Yes, Evil exists. I have come to that conclusion myself. It's not an easy insight to reach; I can readily recognize petty malice and anger in myself, but the naked evil we find documented online is truly difficult to comprehend. I cannot help but think of it as a form of possession, or perhaps that's just a mental crutch to help me process the vileness.
Thanks for these thoughts. I've come to the conclusion that evil comes in two forms. One is where people are, well, just plain evil with no apparent underpinning reason. But, perhaps oddly, it's the second group that I think is potentially most extreme and most terrifying. These are people who do evil things because they believe they are doing 'right' in some form or other.
This latter group includes Hamas. An article in Atlantic magazine by Bruce Hoffman summed up the goals of Hamas (from a close reading of its original charter) as follows:
"1. The complete destruction of Israel as an essential condition for the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law (Sharia),
2. The need for both unrestrained and unceasing holy war (jihad) to attain the above objective,
3. The deliberate disdain for, and dismissal of, any negotiated resolution or political settlement of Jewish and Muslim claims to the Holy Land, and
4. The reinforcement of historical anti-Semitic tropes and calumnies married to sinister conspiracy theories."
Armed with these beliefs, unlimited and unrestrained violence becomes possible - indeed necessary, in the minds of the 'believers'.
In fact, it is consistent with the list of "mobilizing passions" arrived at by Robert O. Paxton in his description of fascism. Paxton includes, for example: "the belief that one's group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external."
Yes, Evil exists. I have come to that conclusion myself. It's not an easy insight to reach; I can readily recognize petty malice and anger in myself, but the naked evil we find documented online is truly difficult to comprehend. I cannot help but think of it as a form of possession, or perhaps that's just a mental crutch to help me process the vileness.
Thanks for these thoughts. I've come to the conclusion that evil comes in two forms. One is where people are, well, just plain evil with no apparent underpinning reason. But, perhaps oddly, it's the second group that I think is potentially most extreme and most terrifying. These are people who do evil things because they believe they are doing 'right' in some form or other.
This latter group includes Hamas. An article in Atlantic magazine by Bruce Hoffman summed up the goals of Hamas (from a close reading of its original charter) as follows:
"1. The complete destruction of Israel as an essential condition for the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law (Sharia),
2. The need for both unrestrained and unceasing holy war (jihad) to attain the above objective,
3. The deliberate disdain for, and dismissal of, any negotiated resolution or political settlement of Jewish and Muslim claims to the Holy Land, and
4. The reinforcement of historical anti-Semitic tropes and calumnies married to sinister conspiracy theories."
Armed with these beliefs, unlimited and unrestrained violence becomes possible - indeed necessary, in the minds of the 'believers'.
In fact, it is consistent with the list of "mobilizing passions" arrived at by Robert O. Paxton in his description of fascism. Paxton includes, for example: "the belief that one's group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external."