Evil
 

Ok folks just tossing a topic out there to see if the cat licks it up... Here are the two sides in this debate.

Position A: Man is predisposed to evil. It is in him when he is born.
Position B: Society and Environment create Evil, no one is born Evil.


So? Many Arguments can be made of these two opinions. I'd like to see what everyone thinks.

Evil is what socity will tolerate or rather wont. So it depends on a point of view. What is evil in one culture may not be in another. It is personal opionion instilled in you. You are not born with the thought that murder is evil. Canibals of BFE dont know eatting another man is evil its there culture they were raised in that says munch away.

Im not a religious person, im a realistic person.

society is evil. i hate society. dont be subject to socieites beliefs

[quote="Anti Hero":f41e5]society is evil. i hate society. dont be subject to socieites beliefs[/quote:f41e5]

:roll: If you only look for the bad things in society/life, that is all you ever will see.

[quote:f02b9]Im not a religious person, im a realistic person.
[/quote:f02b9]

This isnt a religious poll, its a realistic one :)

So your belief is that Evil is what Society says it is? Do you believe there are universal ideas of Evil? Murderers, rapist, pedophiles? Surely most, if not all individual societies and cultures have a negative view on these certain kinds of people, or actions.

I'm going to have to sleep on this one, I just hope I don't have have and evil dreams.

We are all just evil, well i dont know if evil is the word but bad maybe. Ever since you first start to want something, anything it could be your 4 years old and you want that cookie but the tall guy has it in his hand. What do u do? u kick him in the knee, gimme that cookie, or u try to steal it by someform or another. Evil is caused by Wanting its the root of evil. And its just human nature to want things. Take adolf hitler, he wanted to install an idea into a country of anti semitism. whatever it may be to want to impose ideas, to want something tangible, to want to have power. Its all caused by wanting.

One has to have studied criminology and sociology to fully enjoy the
content of this thread.

From my readings, it is my understanding that your set and setting (in
layman terms, your environment and the people that are part of your
life) have a great impact on the way you live your life: your parents or
guardians are the first to impress on your being; the first to "educate"
you. People are born tabula rasa, clean slates, so I doubt that "evil"
is innate in a person. I seriously doubt it.

Also, consider that "evil" is very subjective; although we can generalize
and say that some acts are more universally accepted as evil, like killing
or raping. It then becomes obvious that your setting (not to mention the
set) has a great deal of importance and is a vital clue in understanding
how and why a person will act a certain way or why someone will commit
a certain "evil".

Naturally, the above is a lot of generalization... and I encourage you to
read up on criminology and sociology if this is of interest to you.

I think everyone is born a good person, it is just society and the pressure it places on people that make them change their ways.

I think that the persons envioroment affects how they will act.

[quote:42a72]I think that the persons envioroment affects how they will act[/quote:42a72]

Person A grows up in a wealthy home, great education, popular, decent relationship with parents and a steady relationship.....he wears other peoples skin to bed

Person B lives in the ghetto, has seen family and friends murdered, is poor and his mom is a crack whore.....he ends up becomming an MD


Does Environment play a role? In some cases? Is it merely a "surge" of negative environmental factors that causes the natural Evil within us to come out? Too many questions...

Person A grows up in a wealthy home, great education, popular, decent relationship with parents and a steady relationship.....he wears other peoples skin to bed

Person B lives in the ghetto, has seen family and friends murdered, is poor and his mom is a crack whore.....he ends up becomming an MD


Does Environment play a role? In some cases? Is it merely a "surge" of negative environmental factors that causes the natural Evil within us to come out? Too many questions...[/quote:9207e]

That may be true, but it is still more likely for Person A to become the MD and person B to live on the streets. Based on the circumstances in which they grew up. In some cases like Person A, this person obviously has some mental disabilities/problems. I still think most people are molded into evil people by peer pressure or the lifestyle they grow up in, and some special cases when they have mental problems.

Mental stability and consistency is important :D

A lot of problems appear in the early teen years due to traumatic
experiences, phobias; early childhood through unwarranted fears.

I can't be sure of this myself, but a very bad experience might have
caused me to become more introverted than I would have been if the
situation wouldn't have happened... but it's very likely, as all signs
point to it.

I have an unjustified fear of the dark: I can still function normally
but I *will* scan the area a lot more. It's funny, considering I know
logically that I am in my bastion and also that many people are close
by... but hey, early childhood "problems" do that to you. I'm slowly
"fixing" the problem :lol:

You have to be careful what you expose a child to in his early years;
it could end up shaping him in ways you couldn't possibly imagine...

:wink:

Apples are evil, bad...bad.

[quote="Pfc.Green":170c9]Apples are evil, bad...bad.[/quote:170c9]

Stupid apples. They are the root of all evil in the world. :o

[quote=CeltFury]Stupid apples. They are the root of all evil in the world. :o[/quote:27579]

They taste pretty damn good.

[quote=Sniped]They taste pretty damn good.[/quote:423e2]

Yes but over many years of eating them they form a line of applesauce around your stomach causing it to eat itself :o

[quote=CeltFury]Yes but over many years of eating them they form a line of applesauce around your stomach causing it to eat itself :o[/quote:15c4d]

But, But, But...*Panting*, *Hits the floor*...

[quote=Sniped]But, But, But...*Panting*, *Hits the floor*...[/quote:21e3a]

No! You can't die not now! *cries* *Beats Sniped chest* Live Damn You, Live! *Gives mouth to mouth* :o

Well I'm certainly behind option two, for a fewreasons:

1) I refuse to believe humans are born evil or good.
2) Society dictates what is evil and good
3) Everything is a social construction, so even putting aside the fact that the definitions are created by society, human beings are socially constructed; so are their actions. With that said I am not suggesting one can thus lift the burden of responsibility from oneself since a) we contribute to society and b) one has to draw certain lines at certain points for society to "function".

Well, aside from the apple people, we've had some insightful posts here.

What are YOUR views on the topic Alias ?

Hey, I can be serious when I need to be

I think society obviously dictates good or evil. People who are evil are often sadistic. I would have though being evil may have been started during hard times when you feel hated and low making you mad. But then again you make the choice of what to do. You always have control over what your doing I think.

....turns off Chris De Burghs "Lady in Red".....

A wise man knows what he does not know Solidus. I happen to lean more so to option A. We are all born with the capability to commit what "society' has deemed evil. Factors such as environment, and mental health affect these capabilities. There are so many routes here that I would not dare believe I am right. This is why I asked the question :) Here is a point to think about as well:

"If what you say is true, then the statement is absurd which affirms that a man often does evil knowingly when he might abstain, because he is seduced and overpowered by pleasure…That this is ridiculous will be evident if only we give up the use of various names, such as 'pleasant' and 'good'…Let us say that a man does evil knowing that he does evil. But someone will ask: "Why?" "Because he is overcome" is the first answer. "And by what is he overcome?" the inquirer will proceed to ask. And we shall no longer be able to reply "By pleasure", for instead of 'pleasure' it has taken another name, namely 'the good'. "By the good" we shall have to reply…But our questioner will rejoin with a laugh: "That is too ridiculous, that a man should do what he knows to be evil when he ought not, because he is overcome by good."

Man does what is in his best interest, so therefor, can it be concidered Evil?

im in agreement.
god damn it, you're all bringing back the memories of my 2 years studying of the human mind in Psychology, I've done pages and pages of work on this stuff. Psychology is the biggest load of bollocks subject ever. Trust me, its basically putting big silly words in complicated order to try and hide the fact no-one knows shit about the human mind really. yes its interesting but theres no right or wrong answers. its the most subjective of subjects ever.
i've can't think of the correct name for this argument at this moment in time but its all about the shaping of the person as they grow up. environmental effects or human interaction.......====
HOLD ON, I'VE REMEMBERED::ITS THE 'NATURE-NURTURE DEBATE'
GOD, i did an essay on that
i also did one all about 'can people be born leaders' which was annoying.
well anyway, i agree with FWB

mr.miyagi-that was a silly post miyagi
mr.miyagi=yea i know, i was jus thinking out aloud but typing it too
mr.miyagi-you're a bit of an idiot miyagi
mr.miyagi=thats why i'm on that wall over there
mr.miyagi-but i still love you
mr.miyagi=thanks darling, whats for dinner tonight?
mr.miyagi-apples
mr.miyagi=...not again.

lol miyagi, I would really place this more in the Philosophy catagory. The importance is not so much placed on the psycological understanding of what is evil, but the philosophical beliefs that everyone has.

[quote:79f29]Psychology is the biggest load of bollocks subject ever. Trust me, its basically putting big silly words in complicated order to try and hide the fact no-one knows shit about the human mind really. yes its interesting but theres no right or wrong answers. its the most subjective of subjects ever. [/quote:79f29]

That's what I've been telling people over and over...

Subjective topics cannot have ONE DEFINITIVE ANSWER, only multiple
parts that once put together will yield an answer that you may not like but
will have to accept as valid.

Face it, people aren't born evil: they do, however, have the capacity for it
because they possess free will. Your set and setting greatly affect how you
see the world, act with and react to it.

This is what I like to call multifactorial: no one definitive answer, just
dependent on several factors.

...agreed...can I go as far as to say free will is the definitive answer...?

You forgot afrodj13!! You're evil!