@philosophyminis: The Oxford legal scholar Ryan Meade once argued that 'no evil thing comes along except in the guise of good.' His point was that evil never announces itself. It comes wrapped in noble language — freedom, safety, justice — and it says that this harm is necessary for some great and shining future. This is one of the many things I spoke to Iain McGilchrist about in this week's Mini Philosophy interview. Three hundred years ago, Immanuel Kant argued that all humans have a good will, that every normal and healthy human being wants to do what is good. But the problem is that we are waylaid by the improper use of reason. People think they are doing good when they are actually doing evil. McGilchrist isn't so sure, because he thinks that evil is a real thing. This is how he describes evil: 'It seems to have a drive, it seems to have energy, it seems to want destruction, it seems to want suffering. It wants to destroy, and to hurt, and to degrade.' McGilchrist argues that evil is more complicated than the pitchfork-carrying demon. Lucifer became Satan not from any obvious malice, but from arrogance and resentment. Evil falls away from the good, and it takes on its own energy, and it always wears a mask of light. So, what do you think: is evil its own thing, or is it just goodness that has taken a wrong turn?
Jonny Thomson
Region: GB
Tuesday 12 August 2025 14:15:00 GMT
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Ale :
I think evil resides in the incapabilty of seeing the future conseguences of thoughts, words and actions on others and even on ourselves
2025-08-13 17:19:54
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melkoremperious :
There are only actions. Humanity ascribes the meaning and morality.
2025-08-12 15:51:37
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11111118 :
The thing about philosophy is that if one gets too deep into it one may come to a stage of confusion questioning every action.
2025-09-12 01:49:43
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RyanGagnoneuve :
Evilness is not a real thing, it's just the diffrence in perspectives. Without differing perspectives there could be no evil. Do a mind experiment and imagine a universe that is completely empty except for one person. With only one perspective what could they possibly do that is evil.
2025-08-24 05:07:30
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marco :
i think evil is both: 1. the bible speaks of Satan, the personified evil. 2. when Peter wanted to spare Jesus from crucifixion, Jesus said: 'get away from me Satan! Peter meant it good but it was a temptation. All together these 2 lead to war, hunger, quarrel... we know
2025-08-13 17:00:42
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Mr fallback :
evil is the shadow of good and evil the shadow of good , neither can exist without the other
2025-08-13 14:27:20
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CarriesMum :
I’m with Gilchrist… ps as a kid, I first became aware of the about the presence & nuances of evil from reading Agatha Christie. She viewed it as akin to Gilchrist’s description. I’ve long been surprised at Christie’s ongoing popularity, but maybe it’s due, in part, to how her detectives talk about evil?
2025-08-16 08:44:10
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Kat Nanshin Blehm :
“Evil” is not an entity unto itself; any more than “Good” is. There are only actions. Humans, apparently, are the only thinking beings which put labels on everything. 🤔 Do animals judge? 🧐
2025-08-12 23:11:08
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Tester Hub Uganda :
Emmanuel who?!😭😂
2025-08-23 05:39:17
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dominicmccabe :
evil resides in all of us. we can choose to use it or keep it at bay.
2025-08-15 06:24:29
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Alyosha :
evil is wearing an orange "mask of light" and a red made in china baseball cap
2025-08-13 15:35:46
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timbridle369 :
Einstein successfully argued a theory about heat and light that is also relevant to good.
He presented that cold doesn't exist and what is referred to as cold is the absence of heat, for cold as a substance and thing doesn't exist because to have something cold is to remove heat or adding something colder; in contrast there are many forms of heat. He applied the same observation to light, we can create light but creating dark is the removal and absence of light only.
I would say this is also true of good and evil doesn't exist but it's an absence of good. This fits the point you raised, that evil comes wrapped in good, except it comes with some good and then the good becomes absent for what ever reason.
2025-08-16 06:53:15
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Seglelit :
@Seglelit: “For there is no good or evil, Hiratio, but thinking makes it so” ~ Shakespeare
2025-08-15 05:03:42
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jbartholomew3 :
I think evil is it’s own thing. I would go so far as to say I know this is true. I have met people who are actively and intentionally malicious and who seek to create chaos for chaos sake and who actively wish to put out the light, so to speak. There are many nihilistic and even some darker occultists organizations that believe in destruction as a guiding principle. O9A is one such example.
2025-08-14 00:36:03
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Peter Scott🇨🇦 :
I've had 10 grandchildren become "terrible 2's" in rapid succession. I can confirm that evil is real.
2025-08-15 14:10:19
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Authentic logos :
The devil always comes in form of noble principles but the intention is destruction.
2025-09-02 23:41:07
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Ampofo Jude :
Everytime when I listen to you, it's like am reading literature review. You are so good
2025-08-18 06:58:16
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Tz :
in old english evil meant flaw/defect or illness, a privation or a lack of - poverty is an evil not because of a moral reason but because it denotes a lack. Perpetration of a crime is an absence of goodness. 'Sin' is an associated word, perhaps a word with moral connotations that some are uncomfortable with. But, stick with me for a moment. In Arabic, Hebrew and Greek it is an archery term meaning to miss the mark. Everybody wants to do what they think is good or what they think is best, but the evil-doers are missing the mark.
2025-08-25 08:10:33
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Steve :
Evil can flourish when empathy fails. When we can’t understand how our actions affect others evil can take hold. Such as treating others as non human.
2025-08-15 18:06:15
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Babybabygetseven :
I believe that evil is the inability to oppose and defy the accepted norms and values perpetuated by those who govern society . The lawmakers and rule makers, the religious leaders, the politicians ,officials ,influential public figures,and the obscenely wealthy elites who are the real power players that fund and finance and control it all. Those who are capable of discerning between what they’re told is “ good “ and what is actually good are reviled and ostracized. We’re revolutionaries,anarchists,despots and disrupters! If it hurts,harms,deprives,denigrates,discriminates,disrespects, degrades or devalues anyone… it’s not “ good “. It’s plain evil !!!
2025-08-17 11:35:25
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Tom Anderson-O'Lough :
McGilchrist perfectly described the current state of Israel in that excerpt
2025-08-16 01:45:59
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Frank Hollywood :
A bit like the new eu chat control proposal… ‘for your safety’
2025-09-08 23:02:15
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Textier Ștefan-Vasile Ioniță :
it's very complicated the play of life ! the evil some people say dosent exist! I say that the evil that matters is between humans that hurts one to another!
2025-09-08 11:25:28
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Crabtree :
We all genuinely consider ourselves to be good including myself.Yet when we’re not we self justify the reasoning for the act or behaviour.Funny how the mind works.
2025-08-16 08:26:16
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High Quality 360 🇨🇩 :
"Political language" as I call it.
2025-08-18 01:53:11
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