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What exactly is evil?
- Thread starter Eddi
- Start date
Colt
Well-Known Member
IMOP Evil=remoteness from divinity.
Soandso
ᛋᛏᚨᚾᛞ ᛋᚢᚱᛖ
To me, evil is not just a negative action. Evil is a negative action that goes above and beyond "bad." To murder someone is bad. To take a rifle with a bump stock, go to a hotel in Vegas, and shoot down at folks enjoying a concert killing 60 and injuring 867 people - that's truly evil
Evil is a man-made concept to describe something that causes harm, misfortune, discomfort, repulsive, etc.
^^^^ This'll do?
Hermit Philosopher
Selflessly here for you
Evil is cruelty, rooted in unaddressed and/or misdirected sense of suffering/ pain/ hatred.
It is born from cruelty and it feeds, breeds and spreads cruelty wherever it goes. It can only be stopped from within - by resignation, trust, forgiveness and love.
Humbly,
Hermit
Evil is "Avidya", mental and behavioural poisons that work against well-being, sustenable existence and growth.
Nearly all of it are variations on ignorance, mythification and superstition.
Nearly all of it are variations on ignorance, mythification and superstition.
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
I would personally define "evil" as injustice, cruelty, victimizing the innocent, knowingly causing undue harm, or hardship, violating the rights of others, etc.
Ignorance of what?
Mainly of the circunstances under which we exist and act; of the full extent of the consequences of what we do and fail to do; and of the intrincate rhizome of causes, consequences and duties that originates and is fed by us all.
Do you feel that other animals (non-human) are subject to this same ignorance? Or is this avidya (evil) exclusive to the human condition?
Morality is a property or ability that arises from the symultaneous coexistence of discernment (a form of rationality) with empathy.
In other words, it is a defining characteristic of sentience. Without moral capability, there can be no moral deficiency.
So it comes down to establishing whether other animals are sentient. I stand uncertain there. It may well vary. Those with greater ability to develop abstract concepts may not exist, but if they do then they are indeed subject to morality and therefore to Avidya.
Who decides what constitutes well-being for humanity as a whole? For example, some may say everyone living like the Amish would achieve the greatest amount of well-being for all of humanity and that technology harms humanity.
Or perhaps it is that which "conserves, protects, and promotes" each individuals personal sense of well-being. In that case, how are conflicts to be resolved if one persons pursuit of personal well-being impinges on another's?
PureX
Veteran Member
That which does the most good for the most humans. It's really not that tough when we understand that we are a collective/cooperative species, first, and selfish individuals, second.
Not that tough? What constitutes good? Who decides? Does using cocaine and heroin constitute a good? Why or why not? How about sex? Is there such a thing as too much? If sex that constitutes "the most good" requires interaction with another person, who is required to meet the sexual needs of any one person? What if some people are better at it than others? Who gets to have sex with "the ones good at sex" and why?
Secret Chief
Veteran Member
Seems about right.
Secret Chief
Veteran Member
Also, the unnecessary addition of kale to a dish.
PureX
Veteran Member
It's whatever you want it to be PLUS what everyone else wants it to be.
The collective decides based on how it effects the collective. You are part of that collective, so you get to decide based on how it effects the collective as well. If you can't or won't do that, you are a traitor to the collective that you gain your subsistence from. You are a toxic parasite.
How does it effect the collective from which you gain and maintain your very existence? You decide this, but so will your fellow citizens. So beware of that selfishness.
Alright, you can have your kale on bread instead of in a dish.
