Evil - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T06:02:22Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:59865?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A60907&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noYou can't blame everything on…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-06:537324:Comment:609072007-08-06T22:46:05.780ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
You can't blame everything on psychosis. There are thousands of perfectly sane (from a clinical standpoint) people among us who would go to war against the Antichrist. With the right charismatic, anointed leader, presenting compelling evidence from the holy scriptures, there's no telling what they might do. Yes, even in 21st century America.<br />
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The preacher character in my story is the villain, but he's not psychotic. Although I guess one could argue that any faith-based compulsion is a form of…
You can't blame everything on psychosis. There are thousands of perfectly sane (from a clinical standpoint) people among us who would go to war against the Antichrist. With the right charismatic, anointed leader, presenting compelling evidence from the holy scriptures, there's no telling what they might do. Yes, even in 21st century America.<br />
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The preacher character in my story is the villain, but he's not psychotic. Although I guess one could argue that any faith-based compulsion is a form of mental illness. Then, when you get down to it, we're all mentally ill in one way or another. Humans do their darkest work…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-06:537324:Comment:607492007-08-06T12:44:12.529ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
<i>Humans do their darkest work as a matter of consensus—it's one of our defining characteristics.</i><br />
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True. But it's always nice to have a central character to blame (Hitler, Bin Laden...). In my wip, a charismatic religious leader has recruited a secret army of assassins to pave the way for the second coming of Christ. My right-wing loony-tunes preacher, of course, thinks he's doing the right thing, and has convinced his followers they're doing God's will. So, from a moral relativist's POV,…
<i>Humans do their darkest work as a matter of consensus—it's one of our defining characteristics.</i><br />
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True. But it's always nice to have a central character to blame (Hitler, Bin Laden...). In my wip, a charismatic religious leader has recruited a secret army of assassins to pave the way for the second coming of Christ. My right-wing loony-tunes preacher, of course, thinks he's doing the right thing, and has convinced his followers they're doing God's will. So, from a moral relativist's POV, is this character evil? Or, is he merely following his own (perverted, IMO) moral code, as valid as any other? Hmmm... ...humans over time have devi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:605682007-08-05T20:29:04.060ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
<i>...humans over time have devised certain rules for human conduct, and that some of them make sense and some of them don't, and that they're constantly evolving.</i><br />
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I agree. I just think there are certain acts that are universally considered evil, regardless of culture, religion, etc. The origin of such evil (nature, nurture, sex, drugs, rock and roll, Satan, a chemical imbalance in the brain...) is largely irrelevent. Those who commit the acts have to, in one way or another, be…
<i>...humans over time have devised certain rules for human conduct, and that some of them make sense and some of them don't, and that they're constantly evolving.</i><br />
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I agree. I just think there are certain acts that are universally considered evil, regardless of culture, religion, etc. The origin of such evil (nature, nurture, sex, drugs, rock and roll, Satan, a chemical imbalance in the brain...) is largely irrelevent. Those who commit the acts have to, in one way or another, be eliminated.<br />
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<i>Evil, in my opinion, has tended historically to arise as the result of moral absolutism: the big institutional genocides of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries were all sold to the people who carried them out as right/wrong, good/evil, us/them propositions--so it's probably a good thing that many of us are wary of that kind of thinking.</i><br />
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I agree with this as well. But, In the strictest sense of moral relativism, you contradict yourself here. If the poor guy with the bad childhood and a chemical imbalance of the brain isn't evil, then, by definition, neither is the lynch mob. In both cases, the perpetrators are doing what they think is the right thing. I would say that both acts are evil (for lack of a better term) and that, as a civilized society, we have an moral obligation to thwart such aberrant behavior. I just wanted to see if anyon…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:604612007-08-05T12:50:18.962ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
I just wanted to see if anyone out there still believes in the concepts of absolute right and absolute wrong. It seems most of the responses are from a "moral relativism" point of view, and that's okay. I can respect that, even though I don't necessarily agree.
I just wanted to see if anyone out there still believes in the concepts of absolute right and absolute wrong. It seems most of the responses are from a "moral relativism" point of view, and that's okay. I can respect that, even though I don't necessarily agree. Maybe it's because I'm uncivi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:604382007-08-05T08:18:14.469ZJulie Morriganhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Julielew
Maybe it's because I'm uncivilised and/or uneducated, but your argument makes no sense to me. It just seems like prejudice and elitism.
Maybe it's because I'm uncivilised and/or uneducated, but your argument makes no sense to me. It just seems like prejudice and elitism. Exactly
(And that's my brief…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:604342007-08-05T07:59:56.552ZDonna Moorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DonnaMoore
Exactly<br />
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(And that's my briefest ever Crimespace comment :o) )
Exactly<br />
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(And that's my briefest ever Crimespace comment :o) ) And what does educated even m…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:604192007-08-05T03:40:42.546ZJohn Dishonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
And what does educated even mean anyway? Does having a degree automatically make someone educated? I know I don't feel any smarter because of one.<br />
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I agree with you, Donna. Keeping an eye on the moral high ground would be okay if there were definitive standards for that, but whose moral high ground are we keeping an eye on? If our moral values are different, who's to say which one is the "high ground"?<br />
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If I can say that my morals are the ones to live up to, then you have just as much right to…
And what does educated even mean anyway? Does having a degree automatically make someone educated? I know I don't feel any smarter because of one.<br />
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I agree with you, Donna. Keeping an eye on the moral high ground would be okay if there were definitive standards for that, but whose moral high ground are we keeping an eye on? If our moral values are different, who's to say which one is the "high ground"?<br />
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If I can say that my morals are the ones to live up to, then you have just as much right to say that yours are the ones to live up to. So I think respecting other people's culture is necessary if we ever want to live together peacefully. And I would laugh in the face of anyone who thinks the West is educated in other countries' cultures. That's a good point, but you…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:604182007-08-05T03:34:35.185ZJohn Dishonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
That's a good point, but you also talked about ideology becoming more important than the rights of another being to go on living. Doesn't fighting against a corrupt system fall under that category? The ronins' reasons were more important than the villain's right to go on living.<br />
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The Middle East fanatics are fighting against something that they feel is corrupt too, right? They feel that America, or perhaps the West in general is going against them, and they feel that anyone against them should…
That's a good point, but you also talked about ideology becoming more important than the rights of another being to go on living. Doesn't fighting against a corrupt system fall under that category? The ronins' reasons were more important than the villain's right to go on living.<br />
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The Middle East fanatics are fighting against something that they feel is corrupt too, right? They feel that America, or perhaps the West in general is going against them, and they feel that anyone against them should die. So they have their own reasons too.<br />
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I don't see what the difference is. Oh I'm VERY un-pc. I just don…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-05:537324:Comment:603762007-08-05T00:25:59.829ZDonna Moorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DonnaMoore
Oh I'm VERY un-pc. I just don't think that being educated makes a person better qualified to distinguish between good and evil than someone 'uneducated'.
Oh I'm VERY un-pc. I just don't think that being educated makes a person better qualified to distinguish between good and evil than someone 'uneducated'. As Scooby Doo once said: Rhuu…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-04:537324:Comment:603382007-08-04T20:46:38.199ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
As Scooby Doo once said: Rhuuh?<br />
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Oh, I get it...<br />
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God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.<br />
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LOL. Actually, I see what you're getting at, John. Good point. Anyone (smarter than me) care to address that logical conclusion?
As Scooby Doo once said: Rhuuh?<br />
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Oh, I get it...<br />
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God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.<br />
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LOL. Actually, I see what you're getting at, John. Good point. Anyone (smarter than me) care to address that logical conclusion?