Do you think evil is necessary?

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   hubmuffinsposted 12 years ago

   Do you think evil is necessary?
   
   I understand that everything in the world exists in pair. Hence evil is as necessary as good. Evil balances the good and thus retains the stability of this universe.

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2. 81

   twalker74posted 12 years ago

   This is a great question. I (personally) would venture away from the stance of stability and challenge one's self to understand what he or she may believe to be good if there is no examples of evil. Plus, I believe the universe (as with mother nature) to be neither malevolent nor benevolent.
   
   As far as our understanding of the universe goes, it does not single out those who inflict evil as must as it does justice. If this were true, Hitler would never have risen to power and Mother Teresa would look 20 years of age.
   
   As with its necessity, well no. Our over populating and devouring of natural resources (if you do mind taking a clinical angle) technical is typical of humanity. I would argue it is our nature, but the subjugation of other groups is a result of our greed.
   
   Morally, I feel it is wrong, but morality is subjective. What we find is civil may not relate to another culture and certainly does not relate to other eras. So is Evil necessary...again I would say no. But until we create a truly homogenous society, we have to live with it.

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   PoeticPhilosophyposted 12 years ago

   "knowing" evil is, applying it no. This is the concept of Yin-Yang positive and negative work as a whole don't go 'against' negative but accept it (In  your mind). But don't apply it. That is what good is.

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      Ben Blackwellposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That is exactly what I believe myself, but I was not aware that this was already a proposed thought.  Thanks, and it has inspired another question that I will post.

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   Borsiaposted 12 years ago

   No I don't see any need for evil in the world.
   We gain nothing from it and it destroys the lives of many.
   I think there is a necessity to know what evil is and how to recognize it but we have plenty of examples in history.
   Yes being cheated or robed teaches you a lesson about trust but it would be better if nobody cheated or robed anyone.
   Certainly evil on a grand scale has no positive affect on anyone or on groups or countries or mankind as a whole.
   I can't think of any evil that had benefited mankind in any way.
   Imagine what the world would be like without evil. What would it be like if everyone thought about others and how to join together to get things done.
   But evil is here and it is here to stay so we all have to be on guard at all times.
   In any discussion of evil I'm always reminded of the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil". So many have a negative reaction to the song without ever hearing it or listening to the words. It says that evil will appear to us in many ways with many faces and to refuse to acknowledge and recognize it is to become a part of it. Something to think about.

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   Tusitala Tomposted 12 years ago

   As it has been put to me, we have to have 'a contextual field.'   How would we know hot if we didn't know cold - and the various gradients in between?    How would we know colour unless we could experience it's absence?  Absolute dark through to a white so dazzlingly we can't stand to look at it. 
   
   We put the label on an increasing absence away from love and at the further extremes we call it evil.   Most of us know what it is in the abstract.  But there are, of course, various shades of evil.   Old Gautama the Buddha hit the nail on the head as far as the work we do as, 'Right livelihood.'   Right livelihood is anything that makes the lives of ourselves and others around us happier; adds to our welfare' contributes to the common weal.   
   
   From this, we can deduce that ' wrong livelihood' is any type of work that does the opposite.  But try telling that to the people who design and manufacture land-mines or napalm.   They will justify it by saying "It's our duty to built weapons to defend our country."   It is, of course, an evil.   If others do it, it's wrong.  If we do it, it's okay.   But I stand with old Buddha.   People know deep down, when all the rationaiizations are done, that they are making or doing bad things.
   
   So we have a spectrum: the most heinous of criminal activity and crime that we can possibly envisage at one end, and unconditional, benevolent love at the other.   But somewhere along the middle of this are the various shades of bad and good...based on our own conditioning.

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   CrescentSkiesposted 12 years ago

   Without evil how do you judge good? If nobody is bad then nobody is good, they just "are". It's like trying to have order without chaos, you can't.

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      hubmuffinsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes you're right
      there cannot be good without evil
      you have to have evil to judge what's good
      you cannot just have good. But you can have a bit of both. Ratios changing over the course of life. But you should burry the evil part of you deep within. L

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      Borsiaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You can have good and indifference without evil and everyone will know what good means.

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   gmwilliamsposted 11 years ago

   What is evil? It's absence of good. Some see  it as a separation from God. Others believe that it's an inevitable part of life.  There are still those who believe that evil is merely a choice. read more

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