WHAT IS
EVIL?
I love my
nation, the United States of America. I have loved her dearly since I
was a child. And so it hurts me to say that my nation's foreign
policies in Iraq are evil.
dEVIL's advocate: Hang on a
minute. Isn't that a bit harsh?
My nation's
policies are directly resulting in the
deaths of innocent people. I don't see how anyone can think that
murdering innocent people is anything less than evil.
dEVIL's advocate: Oh. You're
talking about collatoral damage.
It doesn't
matter what you call it, it's still evil.
da: But it does. Because
collatoral damage is an unfortunate side
effect of a good action, and we try to minimize it.
Even if you can
justify any of the effects of your
action as truly good, if it also results in evil, then that action is
neither good nor evil. But in this case, it's not at all clear that
this action is resulting in any good at all.
da: Of course it is. We're killing
and capturing people who would
otherwise do evil things like killing innocent people. They'll get us
if we don't get them.
When you fight
evil with evil, the only possible
outcome is evil.
da: Well, some good might still
result, like democracy in Iraq.
Even if this
action results in democracy throughout
the Middle East, which results in peace throughout the Middle East, and
it's clearly good for the Middle East and the world, it is still
tainted with the evil that produced it.
da: So doesn't the end justify the
means?
When the means
is evil, the action cannot be good.
da: What if the end is good.
In that case,
it's unclear whether the action is
good or evil. But if the end is anything less than good, then the
action is evil.
da: Okay, look. There's a lot that
you don't know about the situation.
There's a lot that the government isn't telling you. You don't have
enough information to make a fair judgement.
That's true.
But all that matters is that the
policies are causing the deaths of innocent people. So the policies
have to be evil.
da: Fine. But don't people commit
evil acts all the time? Religions
give you different ways to repent for your sins.
Most sins are
far less than true evil, but I believe
you can also repent for evil. However, it's one thing if you
accidentally do
something evil, you feel true regret, and you ask for forgiveness,
promising to try not to repeat the act. However, if you commit an evil
act, knowing full well that it's evil even while you're doing it, and
you feel no regret, and in addition, you fully intend to do it again
soon, then that's not repentance. You can ask for forgiveness, and you
might even get it. But the evil in your heart would immediately require
you to ask for forgiveness again.
da: Ah, one of your requirements
there is that the person must know "full well that it's evil." I think
it's reasonable to assume that the policy makers don't think that what
they are doing is evil.
I don't see how
anyone can think the killing of innocent people is anything less than
evil. But even still, if you know something is evil, and you just stand
by and let it happen, then your action, or lack thereof, is still evil.
da: But what can I do about it?
Maybe nothing.
Maybe all you can do is look for an
opportunity to do something, and when you get that chance, take
advantage of it. That's what I did, and I found that I might be able to
fight the evil, in some small way, by posting this web page. I also
participate in the anti-war demonstrations whenever I can. If there's
something you can do about this evil foreign policy, and you choose
not to, then your lack of action is evil.
da: What if acting results in
unemployment? Or death?
Well, would you
rather be alive with evil or dead
with good? I choose the latter. You can make your own choice.
da: Anyway, none of this matters to me. I
don't believe in good and evil. I believe in evolution and natural
selection and survival of the fittest. You know, might makes right. You
can't deny that America has the might in this situation. So that means
it's policies are right.
I also believe
that survival of the fittest has been
the rule for a very long time, and might makes right for an uncivilized
species. But now the fitness function is very
different, at least for humans in modern societies. We really don't
have to battle for food or
shelter or procreation or any of the things that were critical for
survival in the past. In fact, at this point, the only thing that can
possibly destroy the human race is evil. If the evil of the world were
to surpass a threshold, the human race would be obliterated.
da: Well, you have failed to
convince me. But did appreciate this debate. Thank you.
I agree that it was a good debate, and so I thank
you too.
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