What Do We Think Evil And Good Are To Us?

I don't believe in actual good and evil

 

Umm... it depends on situation.

 

I do believe in a good and an evil, I am not sure if there's a universal and absolute definition to each but I think it's highly relative to one's own value system and ethical code.

There are many things I see as evil; for example, abusing children. I personally find that children's innocence should not be touched or taken away from them in any fashion. Also, honor killings, crimes of passion, etc. I find them to be very evil. Hurting others or subjecting people to pain, because one can (aka power abuse) is on the top of my list.

The acts I consider as good fall under helping others; protecting the helpless, ending poverty, advancing and improving human life, aiding someone reach their potential, caring for family members, saying kind words or showing support or understanding, smiling, returning the favors back or paying it forward. Doing good because one can is on the top of this list too.


Of course, you always get situations where the line between the two is fuzzy and you can't tell whether one action falls under good or evil, and I think that's where the (somewhat inevitable) grey area comes in.

 

No such thing as good. It's never a selfless act so if you're helping someone out and you're like a good Christian and you get satisfaction from helping someone out, that is such a selfish act. Everything is eeeevil.

 

If you help someone and they feel good about it and you feel good about it, how is that evil just because it's not a "selfless act"?

 

Every act has ulterior motives, even if it is subconsciously

 

Yes and the ulterior motive is that you try to build a bond and hope that person would do the same for you, although you shouldn't expect it. I still don't see how this could be evil.

 

I don't think it's evil, I just wanted to point out it isn't "good" either

 

Hhhm ok. I still have to disagree. I think there is such a thing as general goodwill and wanting to see others reach their full potential. The more people succeed, the more they are able in turn to help others, so it's a never-ending cycle of goodwill and creation of opportunities for others.

 

If I were to list some of the evil I have seen under the sun, I would dare venture to say there would be those that would disagree they were evil because they have already chosen to believe evil does not exist. Does that negate the word and its meaning? No. What about devious? We could go on and on. I really would hate to see a thread filled with evil things. I would not wish to read about them. There have been some books in my life left unopened, and for a reason.

Good things would be fine.

I see this as a precursor to the great debate and thus choose to sit this one out.

 

I think the concepts of good and evil were created by humans, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are real or not real.

For example, we can classify a criminal as evil because of some sort of terrible act that they committed, but are they truly evil? What if they have a psychological disorder that made them commit the act?

Or we can say that a person is good because they commit acts of kindness, and selflessness. Yet many of us say that it isn't necessarily good because there are ulterior motives, whether they be conscious or subconscious.

Yet when we look at an animal...

So a cat kills a mouse. It is evil? No, we say it is natural, a predator that killed its prey.

Maybe another cat walks over to someone and licks their hand as a sign of affection. Are they good? Or does it just want food? Or does it just want affection? We don't know.

Basically, my beliefs are the the concepts of good and evil were created by our human minds. I'm not saying that it is actually the case, and I'm not saying the concept is bad either, it is actually quite interesting to think about.

JUST REMEMBER PEOPLE: these are just my personal views on the subject...it isn't written in stone!

 

good and evil could be equated to constructive and destructive.. which sorta clarifies their meaning a little but not entirely. ultimately, i think they're two sides of the same coin, and you'd see either one or the other depending on who YOU are, rather than what the act is.

also, selfish =/= bad, and most things we do are "selfish" in the technical sense of the word

 

I have come to simply think of good as "what really works" an evil as "what doesn't work." Evil tends to be a non-starter and winds up limiting us and our freedom, effacing the truest "us." Evil is illusion-based, good is reality-based. Of course, there are shades and nuances to all this, but that is my basic starting point.

 

I dislike the words 'good' and 'evil' for they have reference to being judged by some religious belief system. And as you say - trying to enforce it by threats of going to hell if one isn't good.

If one tries to go about their life and "do no harm" - it gets very interesting in figuring out the "harm". Am I harming someone? Am I harming some 'thing'? Am I harming myself? And what is the definition of harm. As Odyne pointed out - harming someone On Purpose - can be equated as evil. But what about all of those parents who spanked their children thinking that was the correct way to raise them? We all know that ultimately it caused harm to them. And it was done on purpose - with good intentions.

If we as a society had to actually live with and be dependent upon one another we would see first hand the consequences of our actions. But because we generally live isolated lives - we cannot see the harm we do while trying to survive. Corporations do everything for us. And if they don't - the government does. In fact - as you have pointed out - those 2 entities tell us what actions we CAN take and which ones we CAN'T. We almost have no free will anymore.

Every day I find myself caught between a rock and hard place trying to do no harm. So I end up chosing the least harm - as my limited knowledge guides me.

I guess for a person to be able to choose between good and evil he would have to be informed as to the consequences of his actions.

I once heard a quote that says - The line drawn between good and evil cuts across every (hu)man's heart. Therefor - who can judge another as evil or good when the judger is capable of doing both as well.

 

• Good: Making a choice that is at least as good for others as it is good for you
• Evil: Making a choice that is good for you at the expense of others.

That's basically it.

 

+1
I have met evil people. Those that do not believe in evil would do well to hope not to meet them.