Are evil things still evil if good people do them?

[baby_mouse]

Is evil really still evil if it's done by a GOOD person?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. If a good person does an evil thing, is he/she still a good person?

[Igel]

22. Can be. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

2. Missing option: Depends too heavily on the details to give any general answer.

[uppityperson]

3. A thing is evil in an of itself, not dependent upon who does it.

Evil is the act. Some people can be evil though also, some people can be good, but if something is evil, that means the thing is.

[BlooInBloo]

6. That's one philosophical view. There are others.

[uppityperson]

8. Asking about a "evil thing" seems to putting the quality on the thing.

Asking about an evil person would be putting the quality onto a person. What is your take/view? serious question.

[BlooInBloo]

11. My take/view is that it's not an interesting question - sorry.

[uppityperson]

14. Edited since OP change OP, left what I aked below, just in case you want to talk.

I nteresting enough to tell me there are other views, not interesting enough to elaborate?I am curious, asking not to snark or attack but to see another viewpoint. I've learned a couple different viewpoints today, looking for another on another subject.

[BlooInBloo]

16. (shrug) Here's what they made me learn...

Have fun.

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=deontological+teleological+evil&btnG=Search


EDIT: An exercise in tedium-tolerance, if you ask me. But opinions differ about that.

[uppityperson]

17. Interesting, off to read. Thanks.

Evil/right thing given for both.

Is the action evil (do the right thing because it is the right thing), or the consequence of the action evil (do the right thing because it has the right outcome).

That is a good question and it depends. Is a person evil, or are the actions evil? (again "good" works too) Are people mostly "good" with some "evil" or mostly "evil" with some "good"? must define the terms first. Been a while since philosphy/religion (?) classes to discuss such.

thanks

[rwheeler31]

4. How can a person be good if they do"evil" things?

What is your definition of evil?

[Dorian Gray]

10. Someone could murder another person.

An evil act. Horrendous act.

Then you find out the person was abused as a child and found out that the person was still an abuser.

Act still equals evil, though I think that our judgement of the person might change a little bit. Misguided and misinformed. The ends don't justify the means, but the act does not paint the individual as eternally evil.

[ima_sinnic]

23. supposing the murdered person were known to be evil?

Some people in Germany did try do do away with Hitler, not to advance their own power but simply because they so deeply saw what he was. Would they be committing an evil act, or a benign act for mankind?

on edit: let us remember, also, that several (many?) died in that attempt.

[Dorian Gray]

5. Yes.

Ends never justify means. And the highway to hell is paved with good intentions.

[supernova]

7. The opposite is also true

A good act done by an evil person is still a good act.

[Beelzebud]

9. If "good" people are doing "evil" things, what's so good about them?

[baby_mouse]

12. It's a satirical poll. Which I have amended - to make it more satirical.

But I acknowledge that I could very easily been a prat asking a stupid question. So I apologise.

[malaise]

13. No good person commits an evil act n/t

[baby_mouse]

15. Who the HELL voted for "not if telling them so would hurt their feelings"????

WHAT. THE. FUCK?

[11 Bravo]

18. If an evil person does an evil thing to another evil person, does that make them a good person?

[baby_mouse]

26. Well, my answer would be -

NO!

Sorry, I'll stop shouting now.

[WinkyDink]

19. It is impossible to separate a human from his actions. There IS NOTHING ELSE.

[baby_mouse]

30. AMEN.

High FIVE.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

20. Evil is a relative term.

Anyone can do acts construed as evil. At one point, everyone does. The only question is, where is the line for evil? If Bush is evil, where is the line drawn? How do you define Bad? An act done for poor intentions? What if one does a terrible act with good intentions? So many questions, and so few answers, only opinions.

[LWolf]

21. Other:

I don't believe in "evil," per se.

I believe that there in a spectrum that contains fear and hate at the bottom of the scale, and unconditional love at the top.

Every action, every choice, occurs somewhere on that scale. The longer you spend at any one "level," the more of the characteristics of that level a person or a group might reflect, but movement and change is always possible, and indeed, probable.

Dysfunction and/or disease happens when someone, or some group, gets stuck in one place too long.

[baby_mouse]

31. Ah, we differ here.

I think evil is a real, active thing independent of a simple absence of good or security.

But it would be difficult to prove this, I know...

[LWolf]

35. A small difference.

It's possible that what I call "fear and hate," others might equate as "evil." Maybe just semantics, or just a different interpretation of the concept.

I think fear/hate is the source of all ill.

[Hekate]

24. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" nt

[Nikia]

25. Everyone has the right to defend themselves and others

If someone gets hurt in that process, I wouldn't define that act as evil. Maybe sometimes greater evil is done by not defending oneself and others.

[baby_mouse]

32. Okay. This wasn't supposed to be a serious poll, but it seems to have become one, so...

What sort of acts *would* you define as "evil"?

[Nikia]

36. There is a spectrum but generally acts that purposely hurt others

With murder, especially by painful means, to be highest on the list. I am torn between whether hateful intentions or just simple disregard for another is more evil, especially when it comes to murder and rape. In a way, having someone intentionally kill or rape someone simply because they had no regard for that person is more disturbing than someone who did so out of negative emotion.
When someone kills (or lesser harmful acts) defending themselves or others, I cannot define that is evil. Sometimes, in less clear cases, there might be a sort of moral debate about whether the defending person acted rightly or wrongly, but I don't think that their act was evil even if it were wrong to some degree and ended up being tragic to all parties involved.

[LeftishBrit]

27. Well, yes...

No one is either just good or just evil -though I must admit that Cheney comes pretty close to the latter! Good people can do something evil as a rare aberration, or because they are persuaded that it is the right thing to do (good people are not necessarily always maximally intelligent); or because they break under torture or extreme pressure.

What inspired the question?

[baby_mouse]

28. It's a stupid question.

The poll was inspired by that poll earlier that was asking whether countries have an absolute right to repel invasion. I was annoyed and posted a stupid poll primarily to show that generating polls surreptitiously lends legitimacy to stupid ideas.

I thought it was a stupid enough question with such an obvious answer that no-one would respond, but, as is often the case when I attempt these things, people seem to have taken me seriously. Which I suppose is fair enough.

It will teach me to keep my mouth shut in future.

[donheld]

29. Isaiah 5:20

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

[Warren DeMontague]

33. I don't know what the hell you're trying to talk about in this poll.

Edit: You answered my question about what this is about upthread, so I took it out.

To answer YOUR question: I think "good" and "evil" are somewhat* relative categories. Which is NOT to say that there are not things I consider objectively good and objectively evil. But I'm not sure you can take EVERY single action in the universe and assign it a simple either/or categorization of "good" and "evil". You certainly can't do that with most people. Some people are categorically "evil", yes- the obvious examples- John Wayne Gacy, Hitler, Bill O'Reilly. But most people I think are a combination of some good traits and some asshole-ish ones. Most people are a complex mix.

So can "Good" people do "evil" things and if so, are the actions still "evil"?

No, and yes. Because if you're talking about truly evil things - I think if someone does them deliberately you can't really call them a "good" person, now, can you.

*taking this quote out of context to throw shit at me about "moral relativism" would be evil.

[baby_mouse]

34. Thank you.

I concur with your analysis.

I suppose I landed on this poll as it's a hot-button issue for me. If there's one thing that drives me totally nuts it's folk who judge people on what they are, or what they are perceived to be, instead what they do.

You know what I mean. People who call themselves christians and go to church but behave like dicks Monday to Saturday. Cops who think they get to beat people up because they're the "good guys" and so it doesn't matter if they do bad things.

People who fill the world with shit because they feel their moral status entitles them to. SLIME.