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OrganizedKhaos's picture

evil revisited...

 

I too believe that the word evil is subjective and the meaning can change depending on its user and place. In class we were trying to find definitions of what evil meant in regards to how we used it, if we did in fact use the term. To me the term evil would be applied to someone or some action that has the deliberate intention or effect of causing harm or destruction, usually specifically from the perception of deliberately violating some moral code. I used the example of a cannibalistic murderer to evoke the sentiments of how evil is often times viewed in our society more generally. This was not to say cannibalism on a whole is evil. In anthropology we learn that everything has a meaning and place within the context of that society and culture, thus it wouldn't be relativistic to pass judgment on a ritual that makes sense within the culture of a Papua  New Guinea group. Meade, a well known anthropologist wrote and great piece on cannibalism, where she was able to show the reasoning behind cannibalism and show how our practice of war in comparison was unjust.

Examples like these show how views on what is just or evil or fair vary by culture and background. This can be linked back to a topic we discussed at the beginning of the year where “the crack” fits in to explain the disagreement or opposing views. Besides the definition of evil, a question that I have been thinking about a lot is whether everyone is capable of evil, and I do not think I have been convinced one way or the other as of yet.

 

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