Does evil exist?

[Contemporary Protestant]

Does evil exist?

Any statements (with cited evidence) will be appreciated

[Moralnihilist]

Define evil.

[aileron]

Does evil exist?

Any statements (with cited evidence) will be appreciated

Do people making asinine posts on internet forums count?

[KUSA]

Does evil exist?

Any statements (with cited evidence) will be appreciated

No, but evil people do exist.

[Contemporary Protestant]

I am making this post to hear what y'all think evil is, assuming it exists, because there is a post I want to make concerning good and evil but want to establish a baseline

[KUSA]

Ethics, morals, right and wrong, good and evil, are all ideas and opinions that each individual or group of people make up. It's up to each person to decide what's right and what is wrong. The rest of the population will decide if it will be tolerated and or accepted.

Evil does not exist in a physical or supernatural form. It is an idea or opinion.

[PringleTree]

...Evil does not exist in a physical or supernatural form. It is an idea or opinion.

Agreed.  Although I know far too many people who would disagree.   Think that for some strange reason it gives some people comfort to believe that evil is a force that can overcome them and is responsible for their misdeeds.

[PickelledEggs]

You're kidding, right?

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I would first clarify that I agree, 'evil' needs a definition in this context.

However, taking it as a given purely for debates sake. Objectively? No. People can justify any sort of behaviour in their mind, or more broadly in a social context should that context allow.

Most people would look back at the actions of, say, the Khmer Rouge and label them as 'evil'. I certainly wouldn't object. But then again, Pot, regardless of how crazy and brutal he was, had a justification in mind when he begun wiping out his own people.

Same can be said with (for example) Hitler. 6+ million Jews murdered at a whim, but the deeper context reveals a distrust of the Jewish people in central Europe, combined with a flagging economy and a need to 'blame' someone following Germany's humiliation following Versailles. Why not the rich jews who were an easy 'other'; a scapegoat that could unite a nation's hatred. Does this constitute 'evil'? In our social context, in our minds living in the time that we do? Yes, I would say it does. For the average German, living in poverty, ignorant to the actual methodology of the final solution? No, probably not.

[Munch]

Morality is a human construct to allow us to live as relatively peaceful lives as we can.

Evil is something that acts against that sense of morality.

Animals do not adopt this, animals kill other animals for survival, and are not seen as evil. This of course doesn't mean we should emulate animals, but it does highlight how own connection to the animal kingdom. After all how else can you percieve a group of rowdy post teens running around in a pack attacking singled out people if not as animals.

[Jason78]

Does evil exist?

Any statements (with cited evidence) will be appreciated

evil
ˈiːv(ə)l,-vɪl/
adjective
1.
profoundly immoral and wicked.
"his evil deeds"
synonyms:   wicked, bad, wrong, morally wrong, wrongful, immoral, sinful, ungodly, unholy, foul, vile, base, ignoble, dishonourable, corrupt, iniquitous, depraved, degenerate, villainous, nefarious, sinister, vicious, malicious, malevolent, demonic, devilish, diabolic, diabolical, fiendish, dark, black-hearted; More
antonyms:   good, virtuous
(of a force or spirit) embodying or associated with the forces of the devil.
"we were driven out of the house by an evil spirit"
harmful or tending to harm.
"the evil effects of high taxes"
synonyms:   harmful, hurtful, injurious, detrimental, deleterious, inimical, bad, mischievous, pernicious, malignant, malign, baleful, venomous, noxious, poisonous; More
antonyms:   good, beneficial
2.
(of a smell or sight) extremely unpleasant.
"a bathroom with an ineradicably evil smell"
synonyms:   unpleasant, disagreeable, nasty, horrible, foul, filthy, vile; More
antonyms:   pleasant, fine
noun
noun: evil
1.
profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force.
"his struggle against the forces of evil"
synonyms:   wickedness, bad, badness, wrong, wrongdoing, sin, sinfulness, ungodliness, immorality, vice, iniquity, turpitude, degeneracy, vileness, baseness, perversion, corruption, depravity, villainy, nefariousness, atrocity, malevolence, devilishness; More

Source

[Mister Agenda]

Supernatural evil, no. Natural and human evil, sure.

[Contemporary Protestant]

Whats the difference

[no-excuses]

An evil act or person or deed is that what results in harm to the well-being of others and cause suffering.

[Solitary]

A flood or tornado causes destruction and death, but is not evil unless God causes them, then He is evil. If a person does the same they are evil, and if an all powerful God doesn't stop them then He is evil too.  Solitary