NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

Me, I don't really think evil means anything other than other people don't like it. Sometimes you don't care what others think, so you do evil.
Other philosophers answer differently. Some would say that unintentional evil isn't actually evil (the law doesn't agree with this). Intent vs. results is one of the most significant moral debates of all time. So is environment/inner being. Most people think it can be both, though.

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

because most of the time its the path of least resistance.

because most of the time its the path of least resistance.

Interesting side question: is evil always the path of least resistance by definition?(As in, is it evil to do what comes naturally?) Can evil be stupid as well?

Interesting side question: is evil always the path of least resistance by definition?(As in, is it evil to do what comes naturally?) Can evil be stupid as well?

Can evil be stupid? hmmm after reading some darwin awards I'd say yes. Like the people who tried to rob a man selling a gun. I'd say that could be constrewed as stupid and evil.

because most of the time its the path of least resistance.

Well, is it always the path of least resistance? You could shoplift to get something, but usually it's easier to pay. You could fight a guy who's pissing you off, but that is harder than simply ignoring him. It isn't always the easiest thing to do, is the point I'm trying to make.

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

Because I am teh devil!

Some people commit evil because for whatever reason, be it genetic, environmental or a combination of both, lack sympathy for other human beings. These include some serial killers.

Some do bad things to achieve something material or physical, be it a hobo mugging an old lady for crack money or a CEO cooking the books of his fortune five hundred company.

Some commit evil acts to gain power, political or otherwise.

Some are only following orders or just going along with the group, such as the nazi era German soldier or the typical violent rioter.

The most despicable of all evil, though, are those that do bad deeds because of hate. They are fully sane, have nothing to gain from the act, nor are they obligated to do the deed. They simply do it because of a blind hatred of other human beings. They include gay beaters, fanatical Muslim terrorists, fundamentalists Christian fire bombers and some serial killers.

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

First, i think, if you have to ask this question, you have to define:-
What is evil?
What is a person?
What is outside influence?
What is consciousness?
What is our inner being?

Then, when you've done all that, and we all agree on your answers, come back to us . I'd say it'll take a good 3000 or so years at the least, seen as it took philosophy that long to get there, and we still don't agree on the answers :)

Other philosophers answer differently. Some would say that unintentional evil isn't actually evil (the law doesn't agree with this)

I think it was Socrates who said something like-ignorance is the root of evil.
Those weren't his words, but it was his message.
He believed that no-one would willingly do something that they knew was evil.
Therefore, if someone did something that was evil, they did it because they did not know it was evil.

Some people commit evil because for whatever reason, be it genetic, environmental or a combination of both, lack sympathy for other human beings. These include some serial killers.

Some do bad things to achieve something material or physical, be it a hobo mugging an old lady for crack money or a CEO cooking the books of his fortune five hundred company.

Some commit evil acts to gain power, political or otherwise.

Some are only following orders or just going along with the group, such as the nazi era German soldier or the typical violent rioter.

The most despicable of all evil, though, are those that do bad deeds because of hate. They are fully sane, have nothing to gain from the act, nor are they obligated to do the deed. They simply do it because of a blind hatred of other human beings. They include gay beaters, fanatical Muslim terrorists, fundamentalists Christian fire bombers and some serial killers.

So, in some cases, people do evil because they don't sympathize with others. In other cases, it is desire for goods like money or power, and in others it is out of blind obedience, and in others it is out of hate.

In those cases of evil done to attain money or power, do you think people see evil as a way to get something good? In other words, do people try to attain good by doing evil?

Well, is it always the path of least resistance? You could shoplift to get something, but usually it's easier to pay. You could fight a guy who's pissing you off, but that is harder than simply ignoring him. It isn't always the easiest thing to do, is the point I'm trying to make.

In some cases (like shoplifting movie stars) it's due to some sort of mental problem, like kleptomania. For some, it's the only way they know how to live.

I think it was Socrates who said something like-ignorance is the root of evil.
Those weren't his words, but it was his message.
He believed that no-one would willingly do something that they knew was evil.
Therefore, if someone did something that was evil, they did it because they did not know it was evil.

I had a bit of a problem with his logic until I realized what he was really saying. It wasn't that people would inherently avoid evil so much as that if they knew all of the consequences (getting arrested, etc.) they wouldn't do evil. This means that by ignorance he effectively just means not being omniscient, so in that way his logic works.

There are many reasons that people do things that are "bad"
1. they don't know any better
2. they don't care
3. they can rationalize it (it's okay to steal if it is only things I need)


I think most of the time we do things wrong it is reason 2 or 3 or a combination of them both.

I try to teach my kids that wrong is wrong all the time. It doesn't matter if you won't get caught or if everyone else is doing it, or if you can come up with a good reason why you should let yourself slide.

I don't think there are many parents trying to instill this in thier kids anymore, which scares me because very soon we will have less of wrongdoing because of reasons 2 or 3 and more of 1 and that is a world I worry about.

You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his viccisitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. Good and bad actions are Man's Way. Retribution of good and evil is taught simply as a moral lesson.

Lord Naoshige said, "An ancestor's good or evil can be determined by the conduct of his descendants." A descendant should act in a way that will manifest the good in his ancestor and not the bad. This is filial piety.

-Hagakure

First, i think, if you have to ask this question, you have to define:-
What is evil?
What is a person?
What is outside influence?
What is consciousness?
What is our inner being?

Then, when you've done all that, and we all agree on your answers, come back to us . I'd say it'll take a good 3000 or so years at the least, seen as it took philosophy that long to get there, and we still don't agree on the answers :)

Hm, I realize these problems, but I can define a few for the purposes of this thread. I'll leave evil to personal definition, since it is a debate for another time, but I define a person as the sum total of thoughts, beliefs, and collective reasoning present within a physical body. Outside influence consists of forces that attempt to alter a person from the world around him or her.

Consciousness is tricky, and I won't throw down any defining term here. "I think, therefore I am" seems to be a requisite of consciousness, but beyond that, I'll only say a general sense of self and the defining aspects of that self.
As to inner being, think of it as the same as consciousness. Again, this is all for the purposes of this thread, so please don't bother discussing it, since I probably won't respond.

Well, is it always the path of least resistance? You could shoplift to get something, but usually it's easier to pay. You could fight a guy who's pissing you off, but that is harder than simply ignoring him. It isn't always the easiest thing to do, is the point I'm trying to make.


Shoplifting is very easy :D if you know what you are doing. And actually i could argue that hitting the guy is the easier thing to do emotionally wise because as a lot of people say...you feel better letting the building anger go instead of walking away and trying to just let it slide away....

physically maybe not, but in your mind...surely its the easiest and most primitive form. A lot of evil seems to do with generally just instinct in general... Instinct tells us that if we want something we should take it, be it a good, or person..lol. If we are angry hit something, ect ect ect...

I had a bit of a problem with his logic until I realized what he was really saying. It wasn't that people would inherently avoid evil so much as that if they knew all of the consequences (getting arrested, etc.) they wouldn't do evil. This means that by ignorance he effectively just means not being omniscient, so in that way his logic works.

True. I've always thought that people would stop doing bad things if they fully understood the consequences of their actions.

I think much of this discussion could be simplified if we took out "bad" so that we answer this first:

Why do we do things?

Good and evil implies that we had a choice of doing one or the other. If we had no choice, if we had no alternative there can no other.
Determinism effectivelly negates ethics, there is no "good" or "evil" just a single string of events that effects the next.
Most of us believe in cause and effect. Yet no-one ever sees the consequences of this belief:

If everything has a cause and effect, how can there be free-will? How do you have a choice of doing either good or evil if some prior event caused you to act the way you do?

From the scientific view, everything in the universe is made up of atom, quarks, waves, whatever. In this view, all particle movement is determined by scientific laws. We are composed of such material. If atomic and molecular motion on a small scale determines how we act on a large scale, I ask again, how can you have free will? Are you really in control of every neuron in your brain?

If that doesn't make sense, I'll ask a different way. The moon is made up of atoms, like we are. It does not have free-will (unless someone wants to debate that, go ahead) How then are we different? Our biological functions are more complex than the moon's orbit, but in the end both are "governed" by the same physical laws.

And no cartesian "ghost in the machines," please.

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I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?Vanity: People do think they know more than the other person. thus their ways are better and want others to follow them. sometimes to the point of trying to force their ways on others.

Pride: some people find it hard to say Sorry for mistakes, thus try to cover them up any way possible.

Greed: no explination needed

Lust: Again, No explination needed

Selfishness: unwilling to offer aid, in most cases, unwilling to help unless others help first or if the situation is obvious that help is needed. People donate to help the Victims of Hurrcane Katrina, yet how many will give money to the begger on the street?

Ignorance: some just don't realize that what they do hurts people.

I'm posting this question because it's been on my mind in the past few days. Thinking on my own and talking to a few (disinterested) friends hasn't helped, so I'm asking the people of this forum:

What makes a person do evil? Is it a part of our inner being, or the result of outside influence? Do we do evil consciously or unconsciously?

I do evil to make people laugh. If not you, then at least the people near you. :)

Humans are filthy creatures and were naturally evil
We're born with selfishness and base emotions like that

However, we then learn how to do good



;) basically were born evil

This could be boring, but is my viewpoint on it all.

Evil is I think not born with. It is to do with your parents, friends, childhood in general. You pick up morals through life. After all, evil is a subject that falls under the wider subject of morality. As you pick up these morals, you begin to think "I should not do this as...", resulting in your conscience telling you know. I know very few people who do not believe they have a conscience. If you do not pick up these morals, your conscience is not strong, this may cause you to commit acts of evil.

Another reason for people to be evil is if they are acting out of jealousy or revenge, or other such "evil" human feelings. These will generally make humans act as they normally would not or cancel out their conscience in some cases.

However, some people think serial murderers are born with the "evil gene". I personally think this is not right, but will talk about it. This so called gene provides a person with a mindset to kill. They think that the world revolved around it. This may be due to animal instinct, kill or be killed, survival of the fittest and so on. Some people are actually born with it, but not as it is normally seen. Mental illnesses could also make somebody kill.

So, consciously or unconsciously? Surely you mean consciously or sub-consciously? Taking murder as an example, people who leave a body have either done it sub-consciously or for a reason. However, people who have disposed of the body in some form would be doing it consciously.

I think that commiting acts of evil are through up-bringing rather than genetics. I did not set out to persuade you or sway you, but to provide an in-depth answer to this interesting question, which will no doubt puzzle people for many years to come. After all, will we ever actually know for sure?

Humans are filthy creatures and were naturally evil
We're born with selfishness and base emotions like that

However, we then learn how to do good



;) basically were born evil

I disagree entirely (you may be sarcastic here, but I'm not thinking so.) Human nature is to satisfy our desires (for resources, power, ideological triumph, sex, and so on.) If morality stands in the way of a sufficiently powerful desire, people will often ignore morality.

Only a tiny minority goes out with the deliberate intent of doing evil: most just want something that can't be easily obtained while being good.

- You enjoy it

- You can't help it

- Someone or something forces you to do it

- It will benefit you in some way, shape, or form

- You don't know or think what you're doing is 'bad' to someone else

- You think what you're doing is right

Right now, I'm laughing at all the lengthy responses. In the end, it all comes down to one or more of the 6 cases listed above. Just remember, existence is a very fragile thing, and what may seem evil to you may be perfectly fine to someone else. If their goal is to destroy humans, and they kill a few babies, well, that'd be a job well done on their part.

Evil is, generally, about power or revenge against a non-existant wrong. There are few greater thrills then breaking up other people's relationships, or convincing them to do something that goes against their own morals. Additionally, there are is the joy of getting away with it, and sometimes the act is pleasurable in itself (or at least I've always assumed that rapists enjoyed what they were doing).