Individual evil

[MerlinsByte]

Evil people: a myth?


It is my opinion that all Individual evil is learned or is a product of an impaired or malfunctioning brain. From Hitler to Ted Bundy these people were not intrinsically evil.

Study after study shows that most serial killers and other murderers have damaged and or malfunctioning prefrontal cortexes and abnormal processes in other areas of their brain. Charles Manson was beat and sexually abused until he moved up to reform schools and prisons. So I beleive he was taught evil by our secular society and other influences. Also I feel that our DNA is degrading.

Is there true evil out there, or is evil just a learned response or a product of a diseased or malfunctioning brain?



mb

[megafreeze]

I don't think there is an ultimate evil like your thinking. There's varying forms of awareness. I think your basically right about the diseased and malfunctioning brain, but "diseased and malfunctioning" implies an error. Without being a victim of extreme evil, I would tend to think evil exists as a part of existence. Evil is subjective.

[MerlinsByte]

By megafreeze...I don't think there is an ultimate evil like your thinking. There's varying forms of awareness.

Interesting response. If you were a victim of extreme evil do you think that your opinion would change i. e. that evil exists as a for lack of a better word as a "ultimate evil" or a "supernatural force?

I feel that there is a "(1) metaphysical evil in our universe and a (2) supernatural evil that exists. However I feel that as of now it does not possess individual people, but acts as more of a subtle mass influence of conscious decision making. It gathers real energy that has an inertia. But it may just be the opposite of a positive good force i. e. Karma, and therefore be natural reactive "force".\

mb

[Mr.Vicchio]

Since man first starting putting thoughts to paper as it were, we have believed that there was "evil" in more then just an afliction of mind,l but of spirit. Where did this evil originate. Chirstians believe in Satan, or Lucifer as the embodyment of evil. Each religion or belief system has believed in this to some extent or another.

Science now, in the 21st century is trying to convince us that "evil" is just a brain disorder. That there is something "wrong" with the brain. In some, this may very well be true. If evil is just the product of damage to the brain, what then should we do?

Scan the brains of people on a regular basis? Say every 5 years from birth then 10 after the age of 20? Find someone with a "damaged brain" and do what with them?


Evil is more then a damaged brain, it's a failure of a persons soul, to understand right from wrong, good from evil.

[MerlinsByte]

EXCERPTED FROM MR VICCHIO'S POST....Since man first starting putting thoughts to paper as it were, we have believed that there was "evil" in more then just an afliction of mind,l but of spirit. Where did this evil originate. Chirstians believe in Satan, or Lucifer as the embodyment of evil. Each religion or belief system has believed in this to some extent or another. Science now, in the 21st century is trying to convince us that "evil" is just a brain disorder. That there

I agree with you in a general way. This is the problem I feel. Our entire world view and morals are in a paradigm shift. This shift renders us unable to distinguish right from wrong. Just as the Mayans sacrificed 40,000 for a festival and thought that it was entirely moral to do such a thing.


If our paradigm shift continues will eventually get to the point to where what we consider as evil today say human sacrifice, will become acceptable tomorrow. This is an extreme example, but it illustrates my point. However If we loved our brothers as ourselves ......

[OberonDOtherseid]

There are evil people out there. Those who play ignorant and pretend to NOT know what damage they cause others, they are lethal...they are narcissists.

[castille]

Evil is simply what society considers wrong. It has nothing to do with "soul" or other spiritual crap.

Murder is wrong. But is it? Animals kill all the time. Christians killed. We tolerate the killing of "evil" people (ie. Adolf Hitler). Doesn't that make us all evil?

[Runa216]

I think everyone is an individual, and there is no way to determine Evil. if the german people saw hitler as evil, they would not have agreed to slay the jews.

Same with Bush, I have heard arguments that he is as bad as hitler, but nobody sees him as 'evil' because what he has done is not bad enough to be considred 'evil'.

Also, notice how most anyone who was ever evil is in the past? why is that? because hindsight is 20/20. you could be doing something now that the world will agree is evil in 20 years. it's unlikely, but possible.

Runa

[freedom7]

Evil cannot be a learned "thing" otherwise there would be perfect people somewhere at some time on the planet. Evil is part of human nature. For those who don't want to wallow in all the possible excuses humans can make to the contrary, you can find this verified in the Bible "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" and "there is none righteous, no not one".

The only question is why is it under some constraint with some people and out of control with others. For those out of control, some have physical malfunctions, some are yielding to peer presure, some are responding to the 'environment', some just like evil, etc.

But one thing is for sure, a moral, non-evil society, cannot be maintained, or shall we say every man's evil cannot be restrained or controled, without religion. "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

That is of course assuming you want people to control themselves. Obviously there are other options like controling them with force. But usually force cannot distinguish between those who can control themselves and those who can't. So it has a tendency to try to control everyone, and everthing about everyone. Kind of like what is happening in the US today.

The U.S. is a prime example. With religion (Christian) at its hight from its beginning untile recently it was good and got better, then in the 1960's (the major turning point, the down turn actually had its roots taking hold earlier) with religion being attacked and slowly replaced by secularism, it has been getting worse.

[MerlinsByte]

So far it seems that everyone is in general agreement. What I find so interesting is that when a society embraces a world veiw or paradigm anything can be moral and right including torture or human sacrifice.

Some civilizations that practiced these rituals were long lived such as the before mentioned Mayans and other South American peoples. They had a fantastic culture that included science, astronomy and mathematics that rivaled any in history.

Maybe in 10,000 years what passes for people will ponder why the death penalty (in the USA), (I'll be nice and say Infanticide), as well as wars ,and man slaughtering man (a daily occurrence) , starvation and disease happend on this weird wide world of 2005 AD!

Will they think us stupid? Will they ask, why we , as a people with all our science and technology, and all of our do good religions, could not come together to solve these most solvable problems?

Yeah ,face the facts, we are stupid and a unlearned! No, its worse than that, we seem to be a unteachable species.

If we continue on with our hateful ways, and refuse to learn from the great teachers of history, or worse ignore them, then,our Armageddon might be a good thing for the rest of the universe. Especially if there is compassionate intelligent life out there.

mb

[tinybear]

Soon there will be answer to this age-old question; for all be revealed when we see how Anakin becomes....Darth Vader! Won't be long now, folks.

[MerlinsByte]

may the force be with you tinybear

[tinybear]

And with you too, O great wizard!

[Samildanach]

Evil is something simply created by man to explain away bad things that happen.
It is not something that can really be defined except through majority opinion as it is highly subjective. One mans evil is another mans good.

[Lora]

That's a really interesting topic idea :)

I agree with you and am of the opinion that there is no such thing as 'evil' in the world, but I do not think that evil acts such as those of Hitler and the others you mentioned are as a result of their mental functioning.

Evil is extreme selfishness. People that are said to be 'evil' or do 'evil' things are simply extremely selfish. In England, for example, Ian Huntly through his own personal experience and conditioning through life constructed a personal preference of young children as a desired sexual partner. This occurs in the same way that women prefer "guys that are tall dark handsome and insanely rich". Due to his preference being frowned upon by soceity, and against the 'norm' he felt he had to lure Holly and Jessica away from their families and the media to fulfill his desires. When the Media became aware of this he did not want to accept the responsibility for kidnapping the children - thus he killed them. A very selfish act. He denied killing them. Another selfish act.

Hitler had constructed the idea of a perfect race and because of his position in power he was selfish enough to actualy attempt to make this reality. And so on..

The public use the description of 'evilness' as some sort of subhuman personality trait to make life simpler, attempt to justify how a human person can do something we perceive as so wrong, and also to seperate these people from ourselves in the hope that we are incredibly different, better and 'normal'. Maybe you could say this is a sort of defence mechanism.

[Lora]

Quote by: Samildanach Evil is something simply created by man to explain away bad things that happen. It is not something that can really be defined except through majority opinion as it is highly subjective. One mans evil is another mans good.

Yup yup, agreed. Generally though we have the same perception for what is 'evil'.

[Samildanach]

Do we though? I seem to see someone such as Bush as one of the most evil men on the planet for initiating a war for resources, yet others seem to see him as a saviour of the poor downtrodden Iraqi people and I bet you he does not see himself as evil, just as a man who has to make hard decisions to ensure he turns around Americas declining dominance.

[Lora]

I personally agree with you, I have a similar stance on Tony Blair.

Politicians make such an effort to present a perfect image of themselves to a country it makes it harder to really understand the real person. I think maybe if you're interested enough to not simply take on the Media representations of these men and learn the truth about what they do/have done, your perception changes.

I still feel we have a general perception of what we believe to be 'evil' though when politicians come into it, it is more difficult to see them for themselves and thus judge whether they have this quality.

[MerlinsByte]

Lora, When I see a poltitician on the ahhh, telly ? I see a puppet that is controlled by money and "special interests" read more money.

They are at best benevolent blundering robots and worst a tool for the things that are bad in the world. Governments are what cause the major pain in the ass of the world and we suffer because of our dependence on the government. Mankind is addicted to this narcotic of "help me take a crap, and tell me what color, because we are so weak as to be nearly helpless without daily doses of Big governments medicine.

Most of the democratic governments are benevolent today, some are controlled by forces beyond their control. Some others are cruel by design such as North Korea.

I feel, mainly because of my religious beliefs, that evil exists as a subtle force, evil is a product of natural and supernatural processes, and the darkness has an agenda (to destroy man and everything good, according to prophesy ).

However just like in the movies good can and should prevail over darkness and evil. But the ending to this movie that we call reality is still being written.

mb

[Samildanach]

Evil is just a name to somehow reflect and identify with (and warn against) the dark side in all of us.