<p>I’m just curious regarding what everyone thinks about this. Personally, I think it’s neither. I believe there are various components that are involved in this. (Ex: genetics, perception, etc.) However, that is solely my perspective and I’m interested in knowing what the parents believe about this issue.</p>
<p>Please define “evil”.</p>
<p>Wow, again, this is something that varies amongst individuals. If you can, give me a response based off of your beliefs regarding what it means.</p>
<p>I just read a fascinating book called “Anatomy of Evil” that discusses the psychology of this question.</p>
<p>O really? Where did you buy it, or did you just check it out at the library?</p>
<p>It’s available on Amazon and BN.com. Author is Michael Stone. I highly recommend it.</p>
<p>Are we all evil, anyway?</p>
<p>^I think that’s where perception is involved. What’s evil to one can be considered good to another. One must also take into account the idea of alteration. Can an evil person be changed? If they are changed, would that make them not evil?</p>
<p>^^Thanks! I’ll definitely look into it.</p>
<p>According to the Christian Bible, we are born with a “sin nature.” But yeah, you have to wonder if Hitler would have turned out the same way had he been raised differently by different people.</p>
<p>My husband has an evil twin. Seriously. He’s not evil as in being a murderer but every aspect of his life is dominated by money; acquiring money is his sole motivation in life. He doesn’t steal, but he does get folks involved in questionable investments where he makes a lot of money and the investor doesn’t.</p>
<p>My husband is nothing like him, yet they were raised simultaneously under identical circumstances. How did they turn out so differently?</p>
<p>^That makes me wonder about genetics. Perhaps it truly does vary between individuals? Is it just about mentality? People undergo evil actions with a purpose behind those actions, but their intentions are seen by some to be morally wrong. However, are they, or is it just what society has led us to believe? I’m Christian too, so my religion tells me to believe one thing, but I feel that by challenging certain beliefs one is able to acquire a better comprehension regarding why something is the way it is. </p>
<p>I found this on the internet:
If we are born evil, then all humans are bound to follow a specific path, which means that the creator of that individual has predestined that individual for evil acts, something that in turn would suggest that the creator is evil? </p>
<p>I obviously don’t agree with this, but I found it to be intriguing to a certain extent.</p>
<p>I’m beginning to wonder if it really is just the mentality of an individual. However, when I look at younger people and their ignorance at a young age, I can’t help but question whether or not society or the environment in which the individual grows up in has some influence.</p>
<p>“We” are not born evil. I find the idea of “original sin” an obscenity.</p>
<p>There is undoubtedly some combination of nature and nurture at work in those who choose to act creatively and constructively and those who choose to act cruelly and destructively. One can easily tell the difference between them, even though the destroyers often act in the name of “good.”</p>
<p>The book, People of the Lie, by M. Scott Peck might interest you. I read it long ago, so I don’t remember it in detail, but I do remember that it helped me understand “evil” people and personality disorders. (I’ve had to deal with some weird people in my life!)</p>
<p>I’ve always been fascinated by this subject–What makes people do evil things? What is the psychology/biology/chemistry behind it? How can criminals torture and murder others with no remorse? Why do some people have perverted obsessions? How are their brains different from “normal” people’s brains? What kind of parents and upbringing did they have? </p>
<p>I think everyone could have a tendency toward evil, but, as a result of our upbringing and “normal” brains, for most of us our motivation to be “good” (or obey the law, at least) far outweighs the temptation to do bad stuff.</p>
<p>I remember hearing that the Russian “Mafia,” when recruiting “hit men” looked for kids raised in orphanages and on the streets-- because those kids could kill without remorse.</p>
<p>I’m the opposite of Christian. I believe everyone has human worth and it’s up to us to find it and nurture it in the people we meet. “Act so as to elicit the best in another and thereby in oneself.” - Felix Adler</p>
<p>^^That’s an interesting point. However, are we just considered normal because we are composed of the majority of the population? I would think genetics, or at least the structure of one’s body would have some influence. I also believe that the evil qualiities, or at least what we as a society believe are evil qualities can be overcome. For example, Hitler and Beethoven. Hitler portrayed signs of evil and remorse from a young age, and is considered(righfully) evil by society. However, when acknowledging geniuses like Beethoven and Einstein, could one also claim that those individuals, being different from society, could have also possessed some evil, or different perspectives and ambitions if it hadn’t been for them finding some outlook? (Ex:inventions and composing music) From my perspective, it seems like the true geniuses are those who are different from society, while they are able to chose whether or not to portray evil or beneficial attributions to society. Therefore, is evil something that can be controlled or altered? Perhaps I should focus on what the first poster asked. I feel that by establishing a definition, one can then establish the qualities and components that compose it. Aside from that though, I’m truly beginning to believe mentality is factored into this.</p>
<p>I think that lack of empathy has a lot to do with the willingness to be cruel.</p>
<p>I don’t understand what you mean by “portray” in this context.</p>
<p>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.)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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!!!</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>^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?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Check out this experiment:
[Ron</a> Jones The Wave](<a href=“http://www.ronjoneswriter.com/wave.html]Ron”>http://www.ronjoneswriter.com/wave.html)</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>^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.</p>