The Origin of evil

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Harris
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The Origin of evil

Post by Harris »

Every living being is a conscious independent being which has senses of pain and pleasure. Bodily sensations of pain and pleasure can be seen as a form of awareness of the states and properties of one’s own body. Such awareness makes people capable to analyse behaviour of a living being in terms of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

Animals normally are considered in conscious states but with the lack of capacity to be introspectively aware of themselves. Apparently, they do not form beliefs about what conscious states they are in, for they lack the requisite concepts to do so. Therefore, they are thought to be blind with respect to their own self.

Man, on the other side has an introspective awareness of his own conscious state that is made up of a belief that emerges out of the direct acquaintance with conscious state.

Introspective awareness of the conscious self plays a unique cognitive role in the understanding of morality. Morality can be seen as relationship between pleasure and pain, goodness and evil, and sensations of right and wrong. These ideas serve a fundamental concept of self which is usually different from the conceptions of other individuals.

The power of introspective awareness is basically the cause of feelings of self-respect that render fulfilment of any desire as contribution to self-interest. Every man respects the authority of his own individual in determining which experiences make his life go better. If narrowly thinking, a life of pleasurable sensation is better for the person even if one does not prefer it. This idea, in general, tempts people to overwhelm generally accepted moral standards using their alluring desires and consequently get involve in wishful thinking and believing in something about themselves that lacks adequate evidence because they want their seductive beliefs to be true. Being under the influence of tempting and attractive desires people try to avoid any discomfort from conflicting thoughts about their own self-image by turning their attentions to other matters or in sceptical thinking they try to construct hypotheses on the fly to prove weakness of the evidence that conflicts with their self-image. Arguably, they can practice self-deception about their motives and reasons to favour their dear desires.

When a person lacks control over his desires, inner conflict often results in the victory of evil over good. His actions may stem from appetites or desires that are not properly ruled by some higher part of the self.

As there is a propensity to evil deep in all people therefore, in some cases people are too quick to make up their minds to take an unjustified action because their appetites are too strong. The wicked among such people neglect the incentive of respect for moral law altogether; even when they act in accord with the moral law, they do the right thing for the wrong reasons and so are corrupt in their cast of mind.

Uncontrollable desires can easily lead people to hedonism which is the doctrine that pleasure is the good. Hedonism has usually been viewed as self-indulgence so the behaviour of a hedonist is morally susceptible. Unscrupulous hedonism is the cause of immoral acts such as theft which brings pleasure to the thief but pain to the victim.

Intentional activities of hedonists and their motivated processes of avoiding unpleasant truths result in their mental states of ignorance, false beliefs, unwarranted attitudes, and inappropriate emotions which are objectionable because that give hedonists a way to camouflages and support their greed, cruelty and other forms of wrongdoings. Their tactics also include rationalization, wilful ignorance, and systematic ignoring. Another strategy that unscrupulous hedonists may put into action is the distortion of standards of rationality for a false belief by exaggerating favourable evidences for what people want to believe, disregarding contrary evidences, and resting content with minimal evidence for pleasing beliefs.

Collective of unscrupulous hedonists share false beliefs and unwarranted attitudes that are provocative and contentious. Such collective tends to abuse and degrade morality by the use of debauchery as rhetorical weapon that undermines tolerance. They encourage insult for moralists based on malice and endanger commonly accepted standards of morality. When motives and consequences are evil that reduce unscrupulous hedonists into representatives of cruelty and callous moral negligence.

A lack of perception or feeling for others, lying off the scale of the ethical, in the form of a brutality or beastliness virtually falls out of the category of the human. Disrespect is inherently vicious and emphasizes the animal aspects of human life. Among evil or vicious motivations, a basic type is cruelty which is the desire to cause suffering a disposition which contrasts markedly with brutality. Such cruel behaviour is directly an attempted expression of power.

Maliciousness is another form of evil which is the desire that other people’s happiness should not exist. Normally, people in this state of mind get pleased if others come to grief, even though they do not bring it about themselves.

Both brutality and maliciousness are parts of the character of unscrupulous hedonists. People who cleverly conceal their dishonesty, there is no argument the moralist can provide is likely to change their minds.

Wealth, possession, and power which were acquired by means of deceptive deeds mainly cause superiority complex and arrogance in the behaviour of unscrupulous hedonist. However, in reality, posh lifestyle of a deceiver is only a hollow ostentation because at the foundation unscrupulous hedonist remains a cunning wicked thief who masters in stealing by exploiting forbidden practices. The main secret behind his successes in fact is the antipathy of general public against immoral, harmful, and notorious activities that leave no rival in the field who may compete the unscrupulous hedonist in his destructive activities. Without facing competition culprit is the king of felonious world.

In this article, I have brought to light only few aspects to elucidate why people turn into detrimental beasts. I recommend you to watch following two videos which make emphasis on what strokes and tactics the culprits or unscrupulous hedonists embrace by neglecting the conventional moral standards to make their success ultimate.

“Human reality is the pure effort to become God without there being any given substratum for that effort, without there being anything which so endeavours. Desire expresses this endeavour.”

Page 576
Being and Nothingness
Jean-Paul Sartre

“Thus, my freedom is a choice of being God and all my acts, all my projects translate this choice and reflect it in a thousand and one ways, for there is an infinity of ways of being and of ways of having.”

Page 599
Being and Nothingness
Jean-Paul Sartre
Platos stepchild
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Platos stepchild »

I believe the origin of evil lies in the very nature of self-awareness. In order to say I-am, it's necessary to also say I-am-not. I am not that, which means I covet that. I, then contrive a surreptitious means to acquire that. My lust for status, or a recognition which I don't have creates social discord, which in turn creates evil.

But, why covet, at all; what's the engine driving covetousness? The difference between I-am, and I-am-not runs deeper than mere envy, which is only a symptom of evil. The true root of evil lies in the split between I-am, and I-am-not. We grieve the loss of that which lies on the other side of the split. That which lies on the other side is mourned as a lost self.

If Jean-Paul Sartre is right, and the ego is in the world, as an object of consciousness, then we know ourselves as being in the world. But, the ego is separate from everything else, a stranger and sojourner in a strange place. It has no home; every footfall echoes as a recrimination, saying You don't belong here! The world is wide and the ego is small, too small and ephemeral to find peace.

The split between I-am (i.e., the ego) and the world (which isn't the ego) is painful to the ego. It, therefore fantasizes that it encompasses the whole world, which of course, it doesn't. The pleasure which the ego takes in the fantasy turns to resentment and angst, as it begins to remember the truth. The evil of being alienated from the world drives the ego to covet that which it isn't, and that which it doesn't have.

I believe the social imperative to learn represents the ego's need to be in the world. Learning about the world is the ego's way of becoming greater than itself, and thus repairing the evil of alienation. Being able to say I-am this, or I-am that assimilates a part of the world; but, it also reinforces a language-of-alienation. Evil, thus goes hand-in-hand with self-awareness, which is the origin of evil.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by EvaHawk »

While I do appreciate the thorough defamation of hedonism, I can't say that I agree. There is no such thing as an 'origin of evil,' for the simple reason that 'evil' is a human social construct, typically derived from religious or christian sources. Personally I don't sanction that explanation or definition, because I don't accept the validity of religion. Unscrupulous hedonism may in fact be the natural state of things, and (accepting for a moment that 'evil' does exist) man may indeed be a propensity to evil in all people, and a lack of control over one's desires. But as this is the natural state, and as you say hedonism is so very easy to degenerate into, why should it be beheld as such a terrible thing? For many people, the limited understanding of pleasure and pain are all they know to distinguish the concepts of 'good' and 'bad' for their own self. Thus hedonism rears its ugly head from the ignorant and simple nature of man. How can that be morally susceptible when it is impossible for the subject to understand morality in any other way? When the subject prescribing to hedonism sees pleasure as a real-world equivalent to 'good' as per their evolutionary origin and the necessities of life? I don't think it is immoral by any means to display those unscrupulous hedonistic traits. Rather; this is not evil, it is survival, and self awareness implies the prerogative of survival to take full precedence.

The origin of evil is, in my opinion, in the minds of men seeking to control other men through fear. I do not believe that any one person in the world commits evil actions for the sake of their simply being evil. I believe they perceive the world in a twisted way in which their 'evil' actions are right in accordance to their experience of social mores and/or are designed to give themselves pleasure. I think if I were to define evil it would be more along the lines of that malicious nature you described, but with no pleasure or benefit in any way to the person committing the evil. That is what it means to me. No self-aware, self-conscious being would knowingly do evil by this definition.

I see the quotes you provided as being somewhat archaic since Sartre lived in a time where it was common to accept that 'being God' meant something more than a biased abstraction. However, I respect the nobility of purpose and only mean to decry its practicality.

All of my complaints being said, I agree that morality is the relationship between pleasure and pain, and that, at its very core and by all of your definitions, is the origin of evil. But I ask you this: Has there ever been a moral man? Has he ever graced us lowly hedonists with his presence? I am just not sure such a completely 'non evil' person could ever be self aware or conscious.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Platos stepchild »

Denying the origin of evil is bit like telling a schizophrenic that his delusions are the result of his illness. Such an understanding in no way affects the veracity of those delusions. Let's take the point-of-view that, even if the origin of evil is a human construct, it's all the more imperative to understand, and not just dismiss out-of-hand.

Evil isn't merely a mistake in judgment, nor is it simple nihilism. There are certain behaviors which are proscribed by society. And yes, different societies have different moral strictures. But, cultural relativism aside each society does proscribe certain behaviors, even if following them might serve a higher good.

Those who commit, or practice evil in no way imagine that they are, in fact evil. Theirs is usually a tragic tale, inasmuch as they ultimately don't succeed in their schemes. Regardless whether it's on behalf of themselves or others, evildoers vail their schemes in secrecy, not that they believe they're wrong, but so they won't get caught before their schemes reach fruition.

Such secrecy breeds a romantic disposition. And, despite the opprobrium we may heap upon them, evildoers always have our grudging admiration. They fly like Icarus, too close to the sun, and fall alongside their schemes upon a very hard ground. There is never an alter-of-evil, only the desire to do good, and damn the consequences.

I've already given my opinion as to the origin of evil. What I'm doing now is giving an apology of evil. I don't believe it's something we can educate out of people, nor is it something we can evolve out of. We practice evil, in secrecy and in the misguided belief we're doing the good which others have no stomach for. So, is there such a thing as evil, or is it the practice, thereof?

The question of evil as a Platonic universal is probably intractable. But, we're usually able to recognize evil, when we see it. Not, as I said because there's an alter-of-evil, but, rather because we eventually see those proscribed behaviors being violated. And then, we go from shaming the evildoers to clamoring for their deaths.

We know evil, we fantasize about it like a teenager's wet dream. If only we had Plato's Ring of Gyges, and could thereby become invisible. What evil we would spawn! We'd avenge ourselves, or maybe the little twerp from down the street, who keeps getting beaten up. (Then maybe we'd beat him up ourselves, just because he's such a weakling. It's surely a good thing to edit him out of the gene pool).

But, regardless of why we'd do what we could, with Plato's talesman, we ultimately commit evil because it feeds our egos. We want to see goodness triumph so badly, we'll do anything to make it happen. And so, we hatch our plans, in private. We nefariously recruit various dupes to carry out those plans; and, we finally strike at the right moment, in the name of whatever good we're trying to accomplish.

Our strike can be big, or small. And when it does, eventually fail we believe deep in our hearts that we're the victims. O' what good we might have done, had fate just been kinder! The Ring of Gyges can only render us invisible, it can't render us immaterial. We eventually face public opprobrium. We're judged by lesser mortals, who certainly wouldn't have had the stones to dare take the forbidden fruit. And so, our evil schemes die, only to be reborn in someone else.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Lark_Truth »

It seems obvious that you guys have thought very in depth about this topic, which is amazing.

Maybe try it this way: Evil is not innate in humans, it has to be taught.
While we are young, we are extremely susceptible to exterior influences. Sometime in the years of our first decade in life, we are developing ourselves. Our modes of though, our behaviors, our early knowledge, etc. Often times we try to mimic what we see older people doing. We speak certain vocabulary words (kids seem to like picking up swear words), we want to watch certain TV shows or movies, we like dressing up certain ways. It is within these early years of our life that most parents try to teach their kids to do good (or receive a spanking!). But if our parents and guardians don't teach us, they are by default encouraging bad habits that lead us into taking up lifestyles which are not good. Pornography, sex, dishonor, murder, drugs, alcohol, none of that was apart of the human life at the very first. As babies we are innocent, when we learn we loose that innocence and someone--whether they do it directly or indirectly--takes advantage of that. If you're looking for the origin of evil, don't look inside, look outside.
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Harris
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Harris »

At birth when an infant takes his first breath, he has a sense of discomfort and he reacts to it by a cry. Feeling of discomfort is the first sense that his senses unveil to his awareness when he first inhale the air. But what is awareness?

In the above scenario, the important part is the innate knowledge that tells the new born on how to react when encountered with certain sensual bother. As if there is a set of instructions embedded in his cognizance that tells him when to react and how to react. Another example is his instinctual act of seeking and sucking of the breast.

This innate knowledge is the fundamental foundation of the apprehension of pleasure and pain and it is not the outcome of any former sensory experience. The innate human knowledge is not the acquired knowledge the same way as birds, termites, spiders, etc. have not acquired the knowledge on how to engineer their dwelling places.

Based on these observations, many prominent thinkers have supported the idea of innate knowledge. For example:

Plato argued that humans know many things and have many concepts, which they have not learned or acquired on earth. Hence, humans must have learned them in a previous existence.

(Phaedo 73a-78a and Meno 81b-86b)

Leibniz put it this way:

“This fits in with my principles, for nothing naturally enters our mind from outside; and it is a bad habit of ours to think of our soul as receiving messenger species, or as if it had doors and windows. We have all these forms in our mind and indeed always have had; because the mind always expresses all its future thoughts, and is already thinking confusedly of everything it will ever think clearly. We could not be taught something unless we already had the idea of it in our mind, the idea being like the matter out of which the thought is formed.”

Section 26.
Discourse on Metaphysics,
trans. G. Montgomery, La Salle

The knowledge of good and evil is directly proportionate to the awareness of pleasure and pain but because awareness is the inherent quality of human construct therefore the knowledge of virtue and vice is innate in its basic form. In my opinion, any attempt to eradicate any inherent quality of human construct is in itself an immoral act.
Ace9
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Ace9 »

...I would recommend that anyone interested in this topic read Nietzsche's 'Genealogy of Morals' which was also a refinement of his earlier work including ' Beyond Good and Evil' That aside on to the topic at hand...Evil is a construct of the conscious awareness that attempts to label the actions and behaviors of a particular individual or collective of individual as unacceptable. Unacceptable in the sense that the brain may perceive a potential threat. If enough individuals within a social context share the same disposition then these particular individuals could in turn label these A&B's as 'evil' The thing we need to keep in mind when discussing anything that the conscious awareness produces from interacting with the environment and other humans is that labels serve to categorize and compartmentalize things. The human brain has evolved to recognize risk (fight or flight) and events that may pose a threat or an advantage which in turn informs the response. The aforementioned categorization and compartmentalization serves to make A&B's more predictable, which is in turn is observable as predictive behavior by others, and so on...

So in the end Evil is a label that the conscious awareness can recall from memory, as those set of A&B's that are recognizable, and respond accordingly. Really nothing more or nothing less. Of course all of this assumes that the brain has no free will. If you adhere to the belief that humans have free will and are able to make choices than all bets are off. We also have the capacity of denial that will protect you from evil. and that's a good thing :)
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The Philosopher
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by The Philosopher »

There are many reasons for someone to do evil, but the first origin of evil is envy. This is how it starts, then it passes to the next one like load, and become vengeance against everyone or forgiveness, depends on its quality. Take random kids and raise them in the perfect environment with the best examples and teachings, and see what happens as soon as someone distinguish somewhere. Evil is in human nature, but not of every human. not everyone lead by envy and random vengeance ... I'm talking about the golden the bronze and the iron race... Yes they exist, regardless of color, size and shape.

By the way, nice to meet you all, this is my first comment in this interesting forum.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Ace9 »

Philosopher,...do you see evil as a description of actions or behaviors that are recognizable by others as socially unacceptable?
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Phenomexistentialist
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Phenomexistentialist »

Harris wrote:Every living being is a conscious independent being which has senses of pain and pleasure. Bodily sensations of pain and pleasure can be seen as a form of awareness of the states and properties of one’s own body. Such awareness makes people capable to analyse behaviour of a living being in terms of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

Animals normally are considered in conscious states but with the lack of capacity to be introspectively aware of themselves. Apparently, they do not form beliefs about what conscious states they are in, for they lack the requisite concepts to do so. Therefore, they are thought to be blind with respect to their own self.

Man, on the other side has an introspective awareness of his own conscious state that is made up of a belief that emerges out of the direct acquaintance with conscious state.

Introspective awareness of the conscious self plays a unique cognitive role in the understanding of morality. Morality can be seen as relationship between pleasure and pain, goodness and evil, and sensations of right and wrong. These ideas serve a fundamental concept of self which is usually different from the conceptions of other individuals.

The power of introspective awareness is basically the cause of feelings of self-respect that render fulfilment of any desire as contribution to self-interest. Every man respects the authority of his own individual in determining which experiences make his life go better. If narrowly thinking, a life of pleasurable sensation is better for the person even if one does not prefer it. This idea, in general, tempts people to overwhelm generally accepted moral standards using their alluring desires and consequently get involve in wishful thinking and believing in something about themselves that lacks adequate evidence because they want their seductive beliefs to be true. Being under the influence of tempting and attractive desires people try to avoid any discomfort from conflicting thoughts about their own self-image by turning their attentions to other matters or in sceptical thinking they try to construct hypotheses on the fly to prove weakness of the evidence that conflicts with their self-image. Arguably, they can practice self-deception about their motives and reasons to favour their dear desires.

When a person lacks control over his desires, inner conflict often results in the victory of evil over good. His actions may stem from appetites or desires that are not properly ruled by some higher part of the self.

As there is a propensity to evil deep in all people therefore, in some cases people are too quick to make up their minds to take an unjustified action because their appetites are too strong. The wicked among such people neglect the incentive of respect for moral law altogether; even when they act in accord with the moral law, they do the right thing for the wrong reasons and so are corrupt in their cast of mind.

Uncontrollable desires can easily lead people to hedonism which is the doctrine that pleasure is the good. Hedonism has usually been viewed as self-indulgence so the behaviour of a hedonist is morally susceptible. Unscrupulous hedonism is the cause of immoral acts such as theft which brings pleasure to the thief but pain to the victim.

Intentional activities of hedonists and their motivated processes of avoiding unpleasant truths result in their mental states of ignorance, false beliefs, unwarranted attitudes, and inappropriate emotions which are objectionable because that give hedonists a way to camouflages and support their greed, cruelty and other forms of wrongdoings. Their tactics also include rationalization, wilful ignorance, and systematic ignoring. Another strategy that unscrupulous hedonists may put into action is the distortion of standards of rationality for a false belief by exaggerating favourable evidences for what people want to believe, disregarding contrary evidences, and resting content with minimal evidence for pleasing beliefs.

Collective of unscrupulous hedonists share false beliefs and unwarranted attitudes that are provocative and contentious. Such collective tends to abuse and degrade morality by the use of debauchery as rhetorical weapon that undermines tolerance. They encourage insult for moralists based on malice and endanger commonly accepted standards of morality. When motives and consequences are evil that reduce unscrupulous hedonists into representatives of cruelty and callous moral negligence.

A lack of perception or feeling for others, lying off the scale of the ethical, in the form of a brutality or beastliness virtually falls out of the category of the human. Disrespect is inherently vicious and emphasizes the animal aspects of human life. Among evil or vicious motivations, a basic type is cruelty which is the desire to cause suffering a disposition which contrasts markedly with brutality. Such cruel behaviour is directly an attempted expression of power.

Maliciousness is another form of evil which is the desire that other people’s happiness should not exist. Normally, people in this state of mind get pleased if others come to grief, even though they do not bring it about themselves.

Both brutality and maliciousness are parts of the character of unscrupulous hedonists. People who cleverly conceal their dishonesty, there is no argument the moralist can provide is likely to change their minds.

Wealth, possession, and power which were acquired by means of deceptive deeds mainly cause superiority complex and arrogance in the behaviour of unscrupulous hedonist. However, in reality, posh lifestyle of a deceiver is only a hollow ostentation because at the foundation unscrupulous hedonist remains a cunning wicked thief who masters in stealing by exploiting forbidden practices. The main secret behind his successes in fact is the antipathy of general public against immoral, harmful, and notorious activities that leave no rival in the field who may compete the unscrupulous hedonist in his destructive activities. Without facing competition culprit is the king of felonious world.

In this article, I have brought to light only few aspects to elucidate why people turn into detrimental beasts. I recommend you to watch following two videos which make emphasis on what strokes and tactics the culprits or unscrupulous hedonists embrace by neglecting the conventional moral standards to make their success ultimate.

“Human reality is the pure effort to become God without there being any given substratum for that effort, without there being anything which so endeavours. Desire expresses this endeavour.”

Page 576
Being and Nothingness
Jean-Paul Sartre

“Thus, my freedom is a choice of being God and all my acts, all my projects translate this choice and reflect it in a thousand and one ways, for there is an infinity of ways of being and of ways of having.”

Page 599
Being and Nothingness
Jean-Paul Sartre
Adam and Eve ate the apple.

jk. Evil is predicated on our understanding that actions we can take can be beneficial or harmful to others. Evil is action in accordance with the intention of doing some harm to another that would be avoidable or not in the service of the greatest good. As long as humanity has existed, evil has been a part of us. As has been goodness.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by LuckyR »

Evil is a natural result of social interaction. When two individuals are more than strangers, they have a relationship. This relationship implies certain obligations to the members of the relationship. Once an obligation is created, it is only a matter of time before the obligations will be willfully violated. This violation is the first evil, or wrong doing.

In a world of two individuals who have no relationship, hurtful behaviors are, by definition not evil since the two have no relationship to defend, so any behavior can be chalked up to selfishness.
"As usual... it depends."
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Socrateaze »

The origin of "evil" clearly dates back to the earliest evolutionary state of people, back when they still were animal. Animals are selfish, but sometimes work socially together to increase their security in numbers. Evil is selfish, like most animals and many primates attack other animals outside their group to advance territory. We still do the same for similar reasons, which is called war. Thus, to look for the origin of evil in us as intellectuals is foolish, since it has its origin in pre-evolutionary history. I say, embrace evil, it is older than our notion of morality and probably went by a different name before we could walk upright.

Not everybody is your friend and since so many live under the guise of fairy tale hogwash, while in reality they secretly put you down or bomb you while you are asleep, I say we cannot afford to think the whole world is one happy troop of primates. As my friend once said, "do unto others before they do unto you," our governments do it in anyway. Our leaders have not forgotten the laws of nature and they live by Evil, the least that we can do is to not be so trusting and be a little selfish ourselves. "Good hearts don't win any glory."
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by LuckyR »

Socrateaze wrote:The origin of "evil" clearly dates back to the earliest evolutionary state of people, back when they still were animal. Animals are selfish, but sometimes work socially together to increase their security in numbers. Evil is selfish, like most animals and many primates attack other animals outside their group to advance territory. We still do the same for similar reasons, which is called war. Thus, to look for the origin of evil in us as intellectuals is foolish, since it has its origin in pre-evolutionary history. I say, embrace evil, it is older than our notion of morality and probably went by a different name before we could walk upright.

Not everybody is your friend and since so many live under the guise of fairy tale hogwash, while in reality they secretly put you down or bomb you while you are asleep, I say we cannot afford to think the whole world is one happy troop of primates. As my friend once said, "do unto others before they do unto you," our governments do it in anyway. Our leaders have not forgotten the laws of nature and they live by Evil, the least that we can do is to not be so trusting and be a little selfish ourselves. "Good hearts don't win any glory."
There is a difference between "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" as a strategy for avoiding the fallout from interacting with evil people as opposed to becoming a more aggressive evil person yourself to accomplish the same ends. One changes who you are and one does not (assuming you weren't inherently part of the problem to begin with).
"As usual... it depends."
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Atreyu »

Man became capable of 'evil' once he lost his self-consciousness, i.e. when he became unconscious, i.e. when he became immersed in dreams and fantasies.

Evil is only possible for an unconscious man. A conscious man would never do anything he himself considers 'evil'. Only an unconscious automaton, i.e. modern man, could 'do' things that he himself regards as 'bad'.
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Re: The Origin of evil

Post by Socrateaze »

LuckyR wrote:
Socrateaze wrote:The origin of "evil" clearly dates back to the earliest evolutionary state of people, back when they still were animal. Animals are selfish, but sometimes work socially together to increase their security in numbers. Evil is selfish, like most animals and many primates attack other animals outside their group to advance territory. We still do the same for similar reasons, which is called war. Thus, to look for the origin of evil in us as intellectuals is foolish, since it has its origin in pre-evolutionary history. I say, embrace evil, it is older than our notion of morality and probably went by a different name before we could walk upright.

Not everybody is your friend and since so many live under the guise of fairy tale hogwash, while in reality they secretly put you down or bomb you while you are asleep, I say we cannot afford to think the whole world is one happy troop of primates. As my friend once said, "do unto others before they do unto you," our governments do it in anyway. Our leaders have not forgotten the laws of nature and they live by Evil, the least that we can do is to not be so trusting and be a little selfish ourselves. "Good hearts don't win any glory."
There is a difference between "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" as a strategy for avoiding the fallout from interacting with evil people as opposed to becoming a more aggressive evil person yourself to accomplish the same ends. One changes who you are and one does not (assuming you weren't inherently part of the problem to begin with).
And what problem would that be? How is it a problem to be evil? Hitler was evil, but he drew too much attention to himself. He kept going despite the ground he won in the war and caused a cry out when he killed six million Jews. That is evil, but it is sloppy, not the kind I am interested in.
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The Unfakeable Code®

The Unfakeable Code®
by Tony Jeton Selimi
April 2023

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
by Alan Watts
May 2023

Killing Abel

Killing Abel
by Michael Tieman
June 2023

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead
by E. Alan Fleischauer
July 2023

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough
by Mark Unger
August 2023

Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
September 2023

Artwords

Artwords
by Beatriz M. Robles
November 2023

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope
by Dr. Randy Ross
December 2023

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes
by Ali Master
February 2024

2022 Philosophy Books of the Month

Emotional Intelligence At Work

Emotional Intelligence At Work
by Richard M Contino & Penelope J Holt
January 2022

Free Will, Do You Have It?

Free Will, Do You Have It?
by Albertus Kral
February 2022

My Enemy in Vietnam

My Enemy in Vietnam
by Billy Springer
March 2022

2X2 on the Ark

2X2 on the Ark
by Mary J Giuffra, PhD
April 2022

The Maestro Monologue

The Maestro Monologue
by Rob White
May 2022

What Makes America Great

What Makes America Great
by Bob Dowell
June 2022

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!
by Jerry Durr
July 2022

Living in Color

Living in Color
by Mike Murphy
August 2022 (tentative)

The Not So Great American Novel

The Not So Great American Novel
by James E Doucette
September 2022

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches
by John N. (Jake) Ferris
October 2022

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All
by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
November 2022

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity

The Smartest Person in the Room
by Christian Espinosa
December 2022

2021 Philosophy Books of the Month

The Biblical Clock: The Untold Secrets Linking the Universe and Humanity with God's Plan

The Biblical Clock
by Daniel Friedmann
March 2021

Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe

Wilderness Cry
by Dr. Hilary L Hunt M.D.
April 2021

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute
by Jeff Meyer
May 2021

Surviving the Business of Healthcare: Knowledge is Power

Surviving the Business of Healthcare
by Barbara Galutia Regis M.S. PA-C
June 2021

Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure

Winning the War on Cancer
by Sylvie Beljanski
July 2021

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream
by Dr Frank L Douglas
August 2021

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts
by Mark L. Wdowiak
September 2021

The Preppers Medical Handbook

The Preppers Medical Handbook
by Dr. William W Forgey M.D.
October 2021

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress
by Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, MD
November 2021

Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir

Dream For Peace
by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah
December 2021