What is ur definition of Evil?

Question

This is off of my other question about " is Humanity inherently Evil".. its for a English essay.. but what i want to know is what is everybodys Definition of evil??.. any impput is greatly appreciated :D

i dont' need dictionary definitions.. just peoples ideas of it. lol

Answer 1

Deliberate cruelty. Intentionally hurting another person (or animal) in any way.

Answer 2

As philosophy, the answer depends on the philosopher. See Spinoza, Rand, Aristotle & Sarte for wildly varying answers based on ethics. Many of the modern philosophers would question the reality of the good/evil duality.

You might try a sociological definition. But that gets complicated. At its most basic good is equated with survival. The most immediate questions are Whose? (the Individual or the Group) and When? (Read THE PRINCE as an example of how short-term "evil" may be justified by long term results.

Answer 3

Evil has many different descriptions. Some people consider cruelty to animals evil. Some people think lying is evil. But really what is evil to me might be normal to someone else. Also I might think someone is evil based on an uninformed decision. For example, Jeffery Dahmer is considered evil. I agree that he was. But there are always two sides to every story. He has repeatedly said that he did the things he did because he didn't want these victims to leave him. Is loneliness evil? Of course not. Was his act evil? Not to him. Let's consider his death. He was beaten to death by inmates in Columbia State Prison. Many people do not consider this an evil act for he himself killed many. Some would say this was a mercy killing. So perhaps there is no evil. It is all a matter of perspective.
If this example doesn't work, read Wicked by Frank L. Baum. He depicts the Wizard of Oz through the eyes of the Wicked Witch of the West. In his story, the Wicked Witch of the West is considered by many a freak and, yes, Evil. However, she is fighting for what could be the salvation of all Animals in Oz. She considers herself Evil as well, but in the end you feel for her story and you regret that she was in fact killed. Even though it is a work of fiction, he perfectly outlines my point. Evil is what you think it is. I think there is evil in the world. People who harm children, War for money is Evil and manipulating others is evil. But someone out there is sure to disagree with me, so who am I to say?

Answer 4

one question you need to ask yourself is this: does good and evil exist on its own or is it a manmade concept. Imagine, all things being the same, if there were no people on this planet. would there still be good and evil. good is subjective. evil is subjective. there are as many definitions of each as there are people because every one has their own definition of what good and evil is. you have to come to the conclusion of what you feel is evil. my definition is; anything that impinges on the life, liberty , and pursuit of happiness of an individual is evil.

Answer 5

Evil, to me, is purposeful hatred. For example, someone who goes out of their way to be mean or ruse to a person defines evil to me. Being inadvertently rude is a horrible thing to do, and shouldn't occur as often as it does. People say that there is "a lot of evil in this world", and I believe that is because people who are rude or mean to others for no purpose (not like there are any), are evil.

Answer 6

Evil is actions that cause misery to both the one who commits the action, and the one that the action is performed upon.

I believe that humanity naturally evil. Only through training can people overcome their natural tendancies and become good.

Answer 7

Jamie Calvard=EVIL.

Answer 8

My definition of evil would be a substitute word: "Malice"

I also recommend visiting any web dictionary, or look it up in Webster's Dictionary.

Answer 9

for evil to to be commited there must be choice between evil and good: to illustrate a sociopath killing somebody. the sociopath is not evil cause he have no choice he is programmed to do so he is like a robot acting on a program, but his actions are evil cause it harms somebody. so evil things and evil deeds are two kinds of evil

Answer 10

Christians.

Answer 11

you definately need to rent out lord of the flies... the answer is there.
about evil...
if you believe in god they say you should believe in the devil but I dont. I believe in lost souls similar to what happened in the movie.
I chose what i believe because i can and because it will make me a stronger person ... why even enter the thought of negativity in its purest form? wont do me any good in any way.