What makes people evil?

TeddyTedson

What is it that makes people do some really evil things?
Is it power? Why can some people have power and not use evil however?
Hitler was so such an evil lad but then he a hard life so you can understand it.
Then you have the likes of Kim Jong-un. He had a great childhood and he's like a spoilt brat!
In Iran they're still executing gay people. I don't understand the point?

I'm going to try and not use the R word.

Odysseus

Does evil even exist? What is it?

Biggins

Odysseus wrote: »

Does evil even exist? What is it?

An ex-wife of mine.

pablomakaveli

Odysseus wrote: »

Does evil even exist? What is it?

The psychiatrist in this show made a scale of evil.

Boombastic

Turnips

--Kaiser--

Pathological lack of empathy

Where To

Motorbike stunts.

Odysseus

pablomakaveli wrote: »

The psychiatrist in this show made a scale of evil.

I would like to see that, but is it really evil he is researching?

Da Shins Kelly

To be honest, I don't really think evil really exists. People do bad things, but I don't really think there's such a thing as inherent evil. It's just a word people use to describe people and actions they don't understand.

thiarfearr

pablomakaveli wrote: »

The psychiatrist in this show made a scale of evil.

Thats a stupid looking scale

Ranicand

Straight from a Star Wars movie.

Evil is only a point of view.

One example homosexuality was considered evil in my lifetime and was against the law.

Now it is promoted everywhere and to disagree is considered evil.

To me real evil is the criminal gangs that blight this county.

amacca

Hitler was an evil lad but you can understand it because he had a hard life....


that would only be understandable if everyone that had a hard life became evil, but they don't.......its not the only inescapable result of a hard life

I think true evil (at least what people call evil) is a lack of empathy caused by brain damage or a brain abnormality

all the other bad sh1t that happens is bad decision making, allowing emotions like jealousy, fear, anger etc to influence decisions to such an extent that you do bad things

MarkHitide

Where To wrote: »

Motorbike stunts.

Evel-

It's a whole different word, Ted-

jill_valentine

Either pure psychopathy, or a catastrophically diminished function of empathy.

Best username ever

TeddyTedson wrote: »

What is it that makes people do some really evil things?
Is it power? Why can some people have power and not use evil however?
Hitler was so such an evil lad but then he a hard life so you can understand it.
Then you have the likes of Kim Jong-un. He had a great childhood and he's like a spoilt brat!
In Iran they're still executing gay people. I don't understand the point?

I'm going to try and not use the R word.

I'll time travel and get you the answers Ted.

dinorebel

Mothers not Irish mammys obviously but mothers is the answer.

Odysseus

Odysseus wrote: »

Does evil even exist? What is it?

I don't think 'evil' exists, I think its a lazy term used to describe behaviours we'd rather not know the root of or motivation behind. It's easier to ascribe some sort of biblical attribute to some deeds than it is to understand the processes that lead to them.

Evil is a simultaneously empty and loaded term, it means nothing in itself, but its loaded with all kinds of meaning. It's the essence of judgement.

TeddyTedson

Evil does exist I believe. I think it's always waiting there in the darkness waiting to be set free again. It's banished to another realm but there will always be those who wish to set it free. Thankful goodness and the light will always prevail.

Biggins

TeddyTedson wrote: »

Evil does exist I believe. I think it's always waiting there in the darkness waiting to be set free again. It's banished to another realm but there will always be those who wish to set it free. Thankful goodness and the light will always prevail.

This was a sponsored advertisement on behalf of Duracell.
The ones with the copper coloured top.

BUBBLE WRAP

Where To wrote: »

Motorbike stunts.

I like the way you think! :cool:

clairefontaine

Alienation.

TeddyTedson

Evil like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh1g9B_eBY

humbert

Maybe it's great craic. I haven't tried it myself though.

A Primal Nut

Definitely a link between power and evil. Look at Albert Speer. He was just an Architect who designed buildings for nazi germany but as soon as he was given power over jews he had no problem going above and beyond in terms of evil acts (not just following orders).
Coupl of experiments back this up.

Odysseus

A Primal Nut wrote: »

Definitely a link between power and evil. Look at Albert Speer. He was just an Architect who designed buildings for nazi germany but as soon as he was given power over jews he had no problem going above and beyond in terms of evil acts (not just following orders).
Coupl of experiments back this up.

Does that not just facilitate the subject in comitting the act?

orestes

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Pathological lack of empathy

jill_valentine wrote: »

Either pure psychopathy, or a catastrophically diminished function of empathy.

Usually just leads to being very successful in business.

Ruudi_Mentari

What makes people evil I think a disregard for the concept of evil, can lead to it.. without faith, or belief in a greater good or morals, the ability to seperate bad from good / wrong from right and put it into practice it but is something we should discover and address for / in ourselves. And to repent.. to feel remorse if you've done wrong - Religion did not forge these things, they merely siezed what should be a common knowledge and used them for their own agenda

Any kind of bad. Wicked, intent to do harm, cause ills, malevolence is a fast track to evil. Is a path to discontent and all the 'negative' emotions people accused me of for so long I still visit the dark, in which I was entrenched and feel a part of my soul is forever indebted to but bolstered by my beliefs it doesn't feel so. And it's all a little more clear now and may it continue to be so - so many people I know claim to believe they are being 'monitored by a god' yet still practice bad acts without consideration these are the people who just took it for granted, because so many around them claim without ever really considering it hence being ultimatley delusional non-practitioners

I say to my mother I don't believe in a god and she says "then what do you believe in?!!" Belief itself... trust, confidence, credence. But not the gullible sort

jill_valentine

orestes wrote: »

Usually just leads to being very successful in business.

To a point. There's a semi-legendary image of psychopaths as being incredibly slick, intelligent and successful.

In reality, a lot of psychopaths are of below average intelligence, and their short attention span means that they tend to have very poor track records when it comes to, for instance, finance management or project completion. So while they may project the image of being really good at what they do, if they operate in an environment where the real figures count, they just won't get away with it beyond a certain threshold.

Psychopaths in businesses that are poorly managed will do well, because they're very good at negotiating the political side of things. But industries where actual performance counts are more likely to bounce from one place to another before they can go too far.