One_way_mirror
2006-10-12, 12:09
As most of us know, humans have evolved to come to an understanding with a condition whereupon they are disturbed by others seeking something in a physical/mental capacity.
Thanks to organised religion and/or basic reasoning, we have labelled this act of forceful acquisition as 'evil'.
But what is evil?
Does it exist on a concious level?
Can evil control humans?
I will attempt to answer all three questions.
Evil 'is':
Christianity states that the cause of evil originates from 'sin'. The 7 cardinal sins are Lust, Wraith, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Pride and Gluttony. To me this is the definition of what humans see as 'evil'.
But it doesn't explain what 'it' is, merely the cause.
'Evil' is usually thought of in the past tense, as most people only think of evil when evil has been commited against them (This is a generalisation, The person commiting the evil does not usually stop to think of what he is doing as 'evil').
So evil is inter-personal, as in, one person must commit some sort of greivance against another person in order for it to be perceived as 'evil'.
In which case evil can be thought of as 'The act of sin', not the thought of sin or the memory of sin, in their respective past/future tenses.
Does Evil exist on a concious level?:
As in, is there some sort of 'thing' that is the cause of evil?
for this question, i shall reason that the answer is a simple 'yes'.
Regardless of whether you believe in Satan, or the 'Anti-God', evil is caused by humans, as without humans, A creature such as Satan would not be able to commit evil.
As such, humans are sentient, and commit sentient evil against other humans, as we have gone over.
But what is the consequence of this?
Evil - or, the Act of Sin - is self-perpetuating, as in, once evil has been done to another, the recipient of that evil will go on to commit evil as well, out of anger or hatred or any number of reasons, thereby creating a cycle of evil.
It is a concious decision to commit evil against another, just as it is a concious decision NOT to commit evil against another (which would break that particular cycle of evil).
Can evil control humans?
I could use the answer for concious evil here, but i have another point to make.
The act of commiting sin has a psychological affect, the same as training a mouse to navigate a maze in search of cheese.
We shall use the evil of Wrath as the subject. The topical point being Wrath being commited as a result of frustration.
In conclusion from this, Wrath becomes the natural response to frustration, almost like a reaction (hench - trigger happy).
This has a controlling affect, eventually the psychological condition will become so deep rooted that it cannot be stopped, thereby creating a 'un-guided weapon' that will lash out immediately when stressed.
This supports my belief that religion is a very very good thing.
EDIT: i might have got a bit mixed up over the whole 'sentient evil' bit.
[This message has been edited by One_way_mirror (edited 10-12-2006).]
Thanks to organised religion and/or basic reasoning, we have labelled this act of forceful acquisition as 'evil'.
But what is evil?
Does it exist on a concious level?
Can evil control humans?
I will attempt to answer all three questions.
Evil 'is':
Christianity states that the cause of evil originates from 'sin'. The 7 cardinal sins are Lust, Wraith, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Pride and Gluttony. To me this is the definition of what humans see as 'evil'.
But it doesn't explain what 'it' is, merely the cause.
'Evil' is usually thought of in the past tense, as most people only think of evil when evil has been commited against them (This is a generalisation, The person commiting the evil does not usually stop to think of what he is doing as 'evil').
So evil is inter-personal, as in, one person must commit some sort of greivance against another person in order for it to be perceived as 'evil'.
In which case evil can be thought of as 'The act of sin', not the thought of sin or the memory of sin, in their respective past/future tenses.
Does Evil exist on a concious level?:
As in, is there some sort of 'thing' that is the cause of evil?
for this question, i shall reason that the answer is a simple 'yes'.
Regardless of whether you believe in Satan, or the 'Anti-God', evil is caused by humans, as without humans, A creature such as Satan would not be able to commit evil.
As such, humans are sentient, and commit sentient evil against other humans, as we have gone over.
But what is the consequence of this?
Evil - or, the Act of Sin - is self-perpetuating, as in, once evil has been done to another, the recipient of that evil will go on to commit evil as well, out of anger or hatred or any number of reasons, thereby creating a cycle of evil.
It is a concious decision to commit evil against another, just as it is a concious decision NOT to commit evil against another (which would break that particular cycle of evil).
Can evil control humans?
I could use the answer for concious evil here, but i have another point to make.
The act of commiting sin has a psychological affect, the same as training a mouse to navigate a maze in search of cheese.
We shall use the evil of Wrath as the subject. The topical point being Wrath being commited as a result of frustration.
In conclusion from this, Wrath becomes the natural response to frustration, almost like a reaction (hench - trigger happy).
This has a controlling affect, eventually the psychological condition will become so deep rooted that it cannot be stopped, thereby creating a 'un-guided weapon' that will lash out immediately when stressed.
This supports my belief that religion is a very very good thing.
EDIT: i might have got a bit mixed up over the whole 'sentient evil' bit.
[This message has been edited by One_way_mirror (edited 10-12-2006).]