I recently stumble across what I consider one of the most profound conclusions I've ever thought of. Like many thoughts we think this particular thought was the product of other thoughts thought up be other individuals. In this case my conclusions on the nature of evil are the products of objectivist philosophy.
I remember sitting in my apartment one evening and the thought coming to me very simply, 'Evil must be sanctioned'. As it turns out this wasn't the entire conclusion, but it was enough to make me stop what I was doing and ponder the idea further. 'Evil must be sanctioned', wow! I then began to think what does this mean? What does this explain about the state of humanity? As most of my serious thinking is devoted to understanding how we, as humans, have gotten our current state of existence I was very pleased to have this breakthrough. I thought some more about this conclusion and was still not quite satisfied. Evil must be sanctioned.... what?. Well there is a lot of evil in this world and it's been around for a very long time. I'm mainly talking about philosophical evil because anything that persists in human existence that is the product of human actions is first the product of a philosophy that deems such actions necessary. And then I had it! 'Evil must be sanctioned in order to persist'; which easily translates to 'Evil must have been sanctioned in order to have persisted this long'.
What do I mean by evil you ask? Evil can be described as the actions or thoughts a person engages in to avoid dealing with their insecurities. Ha, what I love about this definition (one I just cooked up while on the toilet) is that it requires a context for the examination of any action and not just a blanket declaration of certain actions to be evil. Allow me to digress for just a second. I'm cooking up an essay on why I don't agree with religion (mainly Christianity) and my definition of evil fits perfectly into it. Let's examine the killing of a person. Christianity will tell you that the killing of a person is sin no matter the context. I think this is absurd as there are many cases when killing another person is appropriate and necessary. Think about premarital sex, an action deemed evil by Christianity. What about the couple that have pledged their lives to each other in their hearts and minds? Should they have to wait until a ceremony before they experience the pleasure of sex? These and other sins are meant for people to follow instructions without the context of their reality, but what does this say about the insecurities of the authors of such rules?
Back to the point. Evil exists and continues to exist because humans are willing to make what they think are compromises between their principles and their reality in order to assuage their insecurities. In actuality, these 'compromises' are really sacrifices of mental autonomy that pave the way for the chronically insecure. The majority of human leadership is composed of the chronically insecure, those individuals who spend most of their lives running from the fact that they do not feel comfortable in their own skin and seek to master whatever existence they can of everyone else but themselves. The people who demand of others before they demand of themselves. The people who attempt to gain respect through fear and false pretenses. The individuals who will do anything to shield themselves from their own reality. How do such people gain power? The answer, as I discovered recently, is quite simple; by taking advantage of the insecurities of others.
Let me explain why this is such a powerful and depressing conclusion. This conclusion is depressing because it means the state of humanity is do to people's sacrifice of their principles. It is not do to the devil, or some other supernatural spirit that holds some kind of mystical influence over us that can be wiped away or forgiven by some other, more powerful benevolent influence. The responsibility of human tragedy lies squarely on each individual's shoulders; every second of everyday. And let me say that Christianity, and I imagine other religions, say mostly the same thing, I think the level of mysticism involved clouds the issue.
This conclusion is powerful in that it exposes evil for the frail, frightened, insecure child that it is. Something to be squashed at will by those with the strength to do so. Evil will always exists because humans will always posses the ability to ignore their reality. However, evil will only persists if people allow it to. Evil continues to exist because of us, not because it's inherent power, but because of the power we allow it to have. I can't resist this statement; but given these conclusions what does this say about God and the existence of the devil?
Unfortunately for us, evil has been allowed to exists for thousands of years in humans and because of this the options we have in combating evil are extreme and unpleasant. As I stated earlier the chronically insecure, the champions of ignoring self and reality, have been allowed to take leadership positions in areas that effect every aspect of human life. Many of these positions only exist because people have sacrificed their mental autonomy for what they thought was a compromise or a convenience. Sadly, the battle against the evil of humanity is a battle to the death, or to an existence many feel is unacceptable. It's funny because this has always been the case because the sanctioning of evil inevitably leads to death. It seems evil is showing us what is truly at stake when we allow it to exist; very, very ironic. Consider the choice African slaves had to make during the horrendous experience of being brought to America. Essentially Europeans offered them this choice, 'Come with us and you may live, or you can fight us and most likely die.' Think about what would have happened if every single African fought to the death. What would the slave traders have done? What could they do? The cost of capturing humans would have been too great. Many Africans fought to the death, and when captured, many Africans committed suicide, but not enough Africans made the choice to die rather than live a slave to stop the evil present in the minds of those Europeans.
Now let me say the evil that confronted Africans, and the evil that confronts the Sudanese in Darfur, and the evil that confronted the Jews in the 1940's, and the evil the confronted Cambodians in the 1970's is and was some of the most disturbing and powerful evil that can be confronted by a human being. The choice between life and, not just death, a horrible death, is one I cannot imagine. But, we know this choice is a reality because evil is now a perpetual element of human reality. Because of this we must strive to live life by principles we cannot live without; principles that, if sacrificed, would lead to an existence worse than the one brought to us by those who embrace evil.
Evil needs you. It needs you to be afraid so that you'll do what it says. It needs you to relinquish your judgment so that it can substitute its judgment. It needs you to say things are better with it in charge. Evil needs you to give up, but to keep on living so that it has a role. Evil will do whatever it takes to own you and control your reality, but it NEEDS YOU to do it. Many conversations about how to fix the world and humanity with my peers have lead to conclusion that there is no system designed to effectively discourage cheaters. It's only now that I realize what such a system would look like. It would be a reality where people's principles meant more to them than the prospect of living without them. Saying there is no system to prevent cheaters is a sad indictment on the moral fiber of humanity. Even worse, my peers are saying the depravity of humanity's moral fiber is irrecoverable. 'All it takes is one cheater and the whole system goes to shit' they say. I vehemently disagree. 'All it takes is one cheater and a large group of people that do not oppose such cheating for the whole system to go to crap'. How do stop of bully? You stand up to them, you show them you aren't afraid; that if they try to beat you up they may succeed, but you won't make it easy for them. A bully is made by those who don't fight back, those who give up their milk money without a fight. It's interesting that lessons from the playground are thought to be too simple for 'the real world'. Bullying tactics may become more sophisticated and certainly more brutal, but at the end of the day it comes down to this; fight or give up.
You may claim, like many of my peers do, that people faced with extreme evil do not have a choice. I think that short of total mind control this notion is a fallacy. What I suspect most people mean by the idea that people facing extreme evil don't have a choice is that they don't have a favorable choice or that they have a terrible choice. One of my favorite quotes from the Dune series is, 'You can die now or you can die later, this is the choice you always have and will always have' (this isn't a direct quote, I'm paraphrasing). Of course this is true, and while it's an unpleasant reality, it is a powerful one.
At its core evil is dependence and because of this evil can be destroyed. Unfortunately, to defeat evil it may require your own destruction or the destruction of something you love. Be prepared to die now; a human life finds it's value in the things it is willing to not live without. Do not betray these things should evil demand them. Evil has no right to them. Evil has gone far enough.
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5 comments:
What about the Cruciatous curse? They could control your mind and make you succumb.
Seriously, I thought your idea is spot on. And the philosophy is true. But a rational mind is easily discarded by the presence of fear. In order to defeat evil, to make that horrible choice, one would have to be comfortable with fear in order to defeat it.
What would you do if you had to make a choice between your principles and the lives of your family? If it was just your life in the balance, then the choice might MIGHT be easier. But, what if is the lives of the ones your principles tell you you are responsible for? By principle, you should protect them but your other principle would be thwarted for evil in doing so. It's a conundrum. But it's the thought that comes to mind.
For instance, with the Nazi rule. Most Germans became Nazis not because they believed in Hitler's manifesto. But, if one was not a Nazi then you could not hold a job, period. So it was the choice of a lot of adults between supporting their family or watching them die slowly from lack of funds to support them. I'm assuming that escape was not an option by this point.
Nichole
(1 of 4..or so) I finally got around to reading this. Wrote this in plans of posting it anonymously. Found out I couldn't, but couldn't NOT post it because I had already written it...Oh well.
Something to consider,
“Christianity will tell you that the killing of a person is sin no matter the context.”
First, the bible doesn’t say that killing no matter what is evil. God has assisted many in battle and wars as well as kill people himself. What is sinful is murder. Its about context and motivation.
WAR
Exodus 17:8-15 : 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The [c] LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Deuteronomy 20:1-3 1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.
MURDER, however is defined as “the unlawful killing of one human being by another especially with premeditated malice”.
When you read in the bible about those accused of murder it is often personal, an act of judgment (you hurt me, made me angry so now you must die etc etc). That falls perfectly in your definition of evil. “Evil can be described as the actions or thoughts a person engages in to avoid dealing with their insecurities.” We can see that with Sampson and Delilah, Cain and Able, the edict from King Herod to kill all babies under the age of 3 when Jesus was born (in hopes of killing Jesus) because he wanted people to worship him, and other examples.) Killing for war in the bible, is the reaction of God’s people towards evil people. Not only is it not evil or a sin to kill in wars sanctioned by God, but because it is killing via self-defense. Even our own laws take that into account.
Also sin and evil are not completely synonymous, exchangeable rather. Evil implies motivation. To be evil towards someone. Sin is an act that can be evil, but not necessarily. It is a sin to be drunk, but that doesn’t make you evil. It’s about intentions. It’s a sin to have premarital sex, but that doesn’t make you evil.
(2 of 4)“What about the couple that have pledged their lives to each other in their hearts and minds? Should they have to wait until a ceremony before they experience the pleasure of sex?”
If we look at the definition of marriage in the bible, it is a loyalty or heart, mind and spirit. Ceremonies are culture and society oriented not Christian based. The bible says marriage is to be “united in wedlock, figurative of any close union often with God.” As we see with Adam and Eve, they never had a ceremony. King Solomon and his wife, was a unity sanctioned my God. Both were. As a Christian, once you get the ok from God that’s all you need. The dress, flowers, reception etc. are all based in regional and cultures of various times periods.
“These and other sins are meant for people to follow instructions without the context of their reality, but what does this say about the insecurities of the authors of such rules? “
Not sure what you mean by this. There are some sects of Christianity where the rules were created (much later, after the death of Christ) within a certain context, taken as a “Godly rule” and people try to apply it to contemporary life and it does not work AND it is not grounded in the Christianity in its original state. A clear example is Catholicism. One is confessionals. There was a belief before Christianity began (Judaism) that if were a priest or person of rank in the church that you were somehow closer to God and had some direct line to him. God never said that. And it was made most clear when Jesus said anyone can go to his father. Arguably which is why the Philistines (orthodox Jews) wanted Jesus dead. Not only was he messing up their hierarchy and social clout but also breaking the “rules” they creates (cause they thought they could because they had social power… people allowed it) which Jesus said this stuff doesn’t work. (i.e. if you sinned you had to kill a bull/sheep/ or something, and your sins are forgiven. Jesus was telling them God is asking for a much deeper acknowledgement). He said, in a nut shell, All these rules are made up and you all need to get back to the real heart of Judaism. They didn’t like that. So they ordered his execution. That, would be evil. And, again, that fits perfect in your definition “Evil exists and continues to exist because humans are willing to make what they think are compromises between their principles and their reality in order to assuage their insecurities.” In this case the Philistine compromised their principles of murder, in hopes of maintaining their power. Being removed from the high social hierarchy and all the lavish things that come with it AND knowing that sacrificing animals for your sins worked at one time (to kill your animals which may have been pretty hard to come by was a big deal) but when it stopped being a big deal, sin stopped being a big deal. For a substantial few at least, which is why Jesus came down in the first place.
“This conclusion is powerful in that it exposes evil for the frail, frightened, insecure child that it is.” I think its reductive (and disrespectful) to describe Christianity as mysticism (your insecurities? What has Christianity done to you? It’s a bit challenging to have a discussion with someone about an ideology that they quote but don’t respect, I wonder if anything fruit will come of it…) but I digress. But what I will say is that describing evil as a frail and frightened insecure child is a great description of the devil/Satan. If we know the story, the devil Lucifer, was the most beautiful angel (described as having whistles/musical instruments that came from his body so that when the wind blew has body made music). He was the top angel in all of heaven. Then the devil got an ego thought that he could be God, God dethroned him and said, I’ll give you your own kingdom…hell.
(3 of 4)
Describing what God said to Satan:
Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [c]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
"Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a desert,
who overthrew its cities
and would not let his captives go home?"
Taking a quick look at the dictionary, what is interesting about the ego is that it focuses on the self “I” and seeks to distinguish itself from others. Why would that be necessary? Also the ego
“reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.” The question is what are your primitive drives? With Satan, his drive was power, well more power, because he already was given a lot of power when he was a “good” angel. In relation to your definition of evil, I think Satan was insecure about his high (but not high enough in his mind) rank in the kingdom. You said, "The people who attempt to gain respect through fear and false pretenses” (i.e. Satan “the man who shook the earth made kingdoms tremble…would not let his captives go home.” Respect through fear?) How does power do that? How does power assist the growth of our ego and drive us to evil? You said, people gain power through “taking advantage of the insecurities of others.” That can happen in combat, but can also happen emotionally since, in your definition that evil includes actions AND thoughts. I would say, what makes someone evil is learning someone’s insecurities and use that as way to hurt them. It’s the malice (which is needed for a killing to be a sin) that makes the power evil. It’s all about context. The problem is when people try to exercise that power against someone and it wasn’t necessary. That act of supposed protection becomes a malicious act. An act of evil.
“Evil will always exists because humans will always posses the ability to ignore their reality. However, evil will only persist if people allow it to.” Through your definition, evil can only disappear if people accept their reality (be ok with it), and learn ways to be comfortable with it. I don’t think that has ever happened nor will it. You also said, “Evil continues to exist because of us, not because it's inherent power, but because of the power we allow it to have.” I think we allow evil because of its power. There is inherent power in it. According to you, people gain power through capitalizing on people’s insecurities. People aren’t happy with their reality…it looks greener on the other side (on the other side of the throne in Satan’s case). The seeking of power, unfortunately comes at a cost. We may seek that power, and may get some semblance of it but we never get what we hoped for. Because even if a leader gets power by scrupulous means, he/she will always be on the watch for someone else trying to do the same thing to them. This fear creates someone who may have more leadership power but their mind has gone ary. Therefore they use other means of power (taking advantage of people’s insecurities) to enact evil to maintain the leadership power they want. (Doesn’t sound like a happy life).
(4 of 4)“I can't resist this statement; but given these conclusions what does this say about God and the existence of the devil?” I’m not sure what you mean? What does it say? For me, the devil is like a foil (a literary term) in a sense. Everything was good and peaceful before the devil’s ego got out of control. Although God had the ability to remove the devil from existence, I believe, that God allowed Satan to remain, so that people can really see the qualities of God. Be able to experience both sides, if you will, and have a choice. Before satan came into the garden, Adam and Eve didn’t have a choice on how to live their lives. All they knew was God. And they saw what God could provide. But Eve (and Adam) compromised/ sacrificed their principles for what they thought would be a greater understanding. More power. Satan (in the form of a snake) said to Eve, in so many words “Don’t you want to know as much as God?” Pretty tempting I would say. And all you need to do is eat an apple? This story speaks volumes about curiosity and the desire for power. Something that has been here sense the beginning of time (and we can even see that in animals and other species, conquering one another for some type of gain.) I think that that desire for power/curiosity is inherent. The questions are what power do you desire, how bad do you want it, to what lengths are you willing to get it, and what are you willing to compromise in the process?
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