RE: does evil exist in its own right?
October 15, 2012 at 1:58 pm
(This post was last modified: October 15, 2012 at 1:59 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(October 15, 2012 at 11:25 am)Darkstar Wrote: I think a better way to define this would be as malice.
thefreedictionary.com Wrote:mal·ice (mls)
n.
1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
2. Law The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.
There are some things that may cause cultural differences in the perception of evil, but regardless, unprovoked malice could fall into this category almost objectively. When a fox kills a rabbit, is this malicious? Not necessarily, especially as the fox must do so in order to survive. However, if the fox tortured the rabbit beforehand, this would be considered malicious. Sadism, for example, could be considered evil objectively were in not for the fact that there a small number of masochistic people who would like it.
Nonetheless, I do not think that anyone here can argue that torturing someone for sadistic pleasure (preseiming they aren't severely masochistic) is 'evil' regarless of socil context.
Probably because malice and sadism don't cross over the bar of social context. These things (and more importantly the value judgement connected to them) are very much an issue of social context. Malice and sadism have been (and in some cases still are) seen as virtues..specifically with regards to ones enemies.
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