What is the nature of evil?

Evil, like good, is often measured in relation to how it impacts us personally and physically. Judging evil solely by its consequence is inappropriate and very much invalid. Evilness is strictly subjective, which means the extent to which something is considered “evil” really depends on the individual; and that person’s moral values, religion, etc. Evil is basically the opposite of good and most people are aware what the nature of “good” is all about.

Evil can take a variety of different shapes and forms; evil can be an emotional thing, or it can be a physical thing. An evil person is not an ignorant person but is somebody who is knowledgeable and who knows exactly what he/she is doing. Hitler for example would be considered an evil individual because he knew exactly what he was trying to accomplish in Germany, Hitler had every intent to manipulate the Germans to be his “people”, and he had every intent to exterminate all the Jewish people in Germany. In psychological terms, evil is an aberration of the ego. An evil ego has a strong desire to dominate other egos which is exactly what Hitler did. An evil person knows that terror is the most effective way to dominate people because terror induces a great amount of fear, and people who are induced with fear cannot take effective action to defend them. It is basically like putting an innocent baby in a dark room and turning of the lights, the baby would be terrified for his/her life.

Basically, evil people are the smartest people and are fully aware of their actions. Somebody who takes joy in watching people suffer, reeking havoc on innocent people, and just causing a million and one problems would be considered evil. Aristotle, a philosopher said that we humans have free will, and our actions are either voluntary or involuntary. This basically means if our actions are voluntary then we know exactly what we are doing, and this is what “evil” people do. A person who’s actions are involuntary don’t know the consequences of their actions and not because they choose not to inform themselves but because they really do not know. Somebody who is mentally disabled, who decides to kill somebody probably wouldn’t know right from wrong, thus making this person not “evil.”