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does evil exist?
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 RE: does evil exist?
October 3, 2022 at 1:46 pm
(This post was last modified: October 3, 2022 at 1:47 pm by Anomalocaris.)
evil exist as much as any other loosely and flexibly define concept concocted on ad hoc basis to win strident but shabbily constructed moralistic self righteous naked assertions can exist.
RE: does evil exist?
October 3, 2022 at 1:56 pm
(This post was last modified: October 3, 2022 at 1:57 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(October 3, 2022 at 1:04 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote: Maybe it all means that notions of evil and good are too simplistic and that the world is more complicated. Couldn't apply to the quick def I offered - as it directly addressed and differentiated itself from each of those points and others - which I agree is certainly useful and necessary if we're going to use the term for something that exists in the world that we can make factual statements about. Putin, amusingly, even fits the rich man stealing from the poor man for sport and giggles. That's part of why it's so satisfying watching him fuck up...to me.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
 (October 2, 2022 at 4:07 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: A persistent and voluntary pattern of bad actions undertaken with explicitly malicious intent? That's certainly a modern interpretation, but classically evil was supposed to be a form of prima materia capable of influencing the will, incorporated at times. ![[Image: extraordinarywoo-sig.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/zf86M5L7/extraordinarywoo-sig.jpg) RE: does evil exist?
October 3, 2022 at 3:42 pm
(This post was last modified: October 3, 2022 at 3:47 pm by Anomalocaris.)
it’s not clear to me if that interpretation is the original interpretation, or merely an expedient to lent imaginary substance to a nebulous concept to help in circumstances where the concept would otherwise be unconvincing or difficult to communicate.
sort or like a metaphor that was allowed to be interpreted as being literally accurate because such a interpretation nonetheless helps to achieve the goal of the original statement that contained the metaphor. 
Same as asking if God exists. Probably not, but you'll have to provide a definition.
Certainly, many things which cause humans to suffer greatly exist. I'd say cancer is pretty fucking evil, or child molesters. But then, why not just ask "Does suffering exist?" and drop the religious terminology. RE: does evil exist?
October 7, 2022 at 12:44 pm
(This post was last modified: October 7, 2022 at 12:49 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Ostensibly, because some suffering does not qualify as evil, just as suffering -and- evil do not require miasma going around spreading it out like seeds in a terrible harvest. That's why.
We saw some effect or some phenomena, and were wrong about it's cause or instantiation. Getting rid of miasmatic evil does not get rid of the things it was supposed to explain. "What possessed them?" standing in as an expression of ignorance , a failure of our imaginations to contend with the (hypothetical, lol.....) fact that no exterior force or entity is required to make some horrid thing manifest in reality.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
I think that what is usually spoken of as evil is actually that which threatens social cohesion, threatening the survival of the group.
"When you get the message, hang up the phone" --Alan Watts on enlightenment.
RE: does evil exist?
October 7, 2022 at 4:49 pm
(This post was last modified: October 7, 2022 at 4:59 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(October 7, 2022 at 4:37 pm)Orbit Wrote: I think that what is usually spoken of as evil is actually that which threatens social cohesion, threatening the survival of the group. I think there is only an imperfect correlation between what is perceived as evil and what actually threatens social cohesion and threaten survival of the group, particularly if the term “survival” is interpreted close to literally. In some instances it is that which is highly beneficial for greater social cohesion and group survival that is perceived as evil because it threaten not the survival, but merely the comparative advantage, of certain groups. And let’s not kid ourselves, even groups with very high estimate of its own moral righteousness can easily be convinced that it is morally right to hurt the greater good to preserve the group’s own comparative advantage. In such instances there is usually some red herring morality which has been stood up to camouflage the reason why greater good is denigrated as evil. RE: does evil exist?
October 7, 2022 at 10:36 pm
(This post was last modified: October 7, 2022 at 10:36 pm by bennyboy.)
(October 7, 2022 at 12:44 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: Ostensibly, because some suffering does not qualify as evil, just as suffering -and- evil do not require miasma going around spreading it out like seeds in a terrible harvest. That's why. It depends on your level of magnification whether a particular suffering is evil. Take childbirth. Most people consider the suffering of a woman giving birth a worthwhile sacrifice, herself included, because of the resultant "good" of a new human life. Her temporary suffering is balanced by positive hormones before and during, and expectations of joys and pleasures to come. Well-- maybe humanity is a cancer on Earth bent on creating life-ending systems like nukes or AI-gone-wrong. Maybe the instinct to suffer pain for a greater good is really just another of genetic fuckery, aka evil. 
Define “evil.”
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”
Wiser words were never spoken. |
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