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Power to do Evil v. Power to do Good

Little Linguist

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The power to do evil is greater than the power to do good.

OR

The power to do good is greater than the power to do evil.

Discuss.

(If there is a thread like this, I apologize, but I could not find it.)
 

Totenkindly

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How are we defining "evil"?
And how do we define "good"?
 
O

Oberon

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Jennifer, as you're well aware, lots of people have spent their entire lives searching diligently for those definitions, in a form they could firmly believe in.

In fact, I'm going to guess that there's more to your question than just participation in a forum thread.
 

Little Linguist

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Jennifer, as you're well aware, lots of people have spent their entire lives searching diligently for those definitions, in a form they could firmly believe in.

In fact, I'm going to guess that there's more to your question than just participation in a forum thread.

Precisely. :nice:
 

Totenkindly

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Jennifer, as you're well aware, lots of people have spent their entire lives searching diligently for those definitions, in a form they could firmly believe in.

It was less a matter of LL being able to universally define such terms and more about her revealing what her own assumptions were about the question she was asking, so that I would know what sort of answers she was asking for.

(Sort of like asking the teacher to clarify the test instructions, you know?)
 

ygolo

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The short of it is that I think the power to do good increases the overall power in the world, while the power to do evil decreases the over all power in the world.

More long-winded version:
I am going to interpret "good" and "evil" in a more pragmatic way where there are situations where I believe my own "conscience" would deem something evil vs. good.

Note: what my "conscience" sees as good vs. evil is different from what I "rationalize" to be good vs. evil, and still different from my own desires or impulses. I think of it like a form of perception. Like seeing red vs. blue or balck vs. white, a lot of the same analogies apply.

This perception is suceptable illusion, and selective blindness. Some will have finer ability to discriminate the "hues."

In this sense, I think "evil" generally involves the loss of power of someone else. Here I use "power" in very broad terms. The closest definition for this post is the "ability to choose."

If you kill someone, you take away their ability to choose anything (in this world at least). If you rape someone, you took away their choice of when and whom to participate sexually or emotionally (or in any form) with, and you also took away many physical freedom from them. If you commit any physical violence on someone who is not a willing participant (like in boxing or martial arts), you took away their choice not to be physically harmed. If you rob someone, you take away the choices they would have had with what was taken...

"Good" on the other hand involves "empowering" other people. Giving them more choices. Saving a life (generally) gives them many more choices to come. Teaching/coaching someone, generally gives them a lot more choices. Giving to someone gives them more choices (usually). But the examples I mentioned are only as good as the amount of "empowering" done.

Thats the way my "calculus of good & evil" works.
 

Maverick

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I would define good as win/win (and also lose/win), and evil as win/lose (and also lose/lose)
 

GZA

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Arn't they the same thing? Isn't power just... power, and you are left to your own limits and abilities to control it, lest it controls you? Good and evil, even when given a blanket definition of any kind, or still very complicated things, especially as power escalates. For example (just a general example, not neccesarily 100% historically accurate), it is good to fight the Nazi's because they are trying to take over the world and they were killing minorities, but perhaps that Nazi soldier you gunned down was really a young father looking for work to raise his kids during the depression (and yes, I know Germany was not hit hard by the depression). Sometimes good is pretty absolutely and unquestionable (i.e. curing AIDS), but sometimes good is really evil in disguise (i.e. protesting genetically engineered crops that could save millions or even billions of lives, and even saving those lives would lead to more hunger as the population grows, ect, more harm done).

Power is power, it can do good and bad, soemtimes both at the same time. It's hard to find something to use power for that falls into any absolute (i.e. war may be evil, but it also can kick-start suffering economies and provide jobs to starving people, such as WW2, once again).
 

murkrow

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There's no good and evil.

Those with the power to do will do as they will.

Only "God" could define morality, and even in that case the choices would be obedience or rebellion and not good or evil.

If we're accepting a "God" or other form of moral objectivity then I would say the power to do evil is greater, as it is the only force of creation.
 
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How are we defining "evil"?
And how do we define "good"?

I think the more important question is how we're defining "power".

If it's the possession of the qualities required to do something, I don't think you can separate that into possession of qualities required to do good things vs. possession of qualities required to do evil things. Morality refers to conduct itself, not the potential for it. The fact is that the same qualities that are required to do good can contribute to evil.
 

lovelornRationalist

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Do you mean 'greater' in the sense of 'puissance' or 'morally better'?

Also, the use of 'power' in this context is not clear to me. Whether or not the power to do evil or good is greater or lesser depends on the disposition of the individual. In some the power to do evil is greater, in others it's vice versa.
 

Noel

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evil.jpg
 

Little Linguist

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Honestly, I didn't post to play teacher or educate people or impose my morality or concepts on others. I posted because I would like to see what others think about these concepts and ideas because I think it can generate meaningful discussion, if appropriate.

Thus, I specifically left subjective, hard-to-define terms such as "good," "bad," and "power" open to interpretation. If you confine the terms, you confine the possibilities. That is not condusive to discussion because everyone has a different opinion on what these terms mean.

However, I am interested in what you think, and I thank those people who have shared so far. I'm curious to see what the rest of you think! :)
 

colmena

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The power to do good is greater than the power to do evil because a good leader can convert his/her people from being ruled by fear and greed.

Compassion is the difficult route with the goal for long-term happiness and peace in mind.

"If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don't have the strength to live in a world like that."
--Robert Bolt - The Mission.
Pacifism and just war in The Mission
 

disregard

mrs
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Evil is born out of weakness.. a lack of self-control.. there is no power, only the absence of true power.

To do good when you are facing your own potential to do evil is to overcome that weakness.. that is power.

I like this topic, but I don't really know where to begin with my thoughts.
 
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