of as immoral, corrupt, corrupting, inhumane, selfish, and wicked, and terroristic.