Is there such a thing as good and evil?

Is there such a thing as good and evil? I believe there isn't . All examples of good and evil are just opinions. That is what good and evil are, opinions. There is no such thing as good and evil. Everyones idea of it is based on their opinion. There are no universal laws to govern it like there are for the universe. (ex. our theories of how it works, gravity, etc.) and even those are flawed. Some people might think premarital sex is evil, but for others it may not. Every example you put forth of good and evil differentiation is based on a pre-existing opinion you got from somewhere else.

~Does anyone else agree? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[edit on 18-12-2007 by Seiju]

I believe there are universal laws and precepts dictating the degree and identity of action. There is a good and evil, but I think those words are very broad, detailing a very multi-faceted subject.

If I may ask where did you get that opinion from?

Yes, good and evil are aka love and hate.

Think of it as the scale between the these two extremes with many levels in between.

We all fall within one of these levels when it comes to how we treat our fellow man.

I tend to agree with those who say good and evil is just a perception. What's evil to one individual could be the greatest of all goods and vice versa. However I think there is a fine line drawn in the sand...somewhere.

Originally posted by Alxandro
Yes, good and evil are aka love and hate.

Think of it as the scale between the these two extremes with many levels in between.

We all fall within one of these levels when it comes to how we treat our fellow man.

That cant be true because not everyone loves and hates the same thing. love and hate are just opinions to.

For the most part, society defines "good" as something that is conducive to the peaceful function and growth of a society. Something that allows people to raise families and be happy and well-fed.

Unfortunately, in order for this to happen, sometimes you gotta get your machetes together and go over to the next village and slaughter everybody there to get the food and water that will allow your village to raise families in peace. I mean, otherwise, what are you going to do? Just sit back and let your women and babies starve? Sometimes you gotta make a tough choices.

Of course, those people in the other village are not going to think what you've done is all that good. But both villages will agree in principal that the priority is to raise families in peace, which is good, and avoid starvation or slaughter, which is evil.

So in this context, if you kill people and eat them like Jeffrey Dahmer, or go into a mall and shoot and kill people at random for basically no reason, everybody will pretty much agree that is evil.

So good and evil certainly exist, but a lot of it depends on your perspective and your circumstances.

[edit on 18-12-2007 by Nohup]

reply to post by Seiju




There is the "creator of all things" known in the general term as "God".

There are things welcomed by God, these things are wanted and they are judged by God to be Good.

There are things unwelcomed by God, these things are unwanted and they are judged by God to be Evil.

Evil is a term misunderstood. It's truest meaning is "unwanted by God".

Ironically, when people judge other people to be "evil" they are actually doing something that is unwanted by God so they themselves with their greezy little pointing fingers are being evil.

But that is just God's opinion. Who is he to judge if I am good or evil? Im sorry for you Christians who think he is all knowing and powerful, but it is my opinion so please respect it and dont post religious outrages here

I tend to believe that good and evil is an easy way of defining human moral standards. I'll list a couple of examples:

A 10 year old boy steals a roll of sweet tarts from his local grocery store and gets away with it. Elated with himself he eats the candy. That same night he was watching tv with his parents and saw on the news that a man got locked in jail for stealing a purse from a woman. Is there a varying degree of evil?? The boy has stolen candy, the man has stolen an innocent woman's purse.

Another quality of maral conduct is what a "good" person would do in this situation:

Walking home from work at about 6:00 pm, a man here cries of help from a fellow man across the street. He turns around to see a man getting beat and robbed on the sidewalk by three people. Instead of running to his aid and trying to defend him, he turns his gaze strait ahead and quickens his pace so as not to attract the attention of the crew thats just jumped this guy.

Whats worse??? the people doing the beating, or the man that ignored it and let it happen with out alarm and with out trying to help.

I personally live my life by a more traditional set of views. I have morals, i believe in honor. If a man insults me or my family i will swing at him, if a man is insulting a woman weather i know her or not i will confront him right away. Some would say that its evil to use violence as an ends to a means. I dont think so. There is a worse evil then the actions of so called evil men, and its a good man turning his head to it... pretending its not there. I could keep going but i think you guys get the picture.

".Good." & ".Evil."

[edit on 18-12-2007 by jwater88]

Yes, i get what your saying. In a sense your right. Valor and honor do exist but it is not a measuring stick for good and evil. they are just human emotions. Society will always rule what is good and evil. But in my opinion you are a good man because you would defend a woman being harassed right away and so would i no matter the odds. Isnt that ironic. I, in my opinion believe you are good, even though i am stating that good and evil dont exist. Its kinda funny. It only proves even further that they dont exist.

~This is to W3RLIED2

[edit on 18-12-2007 by Seiju]

I must point out that your "opinion" is still based on what someone's reaction is to an action. Its still opinion based.

Originally posted by Seiju
But that is just God's opinion. Who is he to judge if I am good or evil? Im sorry for you Christians who think he is all knowing and powerful, but it is my opinion so please respect it and dont post religious outrages here

Don't confuse the real God with the gods of religion.

I wasnt referring to you or your "God". I specifically spoke to christians and communicating my feelings that i do not want this to become a religious debate.

Originally posted by Incarnated
Evil is a term misunderstood. It's truest meaning is "unwanted by God".

Yeah, but it's also interesting that society in general also wants what God wants, or vice-versa. Peaceful procreation. And there are plenty of passages in religious works, particularly the Bible, where God will even go so far as to tell one group of people to go over and slaughter another group to ensure that peaceful procreation.

So again, I guess it all depends on whether you're on the giving or receiving end of the butt-kicking (sanctioned by God or not) as to whether or not you see something as good or evil.

reply to post by Nohup


Actually Religion and Religious things and thinkings are Evil in the eyes of God. That's suported scriputally and in other ways.

It's kinda a catch 22 for mankind.

Man, needs feel association with mankind in beliefs. So they seek out others "likeminded" in understandings of "God" and thus religion starts that seperates them from God.

The best we can do as humans is to want to do the will of God, not to try to make judgements of what that will is.

If you truly do the will of God, you go with the flow and don't try to channel others into believing like you.

(sure, some might say that's what I do, but it really isn't).

No matter which way you look at it this is 100% opinion based argument. I'm not saying what i think is good or evil is what every one should recognize as good or evil. i was just puting it out there. food for thought type of thing.... The last thing this should turn into is a matter of religion though.

Im not forcing anybody to believe anything, im just giving them the idea, the facts and letting them come to their own conclusions.

Thank you W3RLIED2! Last thing i wanted was this to become religious debate. Just want to talk about whether good and evil exist or not. But i guess ultimately they play a part. (God and Satan i mean) they are the ultimate embodiment of good and evil in our society.


just a side note. Maybe Satan isnt evil? Maybe God is. What if God was oppressing the angels and Satan saw what misery God was causing. He led a rebellion against God with others who saw the oppression to. When God won he struck down Satans name and declared that everything about him was evil. Even though he is not. Would that make God opinionated and evil?

[edit on 18-12-2007 by Seiju]