NationStates Jolt Archive

I have a question. would there be evil if there was no humans. Or is evil a state. I had a very large debate in english when this liberal stood up and said evil is being and that the goverment brainwashes us all. I would just like to here some of peoples thoughts on this.

The concepts of good and evil are creations of the human psyche in order to put terminology to the instinctual state of being predator or prey. Humans prefer these terms as a way of seperating themselves from the common animals.

I'm essentially agnostic on this - I don't believe we can show whether some objective universal morality exists, or if it does, whether the mental constructs of any humans match that universal standard.

That said, what does this have to do with the NSUN?

:waxes philisophical:

Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, he'll be warm fro the rest of his very short life.

If there were no people, would there be the color purple? Sure, certain some objects would still relect light of that wavelength, but there would be no one to call it purple. The same as bad things would still happen to animals, but animals have no word for it. I suppose Satan could walk around and attempt to convince antelope to be evil, (Go on, kick your second cousin), but it seems kind of juvenille behavior. In fact it seems like juvenille behaviour now. Evil is a concept not a thing.

If there were no people, would there be the color purple? Sure, certain some objects would still relect light of that wavelength, but there would be no one to call it purple. The same as bad things would still happen to animals, but animals have no word for it. I suppose Satan could walk around and attempt to convince antelope to be evil, (Go on, kick your second cousin), but it seems kind of juvenille behavior. In fact it seems like juvenille behaviour now. Evil is a concept not a thing.

I think the whole discussion is irrelevant. Everything you experience is a concept in your head, and every time you encounter a manifestation of that concept the concept is refined, or diverged, or a new concept is created, or whatever. Something is 'real' to you if it can be experienced, and if it can you create a concept which describes it (like a class in OOP, for all you tech kids ^_~ ). Concepts such as good and evil are created through indirect observation - e.g. being told that they exist. The problem then is that events may be seen as manifestations of these concepts (objects of said class), whether or not these concepts exist. The point is, whether they're intrinsically evil or not, it's their effect which matters, as this is how they are experienced.

Shit, I've forgotten where I'm going....ah yes. If you see evil as an entity of sorts, you still judge an evil act by its effects, so the distinction is pointless.

Evil may exist, but then so do Chair, Floor, Cosy and The Smell You Get After Rain.

I have a question. would there be evil if there was no humans. Or is evil a state. I had a very large debate in english when this liberal stood up and said evil is being and that the goverment brainwashes us all. I would just like to here some of peoples thoughts on this.
Good and evil are just flexible standards we attribute to events. People disagree about abortion being evil or just unpleasant. Murder can be evil, or it can be "war."

Animals don't have a concept of good and evil. They know what they like and they know what they don't like.

I'm essentially agnostic on this - I don't believe we can show whether some objective universal morality exists, or if it does, whether the mental constructs of any humans match that universal standard.

That said, what does this have to do with the NSUN?

Ah yes. However, ff morals are relative, which I believe they are, when we go against our own morals are we being evil?

The whole concept of good and evil relies soley on the beliefs, whether religious or philisophical, of the evil doer or the opposer of evil. This is sad. If I want to kill someone, and call it good, it won't cause problems in my concious (usually this remains with the mentally insane) The United States does, so I'm still gonna serve time. It can be on the flip side, too. Take religious fanatics. "Rape is evil". Duh. "Internet is evil". Well, maybe for bad purposes. "Barney is evil" We all know that, thank you. "Toast is evil". Just what church are you from? But in conclusion, good and evil exist, evil more thriving. (just look at any billboard...would that...or those ...be on a bilboard in the 50's?). Doesn't matter if you love your religion or your philisophy, unless you believe neither exist. If that is the case...well, you could lock yourself in your house for the rest of your life.

I personally don't believe in "good" or "evil" as absolute.

I have a question. would there be evil if there was no humans. Or is evil a state. I had a very large debate in english when this liberal stood up and said evil is being and that the goverment brainwashes us all. I would just like to here some of peoples thoughts on this.



There would be no evil if there was no humans, since humans are the only species intellegent enough to be evil.

I personally don't believe in "good" or "evil" as absolute.

Ah, but can good or evil exist without the other...the whole Ying-Yang concept?

If I want to kill someone, and call it good, it won't cause problems in my concious (usually this remains with the mentally insane) The United States does, so I'm still gonna serve time. It can be on the flip side, too. Take religious fanatics. "Rape is evil". Duh. "Internet is evil". Well, maybe for bad purposes. "Barney is evil" We all know that, thank you. "Toast is evil". Just what church are you from? But in conclusion, good and evil exist, evil more thriving. (just look at any billboard...would that...or those ...be on a bilboard in the 50's?). Doesn't matter if you love your religion or your philisophy, unless you believe neither exist. If that is the case...well, you could lock yourself in your house for the rest of your life.

So breasts are evil? Nothing is intrinsically evil; when an action creates a situation that you see as morally detrimental, you may attribute it to evil, but an inanimate object ipso facto cannot possess such a quality. You're right about Barney though ^_~

Not Again!!!
I refused to be kept up all night again

IMHO without people the world would hold brutal things, but not evil. We are the corruptors, we are evil, we are the devil.

Speak for yourself,
Last time I checked, God assured me I was not the devil :p

So breasts are evil? Nothing is intrinsically evil; when an action creates a situation that you see as morally detrimental, you may attribute it to evil, but an inanimate object ipso facto cannot possess such a quality. You're right about Barney though ^_~

Ditto about Barney. Doesn't evil depend on one's society and their norms? A bare breast in a Mennonite society may be deemed evil while in a nudist colony, probably not.