Define Human Evil

Therefore, the term “evil” has a wide range of definitions, as almost everybody have a different conception about it. Yet the most common belief that all human beings have and agree on is that evil describes any harmful acts that happen intentionally. These acts could be violating someone’s religious, cultural and philosophical testaments. Fred E.Katz supported this statement in his book “Ordinary People and Extraordinary Evil” by saying “Evil is commonly seen in religious moral and philosophical terms: as violating higher commandments” (5). Such acts comes under the heading of “inhumanity”, hence all people take it as what is called “evil”.

How does one characterize good and evil? Throughout time, people have asked this question and only received opinions based on references from

What makes a person, an object, or an event evil? Does it have to be associated with a devil, demon, or an evil force? When something is evil, is it determined to be by intuition or the morals that we are taught? Evil is defined as something profoundly immoral and malevolent. Whether or not one believes evil to be associated with some sort of supernatural being or an instinct, one can agree that if an action of another is affecting a

What is evil? Is it characterized by a desire to cause hurt or harm, “an evil mood”? What causes people to do evil? The strong feelings of hatred and dislike that builds up in all of us or simply that all our emotions are constantly on the dark side for such a long period of time. What is right from wrong when the hate in our hearts makes us all make terrible mistakes and commit evil. The writings of Confucius say, “There is no light without darkness, no positive without negative, no good without evil.” Throughout the history of humanity, humans have committed inconceivable and unthinkable acts of cruelty towards one another. From the brutal wars during the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, to the modern

All human beings, from birth to death, have an evil part of them used to survive hidden deep inside their mind. This is evident in babies who can seem innocent but really have a selfish attitude towards others since their only goal in life is to have their needs met. Evidence of this being true can be found in William Golding’s The Lord of The Flies and the film adaptation of The Hunger Games. Mankind is inherently evil but civilization changes us, we always go back to our evil side, and without a good government or set of rules we all become savages.

Good and evil are concocted differently in every imagination. To some, evil is the most appalling sins, including such heinous acts such as murder, rape, distortion, or betrayal. To others, evil might be something so simple as indecisiveness, extravagance, or vain glory. Goodness is ambiguous to mankind as well because one man might define goodness as the ordinary man living a free life, yet another might conclude that true goodness is obtainable only through a perfect, honorable lifestyle, completely abstaining from worldly endeavors. One’s attitude at good and evil will predetermine their values, actions, and points of interest. Whether life is spent pursuing heavenly goals or the applying oneself to his or her life, their

Defining evil is something we all want to do. We search for the answers to why people do sinister things. As young kids, we grow up watching horror films and wondering what motivates the killer. As young adults, we watch documentaries on serial killers and shows on Investigation Discovery that give us glimpses into the minds of killers. Where are their morals? Why is vengeance wrong? We ask ourselves. In Stephen De Wijze text, “Defining Evil” Wijze core thought is the moral effect evil acts have upon us.

When we think of the word evil, people can associate it with a variety of things because of the many meanings it has. One can think of evil as describing someone who’s abusing power while others think of an event that is morally bad or wrong. I think we can only elusively grasp the concept of evil as a whole because its meaning is shaped by our own experiences and our own judgement. So, what happens when this judgement is warped by our upbringings, society, or tradition? What about when we are told by a leader that what we do isn’t actually evil? After all, leaders and teachers and guardians are expected to use their knowledge to lead society forward on the right path. They are looked up to and as a result can manipulate peoples’ minds

Understanding evil and how it works is very important and is all over the world and can never be truly explained from one point of view. “Padrica Cain Hill, former bank teller, Washington mother and wife, dresses her three children one morning, makes breakfast for them, smokes some crack cocaine and lets the kids watch cartoons. Then with a clothesline she strangles eight-year-old Kristine and four-year-old Eric Jr. She tries to strangle two-year-old Jennifer, but leaves the girl still breathing softly on the floor. When the police come, Padrica Hill says she loves her children. Why did she kill them? ‘I don’t know,’ she answers in apparently genuine bewilderment. ‘I hadn’t planned on it’.”(Morrow) Morrow gives numerous examples that are both vague and real life events that define evil and how it brings out the good which makes you think that evil isn’t as bad as it seems. “Does the good become meaningless in a world without evil?”(Morrow) Evil is just a matter of perspective and can take any

Evil is immoral behavior and not accepting others. This is overtly displayed when Hitler hypothesized he was superior to the Jews and his Anti-Semitic policies. In Lord of the Flies, all of the boys did not accept Piggy because he has ‘ass-mar’ and is smarter than the rest. Hitler's beliefs about his superiority above the Jews and the boys views towards Piggy are evil.

"Are humans inherently good or evil". This argument is controversial because it involves our own species and the nature of us being good or evil and is also very subjective. Human nature is the belief that humans have natural instincts or tendencies in relation to the way they think, feel or act. According to Plato, "Evil acts are committed only out of ignorance. As a result it is inherently against human nature to be evil.

In other words, some people refer to evil as sin and suffering; others think of it as a separation from God while still more people personify it in the form of satan. My purpose here is not to discuss what form evil may take in an individual's life even though it may come up periodically. The central fact remains that evil, in one form or another, does exist and anyone not willing to believe in this reality quite frankly lives in a different dimension. Either that, or they simply live in a total state of denial! Keeping all this in mind, what I want to accomplish in this paper is to first explore the idea that evil is a relative term that exists within the context of each situation. Ah, yes! Even as I wrote that last sentence, I could see the wheels turning in your head. But not to worry. I will clarify soon. From this point, I will seek the wisdom of people who have tried to answer these tough questions proposed on the first page, come to some more conclusions through personal interviews and then end on a more personal note, using the help of my life experience as a Christian. This topic hits me hard at times. I often find myself in reflection, trying to formulate an answer to the evil that I see, and yes, the evil that I do. This evil will sometimes leave me feeling totally powerless and at its mercy. Yet I never give up hope for I know that just through the process of writing this paper, some new insights will be

What is considered evil depends upon each individual’s view of morality, which constantly changes through the course of that person’s life. Roy Perrett’s “Evil and Human Nature” explains this by elaborating on the customary interpretation of moral evil. This evil, caused by an intentional bad action or harm, opposes another type of evil, natural evil, which occurs without

What makes a person good or evil? Why are some people labeled as good and some evil? Why do some people have traits or characteristics of both good and evil? Are people truly evil or do they just make bad choices? Throughout our lives we are faced with making decisions about our lives and often the choices we make can determine the path we follow. Depending on our life choices we can be labeled as either good or evil. Good and evil are relative; one person can be good while another evil. Some people can possess a combination of both good and bad traits. But even those who are considered bad can be rehabilitated to display good qualities such as empathy or kindness.

So, what is evil?  Is it Hitler's near annihilation of the Jewish people during World War II or the senseless massacre at Ti'enneman Square on mainland China?  Again we turn to Webster's dictionary, which states evil as causing distress or harm, a source of sorrow, and the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. (Merriam-Webster)   Evil would be any intention to cause an undesirable effect upon one's self or on another person.  So by saying that the intentions of a person are not to cause good we automatically assume that they are out to cause evil.