why does evil exist in the world? could we live without evil?

Answer 1

First you need to offer a definition of evil. I would say "unnecessary suffering." Not all suffering is evil because some of it (say disciplining a child) leads to a greater benefit and good. Suffering that actually serves no purpose, or serves a purpose minor compared to the extent of the suffering is evil. While it may be difficult to determine to what extent a given end will justify inflicting suffering, there are obvious cases where the suffering really is unnecessary. A vivisector who cuts up a conscious animal not because administering anathesia would interfere with the experiment but simply because they could not be bothered to take a moment to give the animal anasthesia really has caused unnecessary suffering and really has done something wrong, maybe even evil.

Could we live without this? Its very obvious that we could. People that talk a bunch of nonsense about "balance" are only able to make sense to themselves because they have a confused, mystical view about the nature of evil. Evil is not some abstract force of the universe forever in balance with good, it is the suffering and pain that occurs to real beings. Why does it exist? Well for a whole number of reasons; there is not one cause of evil, but a multitude. Hitler's evil has different reasons for existence than the vivisector from above's evil.

And if evil really was necessary for existence, it would not be evil. The very term "evil" implies something that can be avoided. If you have only one possible course of action open to you, that course of action cannot be called evil. It may cause a lot of suffering, but it is unavoidable, and since it is unavoidable, it cannot be judged to be the wrong option, which is what calling it evil would imply. So if "evil" is a thing necessary for the balance of the universe, it is not really evil.

Answer 2

Like Molly stated, everything in the universe has an opposite. The universe is balanced. Without balance there would be utter chaos. Without this balance the universe would either cease to exist or have never came to exist in the first place. Many believe in organized chaos. That would be unpredictability balanced with predictability. Why does evil exist in the world? The answer would depend on what you would define as evil. Is the premature death of a child evil? Is the actions of a mass murderer evil? The concept of evil is difficult to define or explain. What is easier to explain is the relationship between happy and sad. These are opposite feelings that would cease to exist without the other. If you have never experienced sadness how could you be sure if you were happy. Without getting into discussion it is simple to understand that we could not live without evil for we would not ever get to experience the effects that balance it.

Answer 3

Evil exist in the world because man/woman were given a WILL to know right from wrong. It is their decision on which path to follow. To do good or evil??? Could we live without evil. Most certainly. The world would be a much better place if it were rid of the evils of things such as hate and greed. For from hate we have murder, homophobia, racism the list could go on...and from Greed....mans destruction of the world and ruin of his fellow man. I could use a little less evil in my life, I'm sure we all could...but I doubt since man has a will to know right from wrong that this is ever going to happen.

Answer 4

The things you or I consider "evil" are mere reflections of our upbringings. What we, or most people, consider universally evil includes but is certainly not limited to cruelty, deception, sexual misconduct, etc., and is pretty much ubiquitious. The rest is a matter of relativism.

The bottom line is that evil acts cause suffering. We can all pretty much agree on that. But suffering does not necessarily arise from evil, and that's a fine point humans often miss. Unlike evil, suffering is essential to life.

Evil could be viewed, in our own terms, as the intent to cause suffering. Every creature obeys this intent, whether they are aware of it or not. It's built into our survival mechanism, the drive to fend off predators and dominate competitors.

Altruism also arose from the need to survive, specifically in humans, chimps, dolphins, and other intelligent social creatures. Thus we gained the ability to distinguish between selfish and selfless behavior. The conception of evil and good as higher truths is ultimately a product of our higher intelligence, of our use of abstracts and antipodes when we deal with complex ideas interpret the behavior of others. The same can be said of "free will", regardless if there really is such a thing.

But we often break things down so much that the binary thinking gets the better of us, and we're left thinking there's nothing but good and evil in the world! Bologna. While they are certainly distinguishable from one another, good and evil are only human concepts. One has no inherent meaning apart from the other.

You see, the association of good and evil with a deity or deities, or some other divine scheme, is a clever attempt to justify our own views. We all have to bestow suffering on other creatures in order to survive, just as we ourselves have to experience suffering. No creature is perfect. We might as well be thinking we're on the right "side" of the "battle", that we're the "good guys", right? Tastes like chicken... but no, not quite.

The words "good" and "evil" offer relief from having to face this big truth (call it the second law of thermodynamics, or Siddhartha's First Noble Truth) that everything suffers, that impermanence rules, and that disorder in the universe never ceases to increase. Good and evil are manifestations of this suffering truth, and are entirely subjective; they themselves are not transcendent. Conventional wisdom is no more than a zeitgeist.

Can we live without evil? Certainly, but then we'd have a poor conception of what constitutes "good". They're just labels. Only suffering, and its absence, happiness, are real.

Answer 5

I believe Evil exist in the world so that we who are good can be the better of it toward other people in our lives. Yes all people can live without evil through love and kindness in there hearts ( up bringing ) and believing that the good that they do is always much more rewarding in life.

Answer 6

Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man

There are also many other references to various
types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi
(worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of
antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former
professsor of the history of science, mentions
approximately thirty ancient cultures that
believed in the concept of a series of ages and
the rise and fall of history, with alternating
Dark and Golden Ages.

More details of these Ages are available in the
Yuga concept of the Hindus. The present age
is known as Kali Yuga (age of darkness).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Yuga

There was no evil in the Golden Age and
all people lived with harmony and peace.

Some astrologers predicted that we
we will see the begining of the New Age from
2020:

http://www.search.com/search?q=New+Age

"From 2020, winds of spiritualism will blow
across the entire world, awakening more and more people
in its wake. Where limits of (modern) science end,
spiritualism begins. .... Along with scientific
progress, intellectuals will start recognizing the
importance of spiritualism. .... From 2050, a new era
will begin...."

[Swami Dattavadhut, Prophecies 1998 to 2100,
Vanita Books, Mumbai, 1997, pp. 33-42].

Answer 7

Evil lies in the eye of the beholder. Most folks that act "evil" in your eyes are justified in their own eyes. I don't think that true, malicious evil really exists. Someone like the boogeyman or the devil. That stuff only exists in Hollywood.

Answer 8

everything in the universe has an opposite. Yin Yang
you cannot have one without the other. God/Satan etc.
a world without evil is unimaginable.

Answer 9

Dark are thy ways and dark are thy words,

But in thy words and in thy ways is light.

We learn from both negative and from positive experiences in life. Choice is the gift you possess to succeed.

Truth is one key.

Answer 10

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