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Evil is a term describing that which is morally bad, corrupt, wantonly destructive, selfish, and wicked. It is one half of the duality of good and evil expressed, in some form or another, by many cultures. It describes a hierarchy of moral standards with regard to human behaviour; evil being the least desired, while love is usually the most praised. In essence "evil" is a term for those things which (either directly or causally) bring about withering and death- the opposite of life. In casual or derogatory use, the word "evil" can characterize people and behaviours that are hurtful, ruinous, or disastrous.
A similar term, malice (from the Latin mal meaning "bad") describes the deliberate human intent to harm and be harmful. "Evil," by contrast, tends to represent a more elemental concept; a disembodied spirit that is natural and yet abominable. Wheras "malice" belongs to the specific, "evil" is the foundation for malice.
Another definition of evil describes it as death and suffering, whether it results from human or from other natural causes (e.g., earthquakes, famine). In other words, it is not merely the intention to do evil, but the end result, namely, harm to others, that is evil. And, as Plato observed, there are relatively few ways to do good, but there are countless ways to do evil, which can therefore have a much greater impact on our lives, and the lives of other beings capable of suffering. For this reason, some philosophers (e.g., Bernard Gert, Michael E. Berumen) maintain that not causing and preventing evil are more important than promoting good in formulating moral rules and in conduct. From a physical standpoint, "evil" could be defined as increasing entropy when the cost outweighs the benefit .
In a number of religious traditions, "evil" is widely considered to be a mystery; that life and its rules are "governed" by an innate benevolence, and behaviour that directly contradicts "good nature" is not understandable in moral and reasoning terms. "Evil" characterises and describes aspects of human beings that deviate from the social, loving, righteous, natures within, which in contrast lead to social strength, and continuing survival, through love. In the forms of malice and selfishness, evil represents the socially-weakening and destructive behaviours that lead directly to a fruitless life and death.
Views on how good and evil are defined lie between two extremes. " Moral absolutismMoral absolutism is the belief or theory that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged and suggests that morals are not determined by societal or situational influences. According to moral absolutism, morals are inherent in" holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by GodThis article focuses on the concept of singular, monotheistic God . See deity, gods, or goddesses for details on divine entities in specific religions and mythologies. God is a term referring to the supreme being generally believed to be ruler or creator, nature, or some other authority. Moral relativismMoral relativism is a view that claims moral standards are not absolute or universal, but rather emerge from social customs and other sources. Relativists consequently see moral values as applicable only within agreed or accepted cultural boundaries. holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local culture, custom, or prejudice. Moral universalismMoral universalism is a humanist view that claims that the fundamental basis for a universalist ethic—'universally' applicable to all humanity—can be derived or inferred from what is common among existing moral codes. It stands as an compromise between mo is a recent humanist term to find a compromise between the unattainable absolutist sense of morality, and the unauthoritative relativist view.
Regardless of the source of their definitions, most human cultures have a set of beliefs about what things, actions, and ideas are undesirable. Undesirable circumstances are often categorized as evil within some cultures. Natural evils generally include accidental death, disease, and other misfortunes, although some cultures see these occurrences instead as a healthy part of the natural order. Moral evils generally include violence, deceit or other destructive behavior toward others, although the same behavior toward "outsiders" of the group may be considered "good." War provides many examples, and "God is always on the winning side." The Unification ChurchThe Unification Church was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, a Korean minister who fled from North Korea during the Korean War. The full original name of the church is The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity but in the 1980s's definition of evil is: "Taking advantage of another person for one's own benefit."
The Abrahamic religionAn Abrahamic religion (also referred to as desert monotheism is a religion derived from an ancient Semitic tradition attributed to Abraham, a great patriarch described in the Bible and the Quran. This group of largely monotheistic religions, which includes, as well as others, are largely centered around the concepts of good and evil, and this has lead to much religious debate. Many cultures and mythologies personify evil, such as with Satan in Christianity. Others describe evil spirits or demons as the inciters of acts.
Some sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists have attempted to construct scientific explanations for the development of specific characteristics of an "antisocial" personality type, called the sociopath. The sociopath is typified by extreme self-serving behavior, and a lack of conscience, or inability to empathize with others, to restrain self from, or to feel remorse for, harm personally caused to others. However, a diagnosis of anti-social or sociopath personality disorder (formerly called psychopathic mental disorder), is sometimes criticised as being, at the present time, no more scientific than calling a person "evil". What critics perceive to be a moral determination is disguised, they argue, with a scientific-sounding name, but no complete description of a mechanism by which the abnormality can be identified is provided. In other words, critics argue, "sociopaths" are called such, because they are first thought to be "evil" - a determination which itself is not derived by a scientific method.
Research into sociopathology has also investigated biological, rather than moral underpinnings of behaviors that societies reject as sociopathic. Most neurological research into sociopathology has focused on regions of the neocortex involved in impulse control.
Many cultures recognize many levels of immoral behavior, from minor vices to major crimes. These beliefs are often encoded into the laws of a society, with methods of judgment and punishment for offenses.
It is probably a coincidence that " vile" uses the same letters as "evil," but has a related meaning.
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