[Jaydelart]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Okay, in replacing event I am now thinking of a little girl, 7 years, who was raped and strangled and thrown into a gutter.

It is hard to consider such an event as not evil, as it is hard wired into our brain. But evil is not a physical thing. It is not a real thing. Think about it. In no place is evil actually physical or real. It is a concept. A part of the brain. One stone crashing the walls of another and creating a vacant echo, nothing more. Now, we can pull up an event, such as what we both mentioned, in which 95% of the world would consider to be evil. Or we can get other events, which some consider to be just as evil, but others consider to be plausible as okay. I give one, when Vietnam was napalmed and children had their skin burnt off with fire. I would class it as just as evil as what we both mentioned, but not everyone agrees that the US is evil. From this we cansee evil is an entirly perspective idea, and not a real thing. It can never be prcise or determined. And is always dependant. For example, one person might not consider the sex with the little girl as an actual evil thing, but only the strangle part as evil, or the rape part as evil, but other people will just say sex with children is evil no matter what. Or say that the US bombing was evil, but necessary, so it becomes okay, or lesser evil. It is very obvious now that evil is not real, it is a shape shifting idea manifested by man for entirly different purposes other than defining a just path in life. In fact, I would say it is there for the complete opposite.

But now you see, no? There are different levels of physical action, aggression, brutality, crimson, and so on, but the actual concept behind these actions are so hazy they become classed as okay given circumstance and situation. Meaning, by your sense, it is not actually the rape of that boy that was evil, it was the idea in the mans head. And you are saying crime is not determined by the action, but by the reason behind it, or lack of. Belief in these ideas is going to seal the fate of millions were you a man of power. I think I know which of the 2 makes up evil. The one that is real. In which I dont call evil, it is just what it is, action. Ideas are illusions.

I understand what you're trying to say... And I wasn't denying the fact that our definitions of 'Evil' and 'Good' may vary depending on our different perspectives.

Personally, I agree with you on most of that argument... However, there is 'What we may view as 'Evil' and there is 'What is 'Evil'. (If that makes sense)

'What we may view as 'Evil'' is, like you said, based upon our own opinions. Your enemy is 'Evil' to you; You are 'Evil' to your enemy... It is a matter of perspective, determining who is 'Evil' and who is not.

However, 'What is 'Evil'' describes the ultimate truth. We can debate over which side is 'Evil', but the truth may be that one is more evil than the other... Or even that both or neither are evil.
It is that Truth that we can smother with illusions, but will exist regardless.

To your argument that evil does not exist... I simply don't agree. I believe it does. It is the matter of recognizing and identifying it without bias that is the problem.