When one considers the nature of evil, possibly one has to differentiate between evil actions and a evil mind. Every human being is fallible and cannot go through their lives without committing sin therefore every human being may be said to have committed an evil act however small. However although every human being is fallible, every human being also has the potential for redemption so it could be argued that no human being has an evil mind.
In terms of the law, human beings are responsible for their actions but the law makes a distinction between the sane and those who they consider insane and therefore not responsible for what maybe considered evil actions, therefore one has to consider what differentiates evil thoughts and actions from a ‘sane’ mind and evil thoughts and actions from a ‘mentally ill’ mind. The obvious distinction is culpability and it would appear clear that the difference is that the owner of the sane mind would be responsible for their thoughts and actions whereas the owner of the mentally ill mind is not, but why is this?
It could be argued that the sane mind is presented with evil thoughts in his mind such as to commit a selfish act like murder and is aware that the act is wrong but in terms of Freudian psychology, his ego overrides his superego and his desire to satisfy his selfish desires of the Id come to the fore. The role of the superego which normally regulates these thoughts is diminished, although in the sane mind he would be aware that the act of murder is wrong but he possibly rationalizes it on the basis that it protects his ego which is his goal as M Scott Peck has argued. Self-esteem and satisfying ego are what are important rather than feeling bad about dark thoughts. They are unwilling to feel the natural guilt and pain that these thoughts cause.
In contrast to this the mentally ill mind such as the sociopath is presented with what may be considered evil thoughts in his mind such as to commit an act like murder but he is not consciously aware of the morality of the act. They do not have the capacity to rationalise and figure out what is good and what is evil. I would contend that this is because they are separated from the divine spark of God within which manifests as reason and conscience, they are not in touch with their soul. It could be argued therefore that they consequently think in an evil way and this is why they are not responsible for their thoughts and actions. In terms of Freudian psychology the superego has no control over the ego and allows the the desires of the Id to be realised unchecked.
I would say that there is a difference between evil acts and an evil mind. Evil is caused by a separation from God and this manifests as superego not being able to hold the ego in check. When this is a continued state of mind one can claim that this is a serious mental illness.
Am I simply to accept this assertion on your say so?
Needless to say, I do not agree.
Woah! Another bald-faced assertion. There is no sin, either, in ‘this’ world! Maybe in your’s, but not here!
Perhaps, if your spurious and unsupported assertions are accepted. Again, not in my world!
Again, unsupported and not accepted.
I’m sorry, you are building a house of cards on a table of wind.
The law does not consider ‘evil’, it considers ‘legal’.
Apples and oranges. You are correlating ‘mentally ill’ with ‘evil’ and, by implication, ‘sane’ with ‘good’. And more, legally ‘insane’ does not necessarily equate with ‘mental illness’.
And so on and so forth…
Zat so? Another unsupported, dropped in from the sky, variable.
More cards, teetering on the edge of rationality, logic.
Really, you need to study a bit of logic and it’s context. You cant just out and say “Since there are Flying Spaghetti Monsters in New York, and since they are evil; that means that the jumping worms are good because they hurt the FSMs.” Do you understand what I;m saying?
Perhaps, like me, others are loathe to answer some of your posts because to comment would mean unravelling them line by line, and this is tedious.
I hope that I have been of some assistance.
Peace
Evil is a perception that is used to keep us from wiping out the human species. Is there real evil as in the demonic? We won’t know till we die. Gods like demons are tools to keep society in relative peace with each other. They are control perceptions.
You could squirt me with pine apple juice and throw chunks of fresh pineapple at me:lol: What a fight ehh? it would look like some sort of spring equinox ritual
MagsJ
(..a chic geek -all thoughts are my own-)
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I’m sure all the males on ILP are picturing that image of us having a food-fight, as we speak!
Would that be evil then? I do wonder if certain humor can be construed as evil even if it is funny.
A food fight is wasteful and that is supposed to be wrong. Although can’t food serve as entertainment rather than be consumed?
You wouldn’t? 
