ON GOOD AND EVIL
Ever since man has been able to walk upright he has recognized the difference between good and evil. In all that time man has been unable to eradicate one or the other from his soul. We are taught from a very early age what is good and what is evil. The knowledge passed on to us from our parents, teachers and peers enables us to determine one from the other. However this knowledge also enables us to be good or evil, knowledge gives us the power of choice. Within each of us is a balance that tips one way or the other. This balance is based on two factors. The first is the balance of selection, we select at any given point to be good or evil, these selections then make up the second balance. The balance of conduct. How we conduct our lives and how that conduct affect those around us. One fact does remain constant, we can never completely tip the balance in one direction. We will always have the capacity within us to be good or evil. Though one may be in control, the other can never be destroyed.
This now raises an interesting question. What exactly is good and evil?. It depends on your individual point of view or the perspective of the person making the observation. An evil act by an evil person is seen as an evil act, but would that same evil act be viewed the same way by an evil person. For example, an armed robber walks into a store. He ties up the owner, unlocks the safe and takes thousands of dollars in cash and makes his escape before the police arrive. To the store owner the armed robber has committed an evil act. He tied him up against his will and then stole all his hard earned money. However if we look at this from the felon's perspective, he got away clean and is now thousands of dollars better of than he was before. Therefore, to him, the act of robbing the store was a good one.
So what causes a someone to be good or evil?. There are a number of different factors involved. The first and probably the most important is upbringing. A child's parents will have the greatest influence over the outcome of their offspring's fate. However it's not as simple as good parents mean good children. Other circumstances must be taken into account. Peer pressure is one, a child can be heavily influenced to commit good or evil acts, just to be part of the "cool" crowd. Another factor is necessity, some one may commit an evil act not because they are an inherently an evil person but simply because they must. When all combined all these factors have a huge bearing on the personality. To be good? or to be bad?
So can a world exist without good or evil? The simple answer is no. Good and evil have been a part of mans psyche from prehistoric times. To eliminate one completely would eliminate the other. For one cannot exist without the other. We must know what evil is to be able to determine what is good and vice versa.
To understand good and evil one must look at their origins, where did good and evil come from?, who decided what was good and what was evil? And will mankind ever be able to create that perfect society that philosophers since Plato have strived to build?
The origins of good and evil can be traced back to a time before civilization developed. Before even man existed the concept of good and evil would have existed in the instinctual consciousness' of all animal life. Where were the good watering holes, what was bad to eat and where was a good place to sleep. These concepts became more defined when man's brain could come to grips with the intricate realities of communication.
Since the earliest philosophers first put forward their ideas for a perfect society, there has been one major flaw in their arguments. Their perfect society is based on all the citizens themselves being perfect. To be perfect demands that no evil can be any part of mans psyche. Otherwise the society breaks down. As I discussed earlier a world cannot exist without good or evil. One cannot exist without the other. Therefore the perfect society cannot exist as man will always have those evil elements within him and therefore has the capability to bring about any societies downfall.
We can now see that good and evil has existed for far longer than man's existence. The basic truths will remain the same longer man has either died out or has moved on into space. All man has done is refined the way we perceive good and evil, he did not create it and he will never be able to destroy it.