Thread: Relativity of "Evil"

We're starting a new unit in my Honors English class this week, on the Holocaust. During the course, we will be reading the book, The Night, and we're doing a journal on each chapter as we read it.

The pre-reading journal entry was, "Why do you think evil exists in the world?" I, as always, had the 'different' view. I wrote on why you need to define the word before actually applying it. I stated that "the word can denote anything from the consumption of a slaughtered cow contained in a McDonald's burger patty to the President's proposal of an amendment to ban gay marriage. The word can recognize a cartoon character in a video game, like Bowser, from Super Mario, as well as real world political figures, especcially political enemies, like Iraqi Hussein is to many Americans."

I kept on writing until it was almost a page in length. I talked about how for many people religion is a vital role in their early development of what good and evil may be. Devil, even has the word, "Evil" in it.

I went on to saying that "I don't beleive that there is or that there ever has been evil. Hitler has been portrayed as the epitomy of a hell's beast, be he was firm in his beleifs, and fought for them. He truly beleived in the superiority of the Aryan race, and he did anything he could to make sure that they would previal, and although I don't agree with it at all, I wouldn't go so far as to hating him. Some people have come accross the idea that maybe he was under the influence of a drug. This drug could have cut off his perception of reality.

"I don't think that anyone blessed with the white angel on one shoulder could be portrayed as demonic. Unless, of course, the person is impaired. Ever matter is a controvery and so people will have the tendency to choose either side. People on both sides have thier reasons. They do what they think is right, what is true, and what is virteous. To imply evil would require an alien figure that reserves itself from the laws of nature and morality.

"Why does evil exist in the world? - Because people fail to consider the oppontents views equal to their own."


In class today, we started to talk about it. I let about half the people in the class share their views, and they all talked about the Adam and Eve apple and how evil is an entity that was once released into the world, and now is to stay forever. I really didn't have any input there, being atheist, and so I waited some more. People kept on talking about why evil is here, like the prompt asked, but nobody really even touched the topic of what evil is. Sure, some people mentioned the genocide, that that was about it.

And so I raised my hand, and got my chance to speak. I told them all how I didn't beleive that there weren't any criterion for the word, and that it could mean a large variety of things. But people really didn't seem to agree. They tried to project their opinion on me, about how the killing of a human life is evil, but I couldn't really agree with it at all. I mean, to me, death is nothing, and life is only the prerequisite to death.

I can't understand how all of them will say that death is wrong and how some of them will stand up for pro choice. I told them how a week ago, I would have debated someone anti-choice into the ground, but now that I'm developing different types of views, that maybe they actually have a point. I mean, I never before put myself into the shoes of a boyfriend whose partner wanted to have an abortion. What if I was the one that wanted the baby?

In short, what I'm asking here is: Is evil a generic term to define the unfavorable, or does it exist in actuality?

My two cents, delivered in a somewhat off topic way...

Biocrite, I had a very similar experience in my english class my senior year. The discussion was about Hitler, Nazis and evil. My perspective was, and still is, that it's very hard to just pin evil on one group.

How can one lay the totality of the blame at the feet of Hitler and the Nazis for the suffering of the holocaust? It's not like the Allies of WWI didn't play an integral part in pushing Germany to the brink of that movement. We weren't there when one could take a wheelbarrow full of money, stand in line for hours and still not get the loaf of bread to feed their family to save them from starvation. I have often thought that Hitler and Nazi Germany were the scapegoats. Unfortunately I can't say that we've learned from that experience. It's something that people still do to this day.

How can a person, nation or idea be called evil and the people that directly influenced the development of that person, nation or idea be called good?

Perspectives are a powerful defining element in good and evil.


I have two thoughts on evil as an entity.

One, I'll agree with Vulture that evil is going against nature. Nature is one absolute that can't be argued with. On a global scale, evil is being demonstrated in every facet of life just about. Our minds are structured to be largely dependent upon reason as opposed to instinct. But is instinct always good? Hard to say, it's not like the monkeys don't go to "war". But at least they're fighting for their lives and territory, not for some arbitrary set of ideologies.

The second, is that evil is ignorance. Some people say that ignorance is bliss. But then the easy way out tends to be... well, easier. Heh.

Thing is, while these two things seem contradictory, they really don't have to be. We as a species, are choosing to go against the systems of nature instead of with them. We haven't put forth our brains to make it a way of life to live within the bounds of nature. Perhaps someday we will. I can only hope.