For more on my philosophy on Evil, here are some articles:
https://www.philosocom.com/post/the-polarity-of-evil
https://www.philosocom.com/post/evil-in-humanity
What is true evil? Earlier in my life, I thought that there were no such thing as evil people, and that even despicable despots are not fully aware that their actions are evil, if at all. However, the more I grew up and the more I used English to communicate with the world, I have realized that there are more truly evil people than I have first imagined.
I have studied ethics in university, and in fact, the philosophy of morality was my first introduction to my former academic life. According to what I learned, there are three interpretations of morality:
Objective morality, which claims that good and evil are universal;
Subjective morality, which means that the definition of good and evil is up to the individual; and
Inter-subjective morality, which means that morality is largely determined by one's local society or community (nowadays it can be applied to online groups too).
I'm not absolutely certain about which variant of morality is the most correct one, but I do think that there are common components that are more obvious than others. And no, I do not refer to having an evil laugh, which is absurd and cliché.
Nonetheless, some villains from fiction do have some evil that can be applied to real life. Many classical villains can simply be regarded as crime lords, or people who run criminal empires or businesses, but are for some reason marketed as "supervillains" because they're rich and/or are high-tech. But I digress.
I found out that in order to be regarded as a villain, both in fiction and in real life, one must commit crimes, or at least, consider doing so as a likely possibility. I enjoy the idea of "taking over the world," but I would not overthrow legitimate governments just to do so, right?
The problem with this idea is that crimes are relative to the place or country one is currently in. Criticizing the government is considered a crime in a few places, but in most of the world it is usually okay to do so.
It does not mean that disapproving the government is an evil act, as that notion would be ridiculous. Committing murder or attempting to do so, on the other hand, is evil, at least in theory, even when you are a government official or representative. I am not a lawyer, so I will leave it at that.
Being a jerk doesn't necessarily make one evil. Maybe it makes one less good, but not evil. Having an attitude problem is nothing more than a component of intuition, is it not? Some people simply have a different natural behavior than what is normally expected of them, which could cause problems in life.
That does not contradict morality. Maybe it is desired for one to be kind and compassionate, as that would be a good behavior, but lacking in these is insufficient. Maybe the one who is deemed a jerk is in fact a good person, as evident by their deeds?
It seems that law is necessary to have a much clearer understanding of good and evil, and not just any law, but law that would be agreed by as many people as possible, as good and as just.
And that is exactly why people who tend to be more evil, AKA, tend to defy good law, are deceptive and lie below the radar. After all, no one wants to get caught and have their reputation ruined, or at least, be condemned for good by society! It's for that reason, as to why I don't like deceiving anyone, as I have no desire to be evil, or even be tempted to become evil.
The internet is full of scammers, and this comes from someone who is online almost entirely. It's easier online to hide your true intentions and pretend to be someone you're not. In a way, those who tend to be more evil have much more interest in deceiving the external world, not because they necessarily do anything wrong, but because they may be wise enough to understand that evading authenticity can save them from public condemnation and humiliation. That is the wonder of having a nickname or a false identity; it makes it harder to trace activities back to you.
And maybe, the main source of evil doesn't come from the desire of material gain, but from preserving our own self-interest. After all, we must care for our own skin in order to survive, otherwise no one else might do it for us, right?
As a result, some of us would not care much about morality, about justice, about equality, and would mainly, if not only, seek to satisfy their own ego, above that of others. Maybe the ego is the ultimate source of human evil, assuming other beings are not necessarily as evil as we, as a species, or capable of being.
What if the seeking of greater wealth is but a product of the ego, and not by itself, the "source of all evil," as they say? Even if an identity is necessary in order to exist and to identify other things in comparison, it could still contain the possible fact that it is the elementary source of (human) evil.
The ego is divided into the Id and the Superego. The Id craves fulfilling their desires at all costs, and the Superego seeks justice, punishment, and atonement. That's what I, at least, recall from my psychology class back in high school.
What if some people just don't care at all about morality, about anything that is considered "good," "noble," and "respectable"? Maybe these people are the evilest of all, especially when they pretend they do, and raise no suspicion as a result. Maybe those who lack any remorse or compassion for another living being, human or otherwise, and would not care if this being will die, are those who are "worthy" of being called "true evil."
During my national service, I worked at a hospital as an archive clerk. I was told that the files I was working with were not numbers, but actual people. People with problems, illnesses, and injuries, who required medical assistance. Retrospectively, I am surprised I wasn't as motivated as I could have been. Maybe I should have been more motivated. I felt small in comparison to my job at the time, and I probably underestimated the role, even if it was then I began suffering from fatigue.
It is difficult for me to determine, for some reason, the fact that the numbers in my analytics are real people, even though I know they are. I must make sure that I won't become a disposer, if I want to avoid evil; to realize that people are more than numbers, and that they deserve respect and tolerance too. Evil, while tempting, isn't a good idea. No pun intended.
For me, at least, true evil is most clearly expressed when one is joyous due to the fact that someone died, who wasn't evil themselves. Maybe I am still too naive, though, given the joy of some when the British Queen Elizabeth II died. I can't see their reasoning, morally, at least. But they did put their own humor above grief, which fits my head canon on "true evil."
What do you think? What is true evil?
