Wartsandall

I mean to show. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, are the majority of people not considered evil because we all resemble one another in some way? Do you believe then, that people with different mindsets, true geniuses and leaders could take advantage of that, exemplifying evil characteristics? (This is more of me trying to establish a comprehension of the topic.)

Kei-o-lei

This is the wrong question. Discussing "evil" is a way of pretending that we are incapable of doing those horrible things we label as evil.

We are - as a dear Left Coast friend says - the missing links between apes and true humans, the latter being those who would be able to fulfill our greatest potential for fulfillment of self and others. as humans.

But, alas, we are flawed as a species, which is why we are capable of great harm to others and ourselves. Call that evil if you wish, but I think of it as human flaws, something not outside of us that we label, but instead something that is intertwined with our DNA. Those flaws belong to every one of us in some degree, the capacity to hate or hurt ourselves and others. Labeling someone as "evil" comforts us because it helps us believe (erroneously) that we don't share that tendency.

That's Arendt's banality of evil: the ability of any group of humans to do horrid things to others . . . and to come up with self-serving justifications for why it was OK.

That's why life sometimes feels like a continual boulder roll up the mountain: we know that we are capable - at times - of great deeds but we are hobbled by our inability to sustain that effort over time. It's hard work trying to be a better human!!!!

And we ALL fail; we ALL do hateful "evil" things to ourselves and others. That's why that concept of original sin has such strength: it is a theory with incredibly powerful explanatory force.

Kei

Wartsandall

^That's a good point, and I agree with you in that we all possess flaws, or at least the potential to flaw. Would you say then that those who flaw the most(what you are saying I consider evil) are those that are looked down upon in society? Can we control our flaws to a certain extent? Is it easier for some to control them better than others?

Kei-o-lei

What I mean is that it is in our existence as humans to be flawed; we don't HAVE them, we don't POSSES them; we ARE them. They are not outside of us, they are in us, in varying degrees.

That's why I reject your idea that some people are evil and some are not; we ALL have the capacity to do great harm to ourselves and others. The role that society plays is how much we will go along with others' flaws.

Check out this experiment:
Ron Jones The Wave

Kei

Wartsandall

^I'll look into that, thanks! O ok, I think I understand what you are saying now. Now if only I could figure out how we are considered flaws. It's all about peception and influence from society. How else do we learn or know what's right or wrong without someone informing us? It doesn't seem to make sense that we are just born a certain way knowing certain things. I feel like someone has to teach us. This topic has various issues involved. It's extremely intriguing though. Thanks for all of the posts, I feel like I've benefited from this thread.

NewHope33

"This is the wrong question. Discussing "evil" is a way of pretending that we are incapable of doing those horrible things we label as evil."

Good insight. As for an antidote to evil, I agree with Mathmom.

binx

The book (and later, musical) "Wicked" was written after the author started wondering why the Wicked Witch of the West WAS wicked. Was she born that way? Did something happen along the way?

I personally believe that we are all born needy. How those needs are satisfied, whether they are satisfied at the expense of other needs (for example, a baby who gives up sleep to get food -- or later, the need for a great college education funded by mom and dad versus the need for total independence from one's parents....), if they are satisfied at all, etc. - I think those things lead us to develop our own sense of how the world works and how we fit in it.

Our fears and our needs go hand in hand. What I am most afraid of (insignificance? failure? rejection?) dictates my needs. I think people that I consider most evil are people whose needs for inappropriate things are not held in check by their fears, and are even assisted by them.

Don't know if that makes sense. I'm sorta thinking out loud here.

starbright

Sounds like another essay is due

Wartsandall

^This isn't for an essay
EDIT: Sorry if that's what it came across for as. I was just intrigued by this question.

DocT

Although our Christian faith believes in original sin, it also believes that man is not evil but good.

pageturner

According to Harvard psychologist Martha Stout, about 4% of the population are sociopaths.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, Ph.D. - eBook - Random House

NewHope33

I have known a few evil people. Of course my criteria is highly personal: One who choses a course of action specifically to disadvantage another person ... knowing full well that there is a better path available. In other words, a person who knowingly ignores a choice that would benefit her/himself ... in order to pursue a less beneficial path s/he knows will injure others.

Of course YMMV.

atomom

paget--that sounds like an interesting book.
It think I've met more than my share of that 4%!

pageturner

It is, atomom. It answers a lot of questions about some people we deal with every day (and those jerks from our pasts!).

Kei-o-lei

OP said: "Now if only I could figure out how we are considered flaws. It's all about perception and influence from society. How else do we learn or know what's right or wrong without someone informing us?"

I think most of us know intrinsically if what we are doing is harmful to someone else or ourselves. That is, we are naturally inclined toward altruism and doing things for our own selves. That is part of our natural state. Two exceptions:
1 - sociopaths
2- the clueless, like the boss I used to have who will overrun anyone else's conversations at any time . . . although I think she learned how to do that :-)

Kei