Evil is the violation of a moral code. Evil is the dualistic opposite of good. Evil causes harm. While scattered dictionaries may offer these clear-cut definitions, in reality a theme so prevalent in all spheres of life from the dawn of man takes on limitless forms. The word itself has come to symbolize the dividing line between regular people and callous monsters; demonic criminals who show no sign of compassion and no adherence to virtue. Ideas concerning evil have been strung along through the schools of theology, the minds of society, and the theories of philosophy throughout the history of mankind. The dichotomy between the opposing ideas of good and evil sets apart a gray area ignored by the black and white view of morality. In this gray area, reason, incentive, and relativism come into light. It is only when one investigates the meaning of evil from religious, social, and philosophical vantage points that they may truly discover the nature of evil.
In religion, the concepts of good and evil refer to a range of objects, desires, and behaviors which constitute morally positive and morally negative consequences on a spiritual level. Good is a broad concept typically comprised by associations with charity, happiness, love, and prosperity. Evil, on the other hand, can represent deliberate wrongdoing, actions designed to harm others, humiliation of people with the intent to diminish their needs and dignity, and acts of violence. Although each major religion varies in its distinctions of the two conceptions of morality, good and bad are cultural universals originating from Pre-Socratic philosophical notions. Morality in its absolute sense can be traced back to the dialogues of Plato. Book IV of Plato’s “Republic” ...
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Works Cited
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Formosa, Paul. "Kant On The Radical Evil Of Human Nature." Philosophical Forum 38.3 (2007): 221-245. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
Thomas Aquinas, SUMMA THEOLOGICA, translated by the Fathers of the English Dominician Province (New York: Benziger Brothers, 1947) Volume 3, q. 72, a. 1, p. 902
Hans Schwarz, Evil: A Historical and Theological Perspective (Lima, Ohio: Academic Renewal Press, 2001): 42–43
Gaymon Bennett, Ted Peters, Martinez J. Hewlett, Robert John Russell (2008).
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Parry, Richard D. "Morality And Happiness: Book IV Of Plato's Republic." Journal Of Education 178.3 (1996): 31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
Claudia Card begins by questioning the difference between wrong and evil. How do we know when something crosses the line between being just wrong, to being an evil act? How does hatred and motive play a part in this? How can people psychologically maintain a sense of who they are when they have been the victims of evil? Card attempts to explain these fundamental questions using her theory of evil; the Atrocity Paradigm (Card, pg.3).
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being.
The problem of evil is inescapable in this fallen world. From worldwide terror like the Holocaust to individual evils like abuse, evil touches every life. However, evil is not a creation of God, nor was it in His perfect will. As Aleksandr
Shirley Jackson’s short story “ The Possibility of Evil” is about a little old lady named Miss Strangeworth. She thinks she’s in charge of the town and to make sure it’s free from all evil because her grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street. At first Miss Strangeworth is a nice little old lady, worrying about people and wondering what others are up to. Then in the middle of the story she becomes a little rude to a few of the townspeople. In the end Miss Strangeworth thought she was getting rid of the evil in the town, but in reality she was causing evil in the town by showing her true colors and being extremely mean and cruel to others. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover because people aren’t always what they seem to be.
The article I picked to show the evil in the world today was about a man named Abner Louima. This man was arrested in 1997 and is suing the state of New York for being beaten in a restroom in the station while being questioned. The sole witness Conelle Lugg, 19, he heard loud screaming and banging noises against the wall of the bathroom while he was in his cell, he then saw a police officer push Louima into a cell pants down and blood rushing out of his open wounds. The officer then proceeded to tell Louima to get on his knees. After all this Lugg said, that Louima fell to the floor and screamed in pain and begged to be taken to a hospital.
There are two kinds of evil, moral and natural. Moral evil is things like murder, rape, stealing, terrorism, etc. Natural evil is things like suffering and unpleasantness typically as a result of moral evil. Evil is that which has no power of its own. Evil is darkness, a negation of light. Its power is in us, in our fear of it, in that we consider it a "something" worth responding to.
Evil, one word, two syllables, two vowels, two consonants. Definition: The opposite of that which is ascribed as being good. Evil? What is it? What is it made of? Can you eat it?. Any preacher, teacher, mentor, master, professor, coach, educator, or tutor who claims to know what is evil and where does it emanates from is simple and utterly a liar. Evil is not a thing you can touch or some microscopic parasite that you can examine under a microscope. Evil is not physical, although it sometimes it is said to be. Evil in its most purest form is mental. Take for instance the story of the perfect girl with no one ounce of impurity who ends up killing her whole family over night, or the tale of two little children who murdered their parents by only using their imagination. They are the living example of mental “evilness”.
Karma comes in two ways, good karma or bad karma. However Miss Strangeworth got the worst kind ever, revenge karma. In the short story, The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson, it is clear that judging others can result to bad karma, because she judges her town, and consequences return the favor. She is shallow and has too much power, however it starts with judgement. The Possibility of Evil takes us through a journey of a selfish woman and her consequences.
“…And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13) As it says in the Bible, we wish to be led astray from evil. However, evil is a very curious subject. For most intensive purposes, evil can be described as cruel, heinous, and unnecessary punishment. Evil is a relatively accepted concept in the world today, although it is not completely understood. Evil is supposedly all around us, and at all times. It is more often than not associated with a figure we deem Satan. Satan is said to be a fallen angel, at one point God’s favorite. Supposedly Satan tries to spite God by influencing our choices, and therefore our lives. However, this presents a problem: The Problem of Evil. This argues against the existence of God. Can God and evil coexist?
One’s morals set in place the actions they see as proper and improper in their current society. Individuals in the same socioeconomic settings tend to overlap and correspond to each other. Other times morals are nonexistent or different due to one’s upbringing and culture, this means that ‘appropriate’ decisions as seen by some people may be seen as ‘inappropriate’ to others. Evil in terms of morals can be defined as someone 's morals being so extreme or nonexistent when compared to those of modern society 's views that they can not be logically comprehended.
Good and evil can be summed up as a difference between rational and irrational thoughts, with the former being related to “good” and the ladder to “evil”. This is a view shared by Immanuel Kant and his Categorical Imperative. In the movie Schindler’s List, we are presented with two individuals, Oskar Schindler, who by the end of the movie displays characteristics of a man following rational thoughts, doing acts that he would want to become universal maxims. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Amon Goeth. Goeth follows his irrational thoughts, using the Jewish people as a means for his own ends.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (Lewis, 1994, p. 91). Throughout history man has had to struggle with the problem of evil. It is one of the greatest problems of the world. Unquestionably, there is no greater challenge to man’s faith then the existence of evil and a suffering world. The problem can be stated simply: If God is an all-knowing and all-loving God, how can He allow evil? If God is so good, how can He allow such bad things to happen?Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people? These are fundamental questions that many Christians and non-Christians set out to answer.
The following analysis deals with the nature and source of evil and whether, given our innate motives and moral obligation, we willingly choose to succumb to our desires or are slaves of our passion. From this argument, I intend to show that our human nature requires that we play into our desires in order to affirm our free will. This is not to say that our desires are necessarily evil, but quite the opposite. In some sense, whatever people actually want has some relative value to them, and that all wanted things contain some good. But given that there are so many such goods and a whole spectrum of varying arrangements among them, that there is no way we can conceive anything as embodying an overall good just because it is to some degree wanted by one or a group of persons. In this light, there arises conflict which can only be resolved by a priority system defined by a code, maybe of moral foundations, which allows us to analyze the complexities of human motivation. I do not intend to set down the boundaries of such a notion, nor do I want to answer whether it benefits one to lead a morally good life, but rather want to find out how the constructs of good and evil affect our freedom to choose.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novel about a man named Henry Jekyll who
The world is filled with many different words, some harder to define than other. One of these difficult words is considered by many to be evil. The definition of the word evil depends entirely upon the reader or writers perspective upon the word. The most innocent and simple ways that of would define evil is by simply saying that evil is the exact opposite of good, but what is good? In order to understand the true meaning of evil, we must first be able to describe what good is, what has goodness produced, and what has evil truly defied.