I was intrigued by the semi-debate regarding Lady Macbeth's "evil" qualities in class today so I decided to look for other opinions. I stumbled upon another blogger blog called "All About Evil" that had some interesting ideas as to what "evil" is. In the blog itself there are many contrasting opinions, what do you think defines "evil"? I have also attached a scientific view of the actual cognitive science behind "evil" and its many analyses (this one is for Julianne). It is very cool to look at the cognitive versus abstract views of the two articles. Enjoy!
-Becca
http://allaboutevillk.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-evil-anyway.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=defining-evil
I'm really glad you posted this, Becca. The whole debate reminds me of a crime show I watched (I know, excellent source). In it, they tried to program a person's mind to respond to certain brainwaves to dictate their decision between evil and good. In short, they found that it was impossible, that a person could choose neither the "good" or "evil" alternative on command. I think this is because nothing is inherently good or evil. People are a mix of both; in certain scenarios, they may choose cruelty, an evil state of mind; in others they might choose the benevolent way. In any case, people can't be generalized as evil and good, because their natures are too wrapped up in shades of grey. Categorizing people as evil or good would be like painting the world solely in black and white, ignoring all the mediums between them.
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