Evil, Does it exist?

Had a discussion yesterday about evil and whether there is such a thing or not.
Hitler might be an individual that most people would think of as evil...but did he think he was evil? Did he not believe that he was acting in the best interests of the German people?

That being the case, if one believes that one's actions are good, should one be considered evil or just misguided if said actions are in accord with what the majority might consider evil?

Can individuals ever be considered 'evil', or is it a word best used to describe actions?

Were those responsible for drowning/burning 'witches' in the dark ages 'evil', even though at the time they (or their actions) might have been considered 'good'?

it's like good pride and bad pride,
good ego and bad ego.
Hitler was evil,
but so was Miles Davis.
do you see my dilemna?

Without being overly simplistic, I believe that people have the innate ability to do altruistic "good" and exceptional "evil" depending on circumstance, set/setting. What comes out of those abilities is determined partly by nurture and partly by choice influenced by the environment they currently are operating in.

I'm not saying it's quite that easy, but I've seen "bad" people unselfishly perform amazing acts of kindness and "good" folks do things that would make Jeffrey Dahmer blush and look away.

I look forward to where this thread goes!

for me, the term 'evil' is too wrapped up in supernatural/denomic aspects for me to believe in it as an actual entity of some kind -- so i tend to use the word to describe actions that are despicable, immoral, or something so dastardly that it's virtually beyond my ability to understand how it occurs (like murder). but as to whether there is some kind of otherworldly presence, gene or supernatural quality that exists in people that can be called 'evil', that's something i can't buy into. for people like hitler, it seems more likely that their actions are the result of a combination of mental illness, misguided radical thoughts & beliefs, and a basic lack of respect for other people/creatures. if someone were to have a combination of those three things, it makes logical sense to me how they could perform 'evil' deeds, though i could obviously never condone, justify, or understand them from an empathetic standpoint.

how much is that doggie in the avatar?

ha -- i can say with pinpoint accuracy that he costs $6,147, the nausea-inducing cost of the surgical procedure that saved his life last week! (perhaps another example of how good & evil can indeed co-exist)

I'd suggest reading Mary Midgleys excellent book 'Wickedness', which explores the idea of evil as presented in art and philosophy/religion. Her basic thesis is that evil shouldn't be thought of as a presence, a positive force which balances out goodness in some ying/yang fashion, but rather as evidence of an absence. In one example she takes the figure of Iago and explains that despite all the arguments (Freudian, Hobbesian, whatever) put forward to explain his behaviour, at heart Iago doesn't have a good well thoughout reason to do what he does, which he even admits to at the end. Essentially a psychological imbalance has occured whereby one motive or idea has dominated every other. The same applies to Nazism, which was evidenced not only by the ultimately self destructive strategies that the Nazis employed (money was fed into the running of the concentration camps away from the actual war effort) but during the Nuremberg trials, where the Nazis couldn't formulate any coherent defence for doing what they did; the 'banality of evil' perhaps. She also writes a fascinating analysis of Miltons Satan monolgues, which again is shown to support her argument. It also throws light on Socrates famous adage that "No man does evil knowingly", or perhaps the Christian adage "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"

The Midgster kicks ass.

Surprisingly most witches were actually hung-only a few were ever burned.

It's interesting that the use of the word evil is often used in conjunction with those groups or societies which had a tendency themselves to characterise groups or individuals as evil-so the Nazis believed Jews were evil, the Hutu believed it of the Tutsi etc.
when a pope of the counter reformation proclaims 'if my father were a hieratic i would gather the wood to burn him myself' we can see that what counts as an evil act or individual or group changes through time/society.
So your point about witch burning is then pertinent, do individuals knowingly act in an evil way?
Suddenly the whole of human history becomes an epic Milgram experiment-but whereas those who objected to Milgram apparently causing pain could abstain or object, in Nazi Germany objectors who's very lives were in danger were far more likely to be complicit with 'evil'.

like others i don't believe in evil as some super active force using humans as a conduit, nor is it some counterbalance of good.
I think it the modern sense it tends to be used as a shorthand for that which is beyond the pale.

Pissed...you're pissed.

Pissed...you're pissed.

...and you're ugly, but at least I'll be sober in the morning ducky!

Pissed...you're pissed.

...and you're ugly, but at least I'll be sober in the morning ducky!

No, you'll be hung over in the morning, at which point you'll realise how far out of your league I am, and consequently blush. But I'll bum anything, so fear not!

Pissed...you're pissed.

...and you're ugly, but at least I'll be sober in the morning ducky!

No, you'll be hung over in the morning, at which point you'll realise how far out of your league I am, and consequently blush. But I'll bum anything, so fear not!

I blush because i'm innocent and unsullied-surely you know that by now, and funnily enough any league in which you're are a member isn't one i'ld wish to join anyway.
goodnight comrade.

'Til the next time comrade! x

The Nazis believed the Jews were sub-human; the Final Solution was about eugenics, not about the purging of evil demons like the Inquisition of the middle ages. These concepts may be ideologically linked but the desired result for Hitler would have been a world cleansed of all perceived sub-human elements.

By the way, in Jewish mythology Satan is not the angel Lucifer who falls from heaven choosing to do evil. 'Satan' in Hebrew means 'to oppose'; Satan is seen as an angel created for that very purpose by God, (angels don't have free will to choose; only humans are granted that very special luxury).

Therefore, according to pre-Christian mystical theology, God has created everything for a purpose in his universe, even evil, so Satan obediently follows the path God created for him.

I have always thought of these sayings as a reference to the psychological defense mechanism
of projection, which the subconscious mind uses to avoid facing things about yourself you
would rather not look at. Projections takes what is happening inside you
throws it ( like the voice of a hypnotist ) outside you so it appears that it is happening
where you look rather than where you are. Ultimately, projection generates a great deal
of pain and confusion, since you are attempting to crucify or save others not from their sins,
but your own. While you adopt a goal of world salvation ,it is really your own you seek.
If you are not willing to face your own shadow or dark side, you will try to rid the world of the
evil you project onto a person or group ( like Hitler and the Jewish people ) or to get everyone
onto the bandwagon.