Essay on Evil and Human Nature

Evil is a part of mankind; it is something that cannot be defeated. “One recurring theme in early British literature is the idea that evil characters are directly related to experiences of tragedy, pain, confusion, and sadness” (Herrera). In Grendel, tragedy and confusion is seen throughout the story. The theme in the story of Macbeth is tragedy and pain. This early literature exemplifies evil through these themes. The philosophers whose theories support these themes through British literature are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Sigmund Freud and Fred Alford. Throughout the stories of Grendel and Macbeth, evil is displayed differently as well as the theories that contribute to the evil seen. Although their philosophy of the source of evil is different, they all conclude that evil comes from within.

The Problem of Evil A) For what reasons may suffering create philosophical problems for a religious believer? (10) B) Outline two solutions to these problems and comment on their success (10) A) The problem of suffering has been around since the dawn of time, or as religious philosophers believe; since Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden. The first problem that arises from evil is that we believe that the God of classical theism has certain attributes.

This semester’s class theme revolved around the narratives of good and evil. I surprisingly enjoyed the theme because of the multitude of conversations that stemmed from the class’s different opinions on good and evil. From talking about the different theories and ideas behind what makes something or someone good or evil, I was pleasantly surprised to see the relevance of these two contrasting ideas in literature. Initially, before this English 1102 class I saw good and evil and two opposite ideas like a balancing scale where there are only either good or evil people or actions. Upon further discussion and texts throughout the semester, I find my initial ideas of good and evil very vague as there are many more aspects that go into what makes a person or act good or evil. I found myself focusing on the disguised evils which are exhibited in the first essay and third project and essay for the class. The two essays and wildcard in my portfolio cover this element of English 1102 and allowed me to take a more critical and analytical understanding of the theme of good and evil.

Throughout time humans have been trying to explain the nature of evil and man’s relationship with evil. Many have come up with an explanation that seems logic but yet some still disagree. In this case the authors of Macbeth, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Picture of Dorian Gray, Paradise lost, and Beowulf all share the same concept that anyone has the capacity to do evil, but they disagree with each other on the idea that evil is not a choice.

It is a very arguable subject on whether or not people are born with good intentions, and therefore taught by others the ‘evil’ side of their personality. Whether it is the absence of ethical conduct in human nature, or just the way one perceives a situation, evil seems to be prominent in our everyday lives. Humans seem to have a moral code that follows them with every decision they make, yet despite the laws of morality and society, people of this world still seem to behave inhumanely because of the act of self-preservation, human interest, and who exactly the authority figure is at the time.

In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,William Golding’s Lord of the Flies , and C. S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet all depict how mankind is born innocent and turned to evil. The stories show that this conversion to evil is caused by the influence of society or characters acting in the place of a society. The corruptibility of mankind is illuminated in these texts. The treachery, dishonesty, and murder as shown in the stories are not acts of innocence. In their books, the authors point out that mankind is not innately evil but instead born innocent and converted to evil by society.

It is impossible to refute the reality of evil in the world, Hick argues; the Bible, for example, “faithfully reflect[s] the characteristic mixture of good and evil in human experience” (290). Yet such evidence

Since the discovery of philosophy by the Greek civilizations man has always tried to find the cause of many fundamental problems that are connected to the reality and existence of factors that contribute to these dilemmas but still remain unknown to humanity. One of the most controversial questions philosophy tries to answer is the origin of what we consider evil, who or what is connected to the main cause of the pain and suffering that goes on throughout the world. “Evil is when one purposefully causes pain, not pain caused by fault, knowing something is morally wrong, but still proceeds in doing so. Simply by the definition of evil,

Human beings are born innocent and with all the potential to be good, and it is the environment and situations surrounding an individual that will shape them, for good or for evil. Although the author, William Golding, of the novel Lord of the Flies believes that every human is born with the prosperity to do evil, his book disproves this belief. Throughout the boy’s time alone on an island, specific characters and situations prove that human nature is in fact, naturally good. Evil is a very ambiguous idea capable of different definitions. An act can be evil and person can perform an evil act, but that does not automatically make that person an evil being.

tter if they are minor, moderate, or severe individuals all around the world face problems. With this in mind, characters in the stories Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Lottery Ticket by Anton Pavlovich Chekov, and Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl face different circumstances which lead them to the action of being the described word “bad”. Therefore, humanity is not born “bad”, circumstance forces individuals to bad behavior.

“What is “evilness”? ”. It may look like an easy question, but then, why does everybody have a different definition for it?

Throughout the history of British literature, there is always a sense of good fighting evil. Each of those times, evil plays into one of the theories listed above. Friedrich Nietzche’s theory on Perspective. Jean Jaques Rousseau’s theory on influence. And, C Fred Alford’s theory on evil being a spreading plague. Through its evolution, evil, will remain, and always will remain a: Perspective, Influence, and Spreading Plague.

Humans view on the term ‘evil’ varies from culture to culture, some deny that evil exists and others explain how evil is the cause of our actions and as a form of punishment from God. In this essay, I will be answering the question “How do human beings explain evil?”

A famous philosopher Socrates once said, "the unexamined life is not worth living." With that idea, the question "Are Human Beings Intrinsically Evil?" has been asked by philosophers for many years. It is known as one of the unanswerable questions. Determinists have come to the conclusion that we are governed by the laws of science, that there is nothing we can do about ourselves being evil because we naturally are. Evil is simply the act of causing pain. In this essay I will argue that human beings are born with a natural reaction to "fear and chaos" to be instinctively evil.

Philosophical discussions on morals and freedom often focus on the issue of free will. This often brings up the question of whether humanity is responsible for all actions or could there be other forces already in play. The amount of evil caused by human fault is a theme located in literature all throughout history starting as early as the book of Genesis when looking at Adam and eve, ranging to Shakespeare 's seminal play Macbeth. In the following paper, I will argue that Shakespeare has written this play so the reader can understand that, regardless of the metaphysical, biological determinants, and environmental aspects throughout this play, Macbeth is to be held fully responsible for freely choosing every action he commits.