Does EVIL have the right, in itself, to exist?

Question

Many people say you can't have good without evil, and most just stop right there, pick a side, and live their lives, but...

Are good and evil equal 50-50? Or is the ratio different in reality, thus disregarding and ruling out religion.

If this ratio stands, then that means that evil is just as legitimate, great, and equal as GOOD. That God and the Devil are equals. right?


So then, is being(existing) a mass murderer as legitimate as a being as a holy man?

Should an "evil" person be respected for his life-goals as a "good" person.

Answer 1

Yes, yes, yes, there can be no concept of good, without a concept of evil. Yin and yang. It is not dependant on the existence of religion. What percentage of inmates do you think have a strong faith/religion base? Would they be there if they really did have a strong faith/religion base when all religions are opposed to killing another human being, for example (I am aware that not everyone in prison is there for murder, but that's a good universal example)? I don't believe so. Religion is a tool used to guide people and help people understand their lives, but rather than having the self as the centre (selfishness), they realise there is a higher power, and that they are not alone, they have others with whom they must learn to co-exist with.

Answer 2

That's quite a question.... let me start by saying if you're pondering a topic such as this, you may enjoy reading the work of Carl Jung. He was a psycho-analyst and addressed duality to a great degree (specifically the concept of the "Shadow," the "Ego," the "Self," and the "Anima/Animus").

To deem something as "good" or "evil," we are merely making subjective observations. What's good to someone can be bad to another person; it's all in how you interpret it. That being said, I do not believe there would be good without evil, just like there would be no light without dark. How would we know what the opposite of something was if it didn't exist in the first place?

Good things happen all the time, as do bad things. To judge something as the former or the latter, we are projecting our own thoughts and opinions; therefore, nothing can be viewed objectively (unless, of course, life is viewed without the ego). Consequently, nothing is definitively good or evil. Our moral standpoint colors any given situation with values.

Additionally, I do not believe that good and evil exist totally separate. Opposing qualities intermingle all the time (just look at human beings). We, as people, are made up of every adjective known to man. Even if a person does not think of his or her self as "empathetic" (for example), he or she certainly has the capacity to exude empathy; he or she just does not identify with that particular characteristic.

Mass murders, holy men, and everything in between are absolutely legitimate. Within each of these aforementioned types of people is the ability to become another type. We're all just a one miniscule part of this grand dance called life.

Answer 3

I think the reason why good is more powerful than evil because evil can be conquered. But good can only be suppressed. It will eventually overcome.

Now I think there is a necessity for evil. It's there to be exploited. I mean look at all the repercussions it has.

So I don't think a mass murderer is even in the same solar system as a holy man. One man kills while one man saves. And that is a prime example of wicked and righteous.

Answer 4

My digestion of your question and comments:

Everything has an exact opposite. Therefore, EVIL has a corresponding opposite "twin" (which you call GOOD). No disagreement on that.

However, you then suggest that equal "existence" means equality in all ways. Since most judgements about anything are opinion rather than fact, we cannot determine if both of the opposite twins are "legitimate" and "great" since these are subjective terms.

Using your examples again, if you believe that the Devil and God are equal, they are. If you believe mass murderers and holy men are equal, they are. Equal, perhaps, but in my opinion not as "good".

Answer 5

Well, God and the devil are NOT equals, because Satan is a created being, created (as Lucifer) by God. Resist him and he will flee (James 4:7). Evil is not a person and therefore, has no "rights" to anything. Evil causes destruction, chaos. Good dispels evil, just as light dispels darkness. You CAN have good without evil. And when bad things happen to us, some of us can see that it changes us and builds our character and makes us better. So, can it really have been that bad? Satan can intend hurtful things for bad, but God is GOD and turns them and uses them for good. Good is much greater than evil.

Answer 6

How can there be demons if there are no angels? Satan without God? It's all a matter of consistency. There has to be evil for there to be good. The other cannot exist without the other. And with God and the Devil being equal in terms of the ratio, that's just wrong deduction. Like...
God is good
Good is yummy
Therefore God is yummy.
But if you insist, everything is a matter of perspective.

Answer 7

To ask if Evil has any rights is like asking whether darkness has any rights. Evil is not so much a being but a state of being in darkness. This darkness is a life absent of the light of god, non-believing would call it goodness but both are the same.
There would be some who would postulate that there are people who are Evil, but I would argue that they may be considered Evil because they are so far in this darkness that little, or no good can be found in them. Their life is so amoral that they have become like the darkness that surrounds them.

Answer 8

The intrinsically right human is not right simply in the fact of their existence. Existence in its self requires no legitimation, but an intrinsically evil being may determine the legitimation for its non-existence; we do not derive for our judging from the Judgment organ its self, we judge according to differences that are either on the right side for purpose or counter to purpose. Purpose for evil is empty or is emptied of Will as essence for purpose and only that organ for Judgment remains.

The Will is positive, the Judgment is negative.


You may have good without evil, but you can not have evil without the Judgment.

Answer 9

Evil is giving in to your base self. You let go of morality. Once you start it's like a down rollercoaster. It becomes easier as you get deeper into it. Good, on the other hand is hard upward climb. It's not easy to do the right thing. It never gets easier unless you're doing good deeds for selfish reasons. Everyone at one time probably has said to him/herself "I tired of being good. Just where's is my reward?

Answer 10

NO. Good and evil are human concepts, and evil is that which degrades human existence. A mass murderer defines the value of his own life, not the lives of his victims. But the term "holy man" is not the antithesis of evil.