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THE ELUSIVE AND SUBJECTIVE NATURE OF EVIL:PRESPECTIVES,PHILOSOPHY,AND MORAL REALTIVISM.



Both religious and secular perspectives often converge in their condemnation of certain acts or individuals as evil, with crimes such as child rape universally abhorred. Yet, despite this apparent consensus, the precise nature of evil remains elusive and highly subjective. Attempts to define evil as something we simply “know when we see it” quickly encounter the challenge of moral relativism. Historical atrocities, such as Tamerlane’s massacre of Baghdad’s residents in 1401, illustrate this problem: while modern observers may unequivocally label such acts as evil, the perpetrators and their contemporaries may not have shared this view. Thus, a definition of evil that relies solely on perception risks rendering the concept entirely dependent on the observer, undermining its utility.

To address this ambiguity, philosophers have sought to provide the concept of evil with explanatory power. One influential approach is rooted in Socratic thought, which posits that no one can knowingly or rationally commit evil. According to Socrates, individuals cannot rationally do what they recognize as wrong; true knowledge of the good naturally leads to good actions. Evil, in this framework, arises from ignorance or a lack of understanding of what is truly good. For example, a person who starves others does so not out of malice, but because they lack a reasonable knowledge of the good, such as the imperative to feed the hungry.

However, this philosophical account appears insufficient when confronted with the scale and horror of certain crimes against humanity. Genocide, mass rape, slavery, and other atrocities seem to demand explanations that go beyond mere ignorance or faulty reasoning. The enormity and deliberateness of such acts suggest that evil cannot be fully explained by a simple deficit in ethical logic. Instead, these events challenge the adequacy of philosophical theories that reduce evil to a lack of knowledge, highlighting the need for more robust explanatory frameworks.

Complicating matters further, the concept of evil becomes even more ambiguous when viewed from alternative perspectives. A superior alien intelligence or advanced artificial intelligence might, for instance, adopt a utilitarian calculus that deems the extinction or radical reduction of humanity as a necessary good to prevent environmental catastrophe and mass extinction of other species. From this vantage point, actions that humans would consider genocidal could be justified as serving a greater good. Similarly, humans themselves routinely eradicate invasive species for ecological reasons, without moral qualms. Ultimately, the determination of what constitutes evil is deeply influenced by the perspective of the beholder, leaving the concept persistently hazy and subjective.

WORDS TO BE NOTED-                                                                                                                           Here are 15 advanced vocabulary words from the passage, each with a brief meaning:

  1. Secular – Not connected with religious or spiritual matters.

  2. Abhorred – Regarded with disgust and hatred.

  3. Consensus – General agreement among a group.

  4. Elusive – Difficult to find, catch, or define.

  5. Subjective – Based on personal feelings or opinions rather than external facts.

  6. Moral relativism – The belief that morality is not absolute and can vary based on culture or individual perspective.

  7. Atrocities – Extremely wicked or cruel acts, typically involving physical violence or injury.

  8. Perpetrators – People who carry out harmful, illegal, or immoral acts.

  9. Ambiguity – The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.

  10. Explanatory power – The ability of a concept or theory to effectively explain the subject it addresses.

  11. Socratic – Relating to the philosophy or method of Socrates, especially his method of questioning.

  12. Utilitarian – Pertaining to the ethical theory that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.

  13. Genocide – The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.

  14. Perspective – A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

  15. Beholder – A person who sees or observes something.


SOURCE- BRITAINNICA MAGAZINE
WORDS COUNT-550
F.K SCORE- 15.5

 





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