What, in your opinion, is the "root of all evil"?

Question

Greed? Fear?

...or is there not just one? You tell me.

Let "evil" = that which is "proven" to be wrong by undeniable logic subjectively. Lying would be a good example.

Answer 1

Not just one, but the lust for power is the worst (see Cheney). Greedy is right up there as well, as evident in our continuing crime rates across the nation. Drugs, a type of greed, is also a root of evil. Ignorance is because if you don't educate yourself (and not just school wise) you will continually make mistakes and be closed minded to resolutions, which allows evil to continue to spread. Hope my answers help.

Answer 2

Well the saying is that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. That could be interpreted as greed I suppose.
Since you apparently believe in Evil, I assume you must therefore believe in Good.
According to the Bible, Isaiah ch 45:7
God said,
"I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create Evil. I the lord, do all these things."
Again in the Bible, Amos ch. 3:6
".... shall there be Evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it."

Looks like God is responsible for evil.

edit- don't go changing the question after everyone has answered it
BTW, "undeniable subjective logic", there's no such thing

Answer 3

Human's

Also root of all good... ironic huh?

Fear isnt evil. Fear may cause you to do evil thing's but without fear there is no courage and I wouldnt exactly call that evil. not at all

Also Greed isnt evil. greed may cause evil but if you withstand the test of greed I believe it will cause you to be a better person. succumbing to greed isnt always a bad thing either as long as it causes no harm to others or yourself

without humans these things would not exist other than in primal forms. the extinctive animal versions.

Answer 4

In my experience it is more likely to be seeing how I do something as right and how others do it as wrong.

If we do it right, and they do it differently, they must be wrong.

The basic social unit of this dynamic is the family. Then the extended family. Then, perhaps a neighborhood of similar families. And several neighborhoods make a town and so on. As each grouping enlarges the number of shared values existing across the whole community decreases. At some point, values become too divergent and separate communities form. In each of those communities the members are us, or we the people. The members of other communities with different values become them.

We compete with them. We assert the superiority of our system and in many cases are willing to kill or in other ways bring terror on them. We know what is right. People who believe differently and act differently and look differently are seen as wrong. We, who act as if the beliefs we made up are true beliefs, feel justified in what ever we do to them, people who made up different beliefs.

All beliefs are made up. All beliefs are equally untrue. And we are willing to bring terror on others because they believe differently and act differently and sometimes look differently.

Evil then seems to stem from mind traps like self righteousness and arrogance. Greed and fear follow rather than lead. Violence and cruelty emerge. And it is just about comparing beliefs that are equal, just fictions made up by people.

Answer 5

Greed. Definitely.

Answer 6

Good is the root of personal evil,
Love is the root of social evil.
Life is the mother of both.

PERSONAL EVIL:
Wolf good, is rabbit evil.
When a wolf gets a good meal, a rabbit gets killed.
For every good meal you’ve eaten, something had to die.
When you do evil to something else, it is almost always to do good to yourself,
So the motivation for evil is good.

SOCIAL EVIL:
This if the evil addressed by religion and law, the evil we are ‘tempted’ to do.

Picture three men and two women living in a valley. Now imagine both women are with the biggest, strongest male, and one day the mateless males team up and kill him. Now both males want both women for themselves, BUT they agree to share for the sake of the team.

Love, is the act of considering someone else self interest as if it was your own. It is what allowed the males to team up, and by creating this small society it has created social evil. See, having sex with your friends woman might be good for you, but it’s evil for the friendship. The personal good of sex, has become the social evil of adultery. The personal good of polygamy, has become the social evil of greed.

And so humans are perpetually tempted when rules of Society, which was formed for their own good, conflicts with an immediate personal good like the sexy willingness of their neighbors cute wife.

Love creates society. So the root of social evil (& good) is Love.

Answer 7

Money (and the greed for power)

and hence women are evil.

We all know that going out with a woman cost you time and money:

So women = time x money (1)

Also time is money

So time = money (2)

therefore women = money x money

women = money ^2 (3)

so from above if money is the root of evil. Then :

money^2 = evil (4)

Therefore: women = evil (5)

Answer 8

Civilization

Answer 9

Dishonesty

Answer 10

The "root" of all "evil" is in our own minds. It's something we create in order to categorize things that are detrimental to self.