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Evil - Coggle Diagram
Evil
St. Augustine and the problem of evil
What is evil
: It is degeneration, disorder and a lacking of God/goodness
Why is evil allowed to exist
: It is a choice humans can make.
"Evil is not a thing you choose, it is a way you choose. For moral evil is not some thing that God created, but a corruption of our will." - St. Augustine on Evil
Evil is a corrupt
will
, meaning it is to actively do something evil.
Solution to evil (by Simon Baron-Cohen): A loss of empathy ("empathy erosion") is at the heart of human evil. The people in a society with the least empathy tend to be the most evil (manipulators, psychopaths, etc.), therefore the key to fighting an evil will is empathy.
H. Arendt and the banality of evil: Eichmann in Jerusalem
Eichmann: a Nazi in the Gestapo who fled to Argentina and then was taken back to Israel for a trial.
'Not Guilty'
: He technically was just "doing his job" like any other person would, and like society would expect a regular person to. He, himself, did not have any specific intentions of hurting people so why would he be a murderer/evil?
Since Eichmann was somewhat 'normal' and didn't analyze what he was doing at his job, does it take an abnormally heroic person to not be evil?
Ex: Doctors who prescribe opioids during the opioid crisis, are they bad people for just doing their jobs?
Ex: The KKK was sold as a Christian community for Americans.
Critical thinking
could be the key to defeating submission to evil systems.
ex: taking philosophy, ethics classes, learning to think for oneself
Experiment:
Milgram et al. (1963
) conducted an experiment to test how far people would go to obey authority even if it meant hurting innocent people. It turned out 65% of them went as far as it took.
'Guilty'
: He was contributing to murder and did not question his authority. One would expect him to give up his job in order to save the lives of hundreds of people.
the problem of evil
What is evil? What defines an evil thing/person?
Why is evil allowed to exist?
Theodicy
: explaining evil through religion and/or God.
Example: (Genesis) Evil exists because of the human free will.
F. Nietzsche and the problem of evil
The idea of "killing" God: Since God is a projection in our minds, we can "kill" him by not believing or thinking about him. Because Christian good and evil is a made up system, by "killing" God, we get rid of that system.
This way we can welcome suffering, as it has so many benefits. It can build character, earn you money, make you healthier, etc.
Cons of this approach: Sometimes the benefits of evil/suffering don't outweigh the sacrifice, so it is not worth suffering.
Also the concept of a god gives purpose to suffering, so with Nietzsche's proposal, there is no meaning to suffering and it isn't really worth it.