Good and evil not so black and white
Jan 12th, 2009 by spaceagesage
- Day and night
- Light and shadow
- The candle and the darkness
These images of polar opposites have always acted as metaphors of good and evil. But what is good and evil? Is it really a black and white issue or are there hues in the mix?
I know some readers of mine don’t like the word “evil.” They don’t believe such an absolute exists. Little wonder, too: Is it possible for anyone to stand and define with certainty what is good and what is evil when the “good” guys often do bad things — such as sexual predators in the clergy or abusive officers in law enforcement — or when “bad” guys do good things — such as when a convicted murderer saves a child’s life?
- Are good and evil really just different sides of the same coin?
- Is being good just a matter of trying to “be good for goodness sake?”
- Who gets to define it all anyway?
Most of us believe that lying, stealing, and taking someone’s life are wrong. Yes?
But …
- If I’m threatened in a road rage situation at a parking lot, I’m may lie my head off to prevent an angry, gun-wielding driver from killing me.
- If I’m a soldier in war who ends up behind enemy lines, I may steal food to keep myself alive.
- If I’m facing a fellow employee who has shot six other workers, I may have to kill him before he kills me or others.
On the other hand, most of us would think love, peace, and kindness are good things to have in our lives, right?
But …
- Aren’t there helicopter parents who smother their kids – even to adulthood — with unhealthy over-protectiveness and call it love?
- What about an abuse victim who assumes peace at all costs will help change the situation?
- Can a person showboat their “kind acts” more out of ego and manipulation rather than genuine concern?
Do you remember this saying from the Forrest Gump movie, “Stupid is as stupid does”? In other words, a person is judged stupid by the stupid actions he takes, so even an intelligent person can be deemed stupid, and vice versa. When it comes to good and evil, I believe it’s about either the destructive hurt or the love and healthy well-being a person creates. And I think our good or evil choices add up, too. It’s like the Biblical adage, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
For me, good and evil do exist, and I get my foundational knowledge about both in the Bible. I don’t see them as a dance of a yin and yang dialectic or as a black and white set definitions, but rather as inner motivation toward either love or destructiveness as in this proverb: “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.”
We’ve all grown up with and settled on different views of this sometimes volatile subject. How do you teach good and evil to your children or how do you choose to look at it in your life?
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Photo credit: speech path girl
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Hi Lori – I have to agree. It’s not always black and white. There are shades of gray in most instances. For me, I try to look at both sides before making a decision and pray I’ve made the right one.
“Helicopter parents?” This is the first time I’ve heard that phrase. It describes some parents to a “T”.
Hi Lori: I read that Socrates once said that there is no such thing as an evil person; a person who does something that could be called “bad” is someone who made a mistake in the reasoning they used to reach a conclusion. For example, if a person mistakenly believes that having lots of money is the only way to be happy, and that X situation is the only way they’ll ever make money, he may do “evil” things in order to succeed in X situation. If this person truly understood that after having your basic needs met money does very little to make you happier, it’s very likely they wouldn’t have acted in that “evil” way.
Hi,
I think it would help to see the reality without labels first. For instance, “sexual predators in the clergy”. Just because someone has the label of clergy doesn’t make him good. Simply see what is going on and we get to see the truth.
Also, darkness is the lack of light. There is no substance called darkness. There is only light, and darkness is determined by how much (or how little) light there is.
Blessings,
Akemi Gaines
Indeed, there’s a lot of gray between good and evil. And I don’t think an evil person thinks of his/her actions as evil. I’ve done some things I don’t approve of. When I’m doing them, I usually have some kind of justifications for them.
Incidentally, I think Hollywood is partially responsible for oversimplifying the picture. So many cookie-cutter villains. 😉 We Japanese have deeper and more credible villains. Severus Snape from Harry Potter comes to mind, when I think of a credible villain. That man is all gray.
ari
Hi Barbara,
Prayer, wisdom, and experience all come into play for me, too.
I read that the phrase ‘helicopter parents’ comes from authors Neil Howe and William Strauss and refers to parents who constantly hover over their child, ready to swoop in to protect them from problems.
Hi Marelisa,
I have met evil people, and yes, their actions have probably been from faulty thinking, but the evil they did still caused harm rather than love. Their spiritual footprint, if you will, is more like a black hole.
Hi, Akemi,
True, the label of clergy doesn’t make a person good, I was generalizing. I also know someone who is labeled as a sexual predator who is not. It is hard, though to see what is going on enough to see the truth.
As a follower of Christ, I opt to let his light of love shine through me as best I can, thus lessening darkness.
Hi Ari,
Most people I know believe they are decent or better than (fill in the blank). Their justifications seem to absolve them. When I act like an idiot and hurt someone, I want to justify it all away, but I’ve learned that is not the answer for me.
Hi Lori,
Nice post! I think there’s good and evil in all of us. It’s what we choose to do about this inner good and evil, dark and light, yin and yang that truly matters. That’s when the energies of whatever we choose manifests into the exterior, and then we get labelled subjectively by those who perceive things as black and white. 😉
Very simple. For either good or evil to be given recognition, there must be an ‘other’. Otherwise, both do not exist. Therefore, what you are willing to accept done to you as good is good and what you are not willing to is evil. You do the former and do not do the latter.
What about thoughts? As long as there is no ‘other’, thoughts do not get translated into action and the only harm that can happen is to yourself. When you are aware of this, the harmful thoughts just drop away. If there is an ‘other’, as long as the thoughts do not get translated into action, the same effect takes place that is, you harm yourself. Become aware, and it drops off.
Hi Irene,
Thanks.
Interesting thought. I’m always advocating our ability to choose, and yet I know there are somethings that are evil in and of themselves.
Hi Rummuser,
Thanks for that perspective, although I respectfully disagree. My “other” always includes God because I have given my life to him. I also believe thoughts have an energy of their own, whether I act on them or not, so they still impact others.
Actually my daughter and I were talking about this just yesterday. She was describing someone and she said “This person has an ugly heart.” I have met people who I would say have ‘black souls”. So, yes, I believe that evil exists. I think you nailed it with inner motivation or intent. The person my daughter was referring to guides her action based on control and manipulation. She actually couches this in the form of ‘helping people’. My daughter sums it up as “she is simply bad news”.
Did I directly teach my daughter about good and evil? No, but obviously because of her upbringing she is able to pick up on ugly hearts and black souls.
Hi Lori. I quite enjoyed this read. I believe their are “shades of good and evil” 😉 sorry, couldn’t resist.
I understand what you are saying. There are grey areas. I also think that living in this 3rd dimension causes us to swing back and forth between the opposites. It’s how we learn what is “right” for us. And maybe a few swings into the dark aren’t as bad as people might think. Maybe… the dark can’t really exist when there is light. Light is the default.
Most certainly, I agree that there are many shades of grey, in between the extremes of stark black and pristine white.
I also like what Davina said about “light is the default”. We need to know what black is in order to define light.
Also, maybe white is just white, black is just black and grey is just grey. It’s how we interpret and judge a situation to give it its meaning. We throw in our perspectives based on the filters that we have. For instance, looking at the case of helicopter parents may tempt us to judge them as “bad” rightaway. But can it be that the helicopter parents themselves suffer the same fate when they were kids themselves? Can it be that they have been traumatized in the past, causing them to be overly protective?
Hi Urban Panther,
Don’t ya jez love those black-hearted types who play the “I’m really just trying to help” card? I’m glad you gave your daughter the gift of discernment in this matter! So many people end up getting trampled by the users, abusers, and manipulators.
Hi Davina,
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I agree we learn from travel to the dark side. Negative reinforcement can work to bring more positive actions. I’d like to think light is the default, but …
Hi Evelyn,
It is hard to judge the heart, mind, and background of others. We all have our own past issues to overcome.
I have never met a purely evil or purely good person, thought i have met many people who were very good, even what you call saintly. To judge people solely on one act is simplistic – many people commit crimes simply because they lack the scope of vision necessary to see another way – some people commit crimes without an ounce of empathy. I believe that how one judges others is how one judges oneself. If we all could see into the heart and soul of others, would this world be a better place ? I think so.
Hi Frank,
True, one act does not an evil or good person make. It’s about patterns of thought, intention, and action. Another take on judging comes from Wayne Dyer, “When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.” I have to disagree that being able to look into the hearts and souls of others would be a good thing, though. I watched Green Mile, the movie.