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Good & Evil

No such thing as Good or Evil exists. There, I've said it. Sure, the concepts of Good and Evil exist, but as an inherent objective principles, no, they don't exist. They are merely gradients on a  subjective moral scale. Something is considered to be Good or something is considered to be Evil. This however is all just subjective. Every person has a different standard, different moral values. That which is considered to be evil by one person, might be considered Good by another person. That moral scale could look something like this:

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moral-scale.png

 

Without invoking Godwin's law, I could still offer some examples where something is considered evil by some people, where others would consider it normal, desirable or even good behaviour.

 

Recently I saw a sermon where the preacher explained how he felt 'marital rape' is not rape, since a woman gave her consent to her husband when she said "I do". My subjective opinion on the matter is "it is bad, or evil even, and it should not occur", however that preacher feels quite the opposite. Since he and I disagree on the matter, I don't think we can say that good and evil as inherent or objective things exist. Atleast it doesn't seem to apply in this example. And there are many more examples that show the same. 

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On the other hand, we can determine wether or not actions, which are considered to be evil, do objectively harm people. And this is what is key. "Does the behaviour harm the people who are subjected to it?" But even when it is so, does that automatically mean it is evil? I don't think so.

 

There are always exceptions to what, in general, is considered to be bad or evil. Is it evil to cause pain? Some people are painjunkies, who get an adrenaline rush from pain. They would not necessarily see it as evil. So, it would depend on the circumstances. But those circimstance are then the exception to wether or not something is to be considered to be evil. 

 

As soon as you can think of an exception or a justification, then you no longer can say that something 'is' inherently or objectively good or something 'is' inherently or objectively evil.

Only if there would be an absolute, this would be possible. 

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Ofcourse  I understand that there is a difference between what something 'is' and how people may 'use' it. To Good and Evil this doesn't seem to apply, as it would mean that Good and Evil would need to be a constant. However, since the circumstances change wether something is, or is not, perceived as good or evil, they are variables.

 

Something which is a variable can not be an objective standard. Let's look at another example. 

Lying. To tell a lie is evil. If this were an objective, then in all situations it should be considered as evil. But is it still evil, when you tell a lie to protect someone?

 

Let's say of one of the neighbouring couple is abusive to their partner. Things get out of hand and the victimised neighbour flees. You hide this person in your home and call the police. When then the abusive partner shows up, asking if you saw their partner, you tell a lie, in order to keep yourself and the other person safe until the police arrive. 

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Is telling a lie in this situation still evil? I would say no. It is justified and therefor it can not be considered evil in this instance. This makes of 'Evil' a variable. Supporting the premiss that Good and Evil as inherent objective principles can not exist. 

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