Does evil exist or is it just some abstract title for things that we don't agree with?

Answer 1

"Evil," like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And as such, has no definition outside of the one who perceives it as such.

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Answer 2

Good is the opposite of evil. If you believe there is a good thing in man then you must also have tho believe that evil exist in man. Both of which are nature of man's capability to do for himself and for others.
Things that you do not agree with does not necessarily fall into evil. You may even disagree to do something or anything if it is impossible for you to do for reasons of choice and that is not evil.

Answer 3

Not what we don't agree with. I disagree with a lot I wouldn't describe as "evil".

I think evil is a word for what goes against our basic sense of ethics of a species -- rape, murder, etc. Evil is what we intuitively know not just to be wrong, but extremely wrong.

Evil is, in other words, an anti-social personality disorder.

Answer 4

I disagree with your characterization "things that we don't agree with" but I'd say, you're basically right.

There's no such thing as evil, like a force or thing; the word is an abstraction.

And, as you can see from the variety of answers you're getting, people vary in how they distinguish evil from good.

People who think in terms of evil tend to think in religious terms -- god or magic.

My biggest problem with much fantasy fiction is that they deal in evil things, which is unnecessarily over-simplifying. Orcs, for instance, just are evil, a whole species of evil critters.

Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer world, which, in general is multi-textured, deals with evilness. Although, to Whedon's credit, there are good vampires and demons, and even the evil characters don't see themselves as evil (which is more like real life, no one is evil in their own minds).

As is said in Buffy, "It's all about power."

That's what I disliked about Night Gallery (the TV show) -- there was such a thing as Evil that would inhabit objects and people, as though there were a thing or force that evilness was.

I don't buy it.

I tend to over-use the word, and mis-use it -- something really chocolatey, for example (and therefore irresistible) I will describe as 'evil' -- meaning really, really nummy.

I generally see things in terms of harm and damage, and see "evil" people as confused or sick (or damaged or mangled), rather than evil.

Answer 5

evil exists , the poor individuals mercilessly murdered at the hands of extremists of some sort disillusioned by a perhaps sadistic mastermind, are stories rampant on the news.

Should the existence of evil get any grimmer than that for one to realize that its here , and yeah, it's queer how glorified its become , it leads some to believe that it a figment of mans imagination.

Answer 6

Yes, it does. In fact we have already entered the final battle between good and evil, or Armeggedon. Don't be alarmed because for those who remain as God's faithful servants will receive the promise of everlasting life in the Holy City.

Answer 7

A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

The student became quiet and did not respond to the professor's hypothetical definition.. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The other students snickered at the young man's question.The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name... Albert Einstein

Answer 8

Abstract... but what a great word to use when someone in authority decides to wage an unfair war on someone else...

Answer 9

I think you hit the nail on the head. Any thing I disagree with is evil or Satanic. Stuff I agree with is good or God. Wow, thank you Sho-Nuff, if I think like that it's not all all taxing on my cerebral functioning.

Answer 10

Evil, as a self willed entity? No. I do not believe so. We make our own evil in this world.

Answer 11

9/11 - proof that evil exists.