The Physical Pain, Mental Suffering, and Moral Wickedness of Evil

The issue of evil in the world raises questions with which everyone wrestles. Pain and suffering come into everyone’s life to some degree or another. Trying to find meaning and purpose in the midst of suffering, whether our own or someone else’s, is difficult regardless of what worldview one holds. How individuals and societies deal with this issue will have important implications for those individuals as well as to the whole of society.

When I think of the concept of “evil,” I think of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. In The Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy stated:

Evil in this context is regarding to all suffering, pain and horror. Evil can be categorized as natural evil and moral evil. Natural evil is that which occurs by natural means e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis etc. Moral evil is that which is imposed on humans by humans e.g.

By definition, evil is an act or feeling that is “profoundly immoral and malevolent”. The problem is that evil is a subjective term. Each person sees evil differently.

One of the oldest dilemmas in philosophy is also one of the greatest threats to Christian theology. The problem of evil simultaneously perplexes the world’s greatest minds and yet remains palpably close to the hearts of the most common people. If God is good, then why is there evil? The following essay describes the problem of evil in relation to God, examines Christian responses to the problem, and concludes the existence of God and the existence of evil are fully compatible.

The distinction between good and evil is a very abstract one and can change with the passing of time. According to Ian A. McFarland from the Faculty of Divinity of University of Cambridge, evil is: “that which is against the good”, while good is “identified with God’s will”. Most people would define good and evil in a very subjective way according to their own likes and dislikes. Nobody likes pain, arrogance, hatred, or the unknown, therefore they are all considered evil. On the other hand, good is anything that is beneficial to us, or something we like. We all like comfort, empathy, love, and wisdom thus these are all considered good things. However, it is evident that one cannot exist without the other. Without pain we wouldn’t know

Evil can be categorized into two forms, moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil is brought about by bad choices that stem from our free will. Natural evil is bad things that happen to people, whether they deserve them or not. The problem with evil is,

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

The reason that we even have an experience of a perceived evil is because for the soul to experience itself as any particular thing, the exact opposite of that thing must come into the realm of existence. In other words, in this relative existence, hot cannot be hot without cold, darkness cannot be without light, and you cannot be you without that which is not you. So I believe that what we call evil is just the opposite end of the spectrum of good, not something separate.

The most influential definition of evil is nicely summarised by Swinburne proclaimed when discussing about evil, context is very important factors to consider when talking about the subject of evil he said evil include physical pain, for

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,

To understand evil we must first understand the concept that good and evil are term or words referring to what one given individuals believes to be the right and wrong thing to do. Good, many times

 Evil doesn 't necessarily have to be an action by a human; it can also be a result of a natural disaster such as: hurricanes, earthquakes, illness, etc. A hurricane can take away everything from thousands of humans. This causes the people to have no home, clothes, or food. This is also a form of evil, due to the suffering it causes. This is called natural evil. People can bring about moral evil upon themselves, although, they rarely can bring natural evil upon themselves. There is a distinct difference between the two, and one evil does not cause the other. The reason I point the

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

The problem of evil is as ancient as humanity itself. Since the dawn of man, thinkers, philosophers, religionists and practically every human being who have suffered at the hands of evil have pondered this enigma, either as a logical-intellectual-philosophical or emotional-religious-existential problem. The preponderance of evil as a reality in human existence, and