What is the source of evil in the human condition? Can we ever understand it? Is it possible to eliminate it? Can humans even make a dent in the amount and degree of evil in the world? Many words have been spoken and written on this subject in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech incident. A new book is out on the subject by Phillip Zimbardo, who is famous for his work on the Stanford Prison Experiment, titled "The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil." Allow me a few random scribbles. Then it's your turn.
1. Every single human has done evil things. Christians claim one exception, Jesus.
2. Zimbardo believes that we are almost all capable of significant evil given opportunity, peer pressure, and an certain conditions conducive to the dehumanization of the victims. He also believes there will be some "heroes" that will attempt to undermine such evil, but doubts that they are necessarily endowed with some special "character" that causes this.
3. Some amount of evil seems to be at the hands of individuals who are chemically, hormonally, psychologically, or socially imbalanced. Are we all at least somewhat damaged in this way, and thus inclined to evil?
4. Some evil seems to grow out of the "frog in the kettle" syndrome. This is where the frog is put in a kettle of cold water and the heat is slowly turned up. The incremental increase is such that the frog adjusts and doesn't try to get out. Eventually it kills him. (I've heard that his cannot be proved experimentally.) However it has become a metaphor for the idea of becoming desensitized to messages or images that would have earlier caused revulsion.
5. Desperation can create inappropriate acts. Sometimes we are more inclined to give folks a pass if they seem to be acting out of fear of great loss. However, I think we can find cases where what may have started out as a response to desperation may mature into something more evil or even abjectly evil.
6. A quest for seemingly appropriate ends can provide justification for evil acts...the ends justify the means.
7. Then there is normal human drives that probably produce the most evil on a day-to-day basis. The desire to be liked or loved, admired or even revered; the desire to accumulate wealth, power, or prestige; the fear of loneliness, deprivation, or pain. The evils may start out small in type or degree, but then increase in small steps like drips in a basin. Or the type of evil may be of the type that always needs a newer or greater dose.
OK, enough from me. Add to the list. Challenge the ones listed. Apply it to the blog subject. Offer solutions.
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3 comments:
What is the source of evil in the human condition?
Could it be God?
Isaiah 45:7 - "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."
I don't believe it, but it sure seems like that ought to be the Christian answer.
1. Every single human has done evil things. Christians claim one exception, Jesus.
Define evil. Is evil something that most people can agree on, or is evil "doing what God says not to do"?
Euthyphro is everywhere these days.
2. Zimbardo believes that we are almost all capable of significant evil given opportunity, peer pressure, and an certain conditions conducive to the dehumanization of the victims. He also believes there will be some "heroes" that will attempt to undermine such evil, but doubts that they are necessarily endowed with some special "character" that causes this.
3. Some amount of evil seems to be at the hands of individuals who are chemically, hormonally, psychologically, or socially imbalanced. Are we all at least somewhat damaged in this way, and thus inclined to evil?
I agree with #2; I think that's been shown repeatedly, whether in the prison experiment or at Abu Ghraib. In #3, you're making a leap. Chemical imbalances are suggesting psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics, people who are mentally ill. It might go so far as to suggest some of the personality disorders, like antisocial personality disorder, which are often correlated with violent crimes.
4. Some evil seems to grow out of the "frog in the kettle" syndrome...(I've heard that his cannot be proved experimentally.)
Certainly it could, though it doesn't need to be. An animal wouldn't be able to survive if the water in its cells were boiling. Yes, if you heat the water enough, the frog will absolutely die, cook, and become a meal for someone into French cuisine.
I think the reason it might not be a popular experiment is that it is inhumane and unethical.
However it has become a metaphor for the idea of becoming desensitized to messages or images that would have earlier caused revulsion.
Sure, and to some degree it's like that poem--"When the Nazis came for the Communists, I remained silent; I was not a Communist," and so forth.
6. A quest for seemingly appropriate ends can provide justification for evil acts...the ends justify the means.
A problem of evil that never seems to go away.
Gee Tom,
I'm learning a lot from you. I had to look up Euthyphro.
Regarding #3. Are we responsible for an act that we do when under the influence of a drug that we did not consent to take?
Regarding your Bible quote, I found this:
The word ra' is used throughout the Old Testament with several meanings. It is used many times to mean something morally evil or hurtful (Job 35:12, 1 Sam 30:22, etc.) but it is also used to mean an unpleasant experience (Gen 47:9 and Prov. 15:10). It is used to describe fierce beasts (Lev. 26:6), and even spoiled or inferior fruit (Jer 24:3). Certainly, the figs that Jeremiah was looking at were not evil in the sense of morally reprobate!
http://www.comereason.org/phil_qstn/phi025.asp
Why can't God be responsible for 'evil' and still be a good God. Responsible in that he allows it to exist and he has caused calamity on the earth. He created Satan and talks to him. God can contain evil in himself he is bigger than evil.
We are children in the spiritual world. For an example .... as parents discipline might seem evil to a child. Is the parent evil for spanking the child? Is the parent evil for playing a trick on the child?
Wondering what really is evil.
I too was fascinated to learn about the word 'ra' and have been studying about it ever since I read it from Tom. Can't deny it. The ASV does literally translate the passage as evil.
It is a subject similar to the trinity . Are we going to rationalize what fits are belief of how god should be or instead believe it literally accepting our limits of understanding.
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