Boring Subject: Help Needed

Arya Baenre · Post by **Arya Baenre** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:01 am

I have to do an essay for school and was wondering if any of you could help me with it o.o

The topic is "Do Good or Evil Exist", and I was wondering what you think and why.

Help is appreciated and needed. =S

Alak Xiltyn · Post by **Alak Xiltyn** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:39 am

oOo I'm a philosophy major so I can help you with this one, I'll send you my e-mail/MSN, feel free to add me.

Tyrmer · Post by **Tyrmer** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:49 pm

Ooh that's a stinker. I'd suggest taking a look at different religions/philosophies and seeing where they overlap or contradict. Neitzer is always good for reference material.

Arya Baenre · Post by **Arya Baenre** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:42 am

Thanks a lot, Tyrmer and Alak

Rooky · Post by **Rooky** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:44 am

There is no Good or Evil. There's only Useful and Useless...
My MSN's in the profile. Ask anytime.

DragonMind · Post by **DragonMind** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:44 pm

"Do Good or Evil Exist"

Now from that sentence,
the first that comes to my mind is this:

it's a choice between, if one of them exist,
but keeps out the fact, that both could exist.

Personally I would say Evil exist.

...and yes I do give my MSN away, at times,
the rest is up to you.

Malek · Post by **Malek** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:21 am

That depends. Do you want it to exist?
There is no evidence that a universal Good and Evil exists. It is, therefore, a creation of the human mind. If an individual believes in Good and Evil, then that individual will begin to see life in terms of good and evil. However, if an individual does not believe in Good and Evil, they will not present themselves to that person.

Arya Baenre · Post by **Arya Baenre** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:27 am

That's a very good point, Malek =) Thanks.

Malek · Post by **Malek** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:48 am

You're welcome.

By the way, I just saw your new signature, and I think I am falling in love...

j/k I despise leetspeak and txtng and all other methods of raping the English language.

Thalon Mercrow · Post by **Thalon Mercrow** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:06 am

i believe man does evil to others for multiple reasons. One of these reasons is an evolutionary survival mechanism created by the id, left over from early man. Allow me to explain, the concept of morality is a relatively new invention. When man first evolved, morality did not exist, in order to survive you bashed your neighbor’s head in and took what was his. It is more recent that we have evolved past this primitive behavior into developing the concept of good and evil. Another reason man commits evil is because of psychological programming. Unlike the person who is born with a psychosis which causes him to commit evil, some people are raised or programmed to be bad. Other persons succumb to external forces such as greed, or quest for power. When people fail to question whether an act is moral or immoral and blindly follow orders, they can inflict great suffering or injustices upon their fellow man

just my 2 cents worth i happen to love Philosophy as well as pondering some of the bigger qustions.

Malek · Post by **Malek** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:28 am

[quote:2qjmjrb0]i believe man does evil to others for multiple reasons. One of these reasons is an evolutionary survival mechanism created by the id, left over from early man. Allow me to explain, the concept of morality is a relatively new invention. When man first evolved, morality did not exist, in order to survive you bashed your neighbor’s head in and took what was his. It is more recent that we have evolved past this primitive behavior into developing the concept of good and evil. Another reason man commits evil is because of psychological programming. Unlike the person who is born with a psychosis which causes him to commit evil, some people are raised or programmed to be bad. Other persons succumb to external forces such as greed, or quest for power. When people fail to question whether an act is moral or immoral and blindly follow orders, they can inflict great suffering or injustices upon their fellow man[/quote:2qjmjrb0]

But if good and evil were universal and absolute, they would exist regardless of how primitive humanity was back then (and still is). Evolving, we developed the concept of good and evil. You said it yourself. We developed the concept. Good and evil are not forces or entities in their own right, but a creation of a more complex human mind that needed to create order.

Thalon Mercrow · Post by **Thalon Mercrow** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:14 am

they HAVE existed. it's only recently that we have been able to picture the concepts of good and evil(within the last couple of thousands of years) as well as move past our *evil* insticts(killing pepole for ther stuff,rape,and a mulitude of other acts that would be considerd *evil* by todays standerds but nessseasary in prehistoric times or even the dark ages) and trying to foucs on good act and build aprospers socity.

now look what you'v done you'v drawn me into a dbate now i won't be able to stop.

Malek · Post by **Malek** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:21 am

Indeed. But, have they really existed? It depends whether you believe in fate or choice. If you believe that people shape their own destinies based on the choices they make, then you don't believe in a Universal Good and Evil (by the way, I say good and evil because you can't have one without the other) because people choose to be good or evil, the same they choose in whether to believe in good or evil. If you believe in fate, then you must belive in an inherent good and evil in all aspects of life.

Alak Xiltyn · Post by **Alak Xiltyn** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:37 am

All the worlds a dream.

or as Descartes put it:

"When I consider this carefully, I find not a single property which with certainty separates the waking state from the dream. How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?"

in short, I don't know and I can't prove either way.

Thalon Mercrow · Post by **Thalon Mercrow** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:48 am

i belive we have a choice and that nothing is said and done it is this choice that has allowed us to surive and adapt becuse we all have the capasity to be either good or evil. the qustion is wheater or wich we chose while back in the past doing evil to surive was uselley the best idea now that we are no longer romeing for food or fighting over the local water sorse and have established a socity and laws good acts are the preferd metiod of surivle as well as a higher level of thinking beyond basic survivle that man has devloped(religon,philosohy,metaphiscs,etc,etc)