I’ve been without power for about five days and still am thanks to the hurricane. Thankfully I can charge my phone at my grandmothers who got her power back. Anyways I was thinking about how a long time ago people used to use the word evil to describe a natural disaster. I think evil used to just mean bad. So my question is What is good and evil? I think most of the time when people use the word they are describing something they disagree with especially in politics. But what is true good and evil? I have my own definition but curious about others before I share my own.
Good and Evil
- Thread starter JDot
- Start date
The English language is nuanced and words can mean different things in different contexts and their meaning can change over time - even changing to the exact opposite.
I think in general evil implies malicious intent, so when applied to something with free will (like a person) it means that the person does bad things deliberately, wilfully and knowing they are bad. It is also now applies to things with out free will (like a hurricane) and in these instances it I would say it just means something really bad.
But, because the English language is so flexible, variable and regional, and peoples understanding and grasp varies (especially among second language speakers) you should not give absolute meaning to the words spoken but you must look for the intent of the person speaking them. For example the ‘N word’ is generally regarded as racist when spoken by a white person and not by a black person, but even then it is the context and the intent of the speaker that is racist rather than the word itself.
I think in general evil implies malicious intent, so when applied to something with free will (like a person) it means that the person does bad things deliberately, wilfully and knowing they are bad. It is also now applies to things with out free will (like a hurricane) and in these instances it I would say it just means something really bad.
But, because the English language is so flexible, variable and regional, and peoples understanding and grasp varies (especially among second language speakers) you should not give absolute meaning to the words spoken but you must look for the intent of the person speaking them. For example the ‘N word’ is generally regarded as racist when spoken by a white person and not by a black person, but even then it is the context and the intent of the speaker that is racist rather than the word itself.
My personal definition for evil is somewhat similar to what @SamB said. To me there’s three components. The first is that the evil person hurts people. The second is they know they’re hurting people. And the third is they are not phased by the fact that they hurt people. My definition of good also has three parts. The first is the good person helps people. The second is they know they’re helping people. And the third is they don’t brag about the fact that they help people.