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"Evil" is a concept useful for propaganda and little else. Really? Can you read _Lord of the Flies_ and conclude that what the boys are doing isn't evil, becau
by cturner 16y ago
"Evil" is a concept useful for propaganda and little else.
Really? Can you read _Lord of the Flies_ and conclude that what the boys are doing isn't evil, because all ethics are relative?
- brazzy 16y agoIt's not about ehtics being relative, it's about "evil" being a label that's used to condemn (often falsely) and discourage discussion. Seeing WWII completely in terms of how valiant US soldiers defeated the evil Nazis is a great way to avoid noticing tendencies in the US that the Nazis would feel right at home with.
- cturner 16y agoIt's not about ehtics being relative That's the message from the post I responded to, and that's what I'm responding to. You contradicted arethuza, and basically implied that arethuza'a ideas about pure evil were invalid. They're not. It's easy to become so consumed with something that you throw the baby out with the bathwater, which you did above in claiming that evil had little use apart from propaganda. That's false. Evil is an idea that stands on its own, and is important in our thinking.
- btilly 16y agoNews Flash. The Lord of the Flies is fiction. Evil is a very useful way to understand fiction because the "reality" it exists in is made-up and fits the description. In the real world evil is much more ambiguous, and is mostly a tool for helping convince people that one side is awful and the other must therefore be right. The fact that people are wired to react that way makes it very useful for propaganda.