[QUOTE="WildstarGoethe"][QUOTE="RiSkyBiZ-13"][QUOTE="WildstarGoethe"] [QUOTE="metaldude05"]i think good and evil exist. but like other people have said it depends on the person what is good and what is evil. but that doesnt mean it doesnt exist RiSkyBiZ-13
I agree. There are certainly acts of evil committed...or if you prefer to call them sociopathic, fine. There are acts that are committed that no matter how you choose to label them, they are extremely bad to any rational human. Take the holocaust of the Jewish people in WWII. Take the genocide in Rwanda. edit, Take what was done to people for the sake of blood diamonds in Sierra Leone and Angola. Take the crimes committed by Unit 731 in Japan. Take Ted Bundy's rape and murder career. Take Jeffrey Dahmer's love of murdering, raping and eating boys. I could go on. Other's could add to this list I'm sure. There is a lot of evil in the world. To say everything is gray and open to interpretation is ridiculous. There are good and bad acts, that are blindingly black and white.
The question of good and evil is one that philosphers throughout history have struggled with. Good and Evil are completely subjective, based on your society, your religion, and your culture. I still believe that everyone should agree that life is sacred, and to take that away from someone is Evil. However, at the same turn, does the motives of that murder change it from evil to good? For example, during the Crusades (I won't use radical islam as an example, the extent of their perversion of their own religion is too outlandish for me to use it as an analogy) the knights thought what they were doing was noble, "God's Work." However, another question will arise. Simply because they personally think their cause is noble, does that make it right? Charles Manson thought he was doing what was right and necessary when he brainwashed those girls and convinced them to kill. The questions of good and evil will only lead you to more questions.
Okay. I agree. Philosophy aside, let's talk basic right and wrong, regardless of how people who commit atrocious acts lie to themselves by rationalizing their sick behavior. As a rational, sane member of the human race, would you say that the Crusades were good or bad? Was what Charles Manson did with the aid of his followers good or bad?
You can't put philosphy aside when you're in a discussion about good vs. evil or right vs. wrong. What makes an act atrocious? For you and I, it's an easy answer. Murder, rape, sodomy, the list can go on and on. But how do we come to that conclusion? It is engrained in our society, how we were raised, the world around us, the influence of religion and media, that list also goes on and on. On terms of Charles Manson, I will personally say what he did was wrong. He was insane. However, I came by that answer using the perspective I have from being raised in this generation, in this country, with a LOT of Catholic background.
I agree with you there too. I guess I was just trying to point out that sometimes there is no gray area. Sometimes, the things people do to each other are just plain bad. Of course we are influenced by our environments and what we are taught. Still, some people who are taught what is morally right and wrong as children, ignore what they are taught by rationalizing their bad behavior as adults. Most people are taught from an early age that it is wrong to murder people, but throughout history we have cases of individuals on up to national groups that have murdered untold millions by rationalizing that what they were doing is right. In the case of Charles Manson, I don't think it matters what country, generation or religious background you have...Charles Manson was insane and what he did is wrong. I think anyone, regardless of their background would recognize that. Despite differences in culture, religion, socioeconomics, nationality et cetera, there are undeniable commonalities among human beings. Most humans can differentiate right from wrong. The problem is that a lot of humans self-delude themselves into thinking that the bad things they do are justified. Us humans lie to ourselves. It becomes incredibly worse when entire national groups start doing it.
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