what is evil

I'm highly protective myself, but I don't view robbery,assault,battery,theft,etc as being evil...simply misguided actions still punishable if not justifiable...

A Jedi is sworn to defend those who cannot defend themselves, ergo I support your motives to protect and defend, but we are also sworn to know the danger of belief. It is dangerous to presume that your opinion of what is evil is absolute truth.

It is also dangerous to presume you know the whole story. Perhaps that person breaking into your house is doing so out of desparation and a belief that there is no other option. Maybe offering them a sandwich and a friendly ear is a better idea than trying to stop them with force? After all, all they will take is stuff...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VeoOCegLn8

For me, "evil" is a notion born from a misconception of choice and causality.

Whatever happens, happens. We often claim people could have acted differently, but we have no evidence of anyone reversing or re-doing an action. We say a murderer "could have been" a better person, but the murderer's life was what it was, and they murdered someone. Through their experiences and the way their mind worked, they reached the point of committing "evil" acts. Can we blame the murderer, call the murderer "evil"? Could they have chosen to act differently? If we had lived their life, saw the world through their eyes, would we have done any different?

To call someone evil is to say "You could have acted differently", but no-one ever has. Even the last-minute change of heart either happened, or it didn't. So I believe the notion is flawed.

That's not to say we shouldn't imprison, punish or otherwise hinder those who do or plan to do things which cause great harm - just that to write people off as "evil" is unrealistic. I believe we are all acting the best we can from our personal perspectives, because to suggest otherwise again implies we "could be doing" anything else. Our path has led us here. We are where we are, we can't just jump to some other point.

Evil:
What it is:
1. Doing that which is harmful or injurious to another without their permission.
2. Causing another to suffer through your actions.
3. Doing something in anger towards another.
What it is not:
1. Misfortune or disaster from nature. A tornado destroys your house for example.

These of course are my opinions, take them or leave them, it matters not.

Just because we cannot define evil, does not mean we do not understand what evil is. We live by the laws of men, and therefore we as Jedi must uphold those laws. Change the ones that need to be changed through due process, and protect the that which is most sacred...Life!

A rapist thinks what he is doing is not evil, and in truth it is not. It is wrongful action against the laws of man and a violation of the individuals inalienable right to life, liberty and to be secure. It is evil to me, yes by my definition, but I am not the judge of humanity. We live by common laws that equalize the actions of all people, and to vary from that common law is to do wrongful action in the sight of common law. In our laws the rapist is nothing more than a law breaker. In our emotional attachment to each other, he is evil.

We must think of laws without our ego and emotions blocking the reality of living in a social order. I do not like the gun laws of Illinois, but I abide by them because I live in Illinois and am a part of this social order. My ego and emotion plays no part in my following the laws, they play at the level at which I exercise my right to vote for those who think in my same likeness.

A 16 year old girl by some States definition is of legal age to consent to have sex, but there are other laws that say that it is still considered rape if the other person is over 18? Who is to judge what is evil or not, the consensus of the majority of the law makers? A 18 year old cannot drink, but he can vote and he can die for his country?

I am not advocating anything here, I am just sighting examples of who and in what situations, judgments between us can be extreme. This also does not take into account for the effects of alcohol on people and all the other tangents that I am aware of.

RyuJin wrote: To the rapist their acts may not be evil..even if perceived as such by the majority...

Good and evil is determined by a general consensus of morally like minded individuals...and therefore a matter of perspective...

To me there is a short list of what constitutes evil...rape, and murder being the main ones...

so good and evil are determined by mob rule?

For me its just the opposite of compassion, and not the opposite of good.

In that regard there are subtle and discrete levels of evil and not just the obvious and distateful ones. To use the first google definition that I saw for compassion "Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it" then, evil could be "Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to increase it". Note this contrasts with ignorance of the suffering which tends to fall into destructive if no motive is known. Destructive behaviour might be perceived as evil by the victim or people sympathetic with the victim, but motive and intent is key for me in providing definition's to a person's behaviour versus a person's effect.

Good and bad to me are different and just subjective assessments which are applied to all things and not particularly relevant to evil beyond that for the prior mentioned reasons.

newyorkbaron wrote:

RyuJin wrote: To the rapist their acts may not be evil..even if perceived as such by the majority...

Good and evil is determined by a general consensus of morally like minded individuals...and therefore a matter of perspective...

To me there is a short list of what constitutes evil...rape, and murder being the main ones...

so good and evil are determined by mob rule?

Eeeee, "mob rule" is a scary term, but kinda, yeah. Since we are speaking of subjective concepts that humans made up, it stands to reason that a large number of humans has to agree. Call it mob rule, social script, or doctrine, it's still humans reinforcing humans, which happens on both sides of an idea.