Looking at Evil

We all know this word

But what do we mean by evil?

Evil is not a big difficult word to understand

It is a simple concept

Evil is..................

Or is it?

We do not use this word very often.

It does not frequently appear in our media.

Why not?

There is certainly enough evil around us!

So let us have a look at evil.

Evil is profound immorality.

In certain religious contexts evil has been described as a supernatural force. 

Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its root motives and causes. 

However elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behaviour involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect.

Views on the nature of evil tend to fall into one of four opposed camps:

Moral absolutism  holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by a deity or deities, nature, morality, common sense, or some other source.

Amoralism  claims that good and evil are meaningless, that there is no moral ingredient in nature.

Moral relativism holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local culture, custom, or prejudice.

Moral universalism is  the attempt to find a compromise between the absolutist sense of morality, and the relativist view.

Universalism claims that morality is only flexible to a degree, and that what is truly good or evil can be determined by examining what is commonly considered to be evil amongst all humans.

That's fine to put evil in those terms but to make evil clear lets look at an evil human

She or he is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection.

Deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception.

Projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets, scapegoating others while appearing normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective") 

Commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others.

Abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion"). 

Maintains a high level of respectability and lies incessantly in order to do so.

Is consistent in his or her sins. 

Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness).

Is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim.

Has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury.

Invariably lacks a sense of humour.

Now come to think of it these characteristics apply to a large number of world and business leaders.

Not to make a sweeping generalisation though.

It does seem though that there is a lot of evil about.

Is it not time that we label these people for what they are?

Why do we keep pretending that they are OK?

Have we lost our courage?

Or is the media so controlled and manipulated that all we see and hear is PR spin.

Well actually yes most mainstream media is indeed controlled as to what it says.

And that you could say is evil as well.

Come to think of it there is evil today wherever you look.