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Definition of evil

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AJ 271: The Study of Evil Paper. Your Own Definition of Evi
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Definition of Evil
Psychology and philosophy have been interpreting human actions and feelings in
different ways. Human beings possess different behavioral psyche which can be interpreted as
good, bad, generous, keen, sympathetic, empathetic, envy or evil. Among all these attributes,
some express the Godly attributes of kindness while some are vivacious. Through the expression
of these emotions, human beings reflect their personality, morals, and values. Society also plays
a vital role in associating excellent or bad titles with people, and it eventually becomes their
identity or inseparable part of their lives. Apart from the clear differentiation among these
qualities, some people manage to hide the true personality and act differently (Darley, p.212). All
these features show the complexity of human existence, and different fields of science,
philosophy, psychology, and humanity have been evaluating the various aspects of human
behavior for decades.
Evil is one of the most powerful words used to describe extreme hatred or wicked
behavior. Evil is depicted through the actions, motives, and emotions of a person. An evil person
can cause danger to anyone through his fallacious nature. Apart from all other types of bad
intentions, evil is taken as the most heinous and destructive in nature. Evil motives always cause

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suffering to any individual or the whole society. It can be taken as another kind of selfishness
where the person is unable to realize anything except their own pleasure. Evil-minded people
always try to soothe themselves regardless of the consequences. Thus, evil blindfold a person so
that he/she cannot look beyond oneself. Such persons are unable and unsuitable for society. Like
all other human attributes, evil also has a prominent subject in literature and other genres of
studies. The sound and kind nature are glorified through various literature forms, while evil
reveals how anybody can go beyond human characteristics to harm someone.
Zimbardo’s definition of evil is psychologically based. According to him, “ Evil consists
in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, destroy, innocent
others - or using one’s authority and systematic power to encourage or permit others to do so on
your behalf ( Zimbardo Chp 1 lecture slide 21).
Dr. Carl Goldberg defines evil with two primary components, "When one􀁠s actions
cause others to suffer unnecessarily-- that is to say, the conditions cause avoidable suffering --
we have reason to consider them malevolent." (Goldberg Lecture slides, slide 4). Sometimes the
evil actions are the reaction of any cruel or injustice, and the malevolent is justified enough to
cause harm in return. In such cases, evil comes from a person who is more powerful and strong
in some way or another. At the same time, another condition of evil or maltreatment occurs when
the other person is weak enough not to react or take revenge. In these cases, the malevolent
mainly considers the victim no more than an object to please himself by his sufferings. Through
his definition, Goldberg classified the two main categories of evil.
My definition of evil

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Last Name 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Number Date AJ 271: The Study of Evil Paper. Your Own Definition of Evi l Definition of Evil Psychology and philosophy have been interpreting human actions and feelings in different ways. Human beings possess different behavioral psyche which can be interpreted as good, bad, generous, keen, sympathetic, empathetic, envy or evil. Among all these attributes, some express the Godly attributes of kindness while some are vivacious. Through the expression of these emotions, human beings reflect their personality, morals, and values. Society also plays a vital role in associating excellent or bad titles with people, and it eventually becomes their identity or inseparable part of their lives. Apart from the clear differentiation among these qualities, some people manage to hide the true personality and act differently (Darley, p.212). All these features show the complexity of human existence, and different fields of science, philosophy, psychology, and humanity have been evaluating the various aspects of human behavior for decades. Evil is one of the most powerful words used to describe extreme hatred or wicked behavior. Evil is depicted through the actions, motives, and emotions of a person. An evil person can cause danger to anyone through his fallacious nature. Apart from all other types of bad intentions, evil is taken as the most heinous and destructive in nature. Evil motives always cause Last Name 2 suffering to any in ...
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