Exploring the Idea of Evil

People have constantly attempted to understand what evil truly is, and, if possible, how to eliminate this evil from their lives. However, first it must be known what it is that is being eliminated. Different people, cultures, and eras have all had a different view of what evil is, and how it affects their lives, and there is no true answer. Because of this, discussing the idea of whether people are born or can be evil is meaningless. The idea of what evil is, and whether people can be evil, is relative and cannot be applied to human nature in a universal way.

The discussion of whether evil exists is dependent on the definition of evil. In the sense of human action, evil can be seen as consciously doing harmful acts. The idea of what constitutes evil is then subjective to what a person perceives as harmful. If a society believes that an act is harmful, then it could be constituted as evil. However, this disparages the idea that evil can be universal, because what is harmful to one person or society may be perfectly acceptable to another. How can it be that the same act is considered both evil and not evil? It may be that in every act, there is a mix between evil, and its counterpart, good.

For many, good is much easier to explain than evil. Good can be seen as the right or desirable quality, and evil is the opposite. If a person does something that is seen as good, or desirable, it must be the right action for either themselves or others. If it is the right action for themselves, then each person, according to Plato, is doing a good act. A person will do what is right for them, or else it was not the right action for them. For Plato, evil is the ignorance of the right action. By being ignorant, and not consciously doing harmfu...

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...hey are not truly evil. To define people as good or evil from birth is nonsensical, because newborns do not have any conscious thought, and any actions that happen have meaning placed upon them by other philosophers, such as Xun-Zi.

When people realize that good and evil are just points of view that are placed on other people and actions, it is possible to transcend these superficial roles. Since it is people who create the meaning of evil, it cannot be said that people are evil, or are born evil, because not only is that a perspective that is assumed onto others, which will change with different cultures, societies, and eras, but the very same acts may appear to be both good and evil, depending on the perspective in which the acts are seen. Ultimately, it is the individual’s responsibility to decide for himself the effects of his actions on himself and others.