What is evil?

Question

What makes something universally accepted as evil?

And is anything evil (outside of religious ideals)?

If so, then why is something evil?

Answer 1

"And is anything evil (outside of religious ideals)?"

That can't be. Evil is strictly religious. People have adapt it to a different definition but is always religious. If you mean bad, well, bad is just an opinion such as everything else. When people agree universally that something is bad thats because of religions. Most religions tell you greed and selfishness are bad.
If you look at these point from outside of a religious view I don't see why they are bad. They make you more powerful... you gain a lot more things by not having other people have them...

Answer 2

One thing that seems to make something universally accepted as evil is intentionality. This is the difference between a horrific accident and an evil. Before 9/11 people died in plane crashes caused by mechanical malfunctions and that is always a horrible, horrible tragedy. But 9/11, when the act of taking human life was intentional, it was different - it was evil.

Answer 3

I do not believe anything can be accepted as universally evil because of its clear association to religion, and the fact that no one religion satisfies everyone.

Nevertheless, the term is used and quite frequently to describe heinous crimes, for example, particularly those against defenseless victims. But this is not a philosophic rendering of the concept, just an outburst (however justified) of emotion against an act that cannot be easily understood or explained.

But what about a personal perspective? What if I deliberately perform an act with the explicit and singular purpose of depriving your happiness? Is it fair to personally characterize my act as evil? Perhaps, but again, my act cannot be universally accepted as evil...unless I limit my universe to the specific time of the act and to only the two people involved.

Answer 4

Library > Words > Dictionary e·vil (ē'vəl)
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.

Answer 5

Evil is the privation of the good. It is the abscence of goodness, rather than a substantial presence. Evil is identified by what it lacks, rather than what it is, and is always parasitic on what actually exists. What enables our understanding of something as being evil? The near universal appreciation that the good is associated with what exists, rather than with what does not exist. However, if you have no appreciation for the goodness of what actually exists, evil (and good) become very hard to identify. What is evil? Evil is that which mitigates or negates what is good.

Answer 6

Evil, pure evil, is what drives us to do things we normally wouldn't do if we considered our human capacity for compassion and love. Evil drives everything that is wrong in this world. Evil is a void, a dark place where one can easily become lost. Evil tells us we are worthless, evil tells us to give up. Evil knows no love, plain and simple.

Answer 7

This a question of the metaphysically-given and the man made.
Anything man made could have been done differently or happened some other way. Metaphysically- malevolent universe premise Epistemologically-primacy of consciousness Ethically-subjectivism Politically-Statism Esthetically-Realism
Socially one evil- initiation of physical force

Answer 8

As a nihilist, I say evil is strictly a human convention and completely subjective.
I like M. Scott Peck's definition:
When someone pursues a goal and doesn't care who gets hurt on the way. (paraphrased)

I think of someone like Jeffrey Dahmer as crazy. The guys who ran Enron are evil. That's just my opinion.

But is it evil to kill your daughter for having pre-marital sex? Some say yes, some say no. It's all subjective.

Answer 9

I would think of something as EVIL that is in direct connection with the DEVIL. Such as Devil Worship. But I don't believe in any certain "thing" as evil. I have heard that credit cards are evil and also the computer. But I don't believe this.

Answer 10

evil because it is intended to hurt and control with no regard for anyone else. i don't think things can be so black and white as good and evil, i don't think there's really good and evil there's just disturbed people who never got the help they need. saying that somebody isn't human is just ignorant, trying to separate yourself from the human race to make you feel better.