2

Evil seems related to intentions, but i am sure there are those that believe it can exist external to minds. Are there any philosophers that attempt to argue that evil can exist outside a mind?

NationWidePants
  • 886
  • 8
  • 31
  • 1
    See [The Problem of Evil](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/). In what sense do you tink that e.g. [The Holocaust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust) does not exist "ouside a mind" ? – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 05 '18 at 16:32
  • Since our 'minds' were only introduced as a subject/object platform which relates to our thinking processes by European science- related philosophers from the mid 16th to mid 17th century, and the concept of what constitutes 'evil' has been around for several thousand years prior to that, the question is quite difficult to answer. And who says evil is related to intentions? Legally, intentions and motives are part of the process of judgement. Neither, prior intentions nor motives, are a prerequisite for an action considered to be 'evil' to occur. – Norman Edward Dec 05 '18 at 18:43
  • Look up 'Loa loa'.. or Alzheimer's.. or any other seemingly cruel natural event.. parasitic wasps etc. The world isn't nice.. axe murder is really just background noise. – Richard Dec 05 '18 at 21:22
  • I think you are confusing "mind-independent" with "outside of mind". Since evil usually refers to actions it is obviously "outside of mind", but one may ask if characterizing an action as evil is objective, or just an expression of personal emotions and/or social conventions. Look at the references in [SEP The Concept of Evil](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-evil/). – Conifold Dec 05 '18 at 22:41
  • @Norman Edward Emmanuel Levinas describes evil, in his Transcendence and Evil, as a form of targeted anxiety against individual minds. I can list others, but I was hoping to find those that feel otherwise. For instance, a tornado has no intention of harming a person, are there any that claim a tornado is evil if it harms someone? Levinas would say it caused evil, but I don't think he'd say tornadoes are evil. – NationWidePants Dec 06 '18 at 10:05
  • 2
    Is anything outside mind? A definition of 'evil' would help here since I wouldn't know how to define it. –  Dec 06 '18 at 12:43
  • @NationWidePants Our first source for humans & evil (we can access) is Genesis. The fruit of two trees are banned in Eden. One is the tree of the 'knowledge of good and evil'. By that account alone, evil was in existence prior to Eve eating the fruit and Lucifer tempting her to do so. That source makes evil a force of nature. (The opposite of good forces.) Does a tiger know Evil acts? Or, is it like your tornado? They could be seen as Evil, however, that is a judgment (cognizant evaluation = mind). For humans to *evaluate* Evil requires a 'mind', but, evil itself would exist without that. – Norman Edward Dec 06 '18 at 17:39
  • [See Why is a lion not evil](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/51603/why-is-a-lion-not-evil/51623#51623]) It was a question posted under Ethics – Norman Edward Dec 06 '18 at 17:51
  • @conifold can the title of evil be granted to non-agents? Arguing if a tornado or virus 'act' is rather outside the scope of the question, but I think that's the distinction you're making. – NationWidePants Dec 07 '18 at 01:06
  • evil does not exist. like all abstract ideas, it is only to be found in language, not the world. – MmmHmm Dec 08 '18 at 17:12
  • @PeterJ there's a whole world out there – MmmHmm Dec 08 '18 at 23:00
  • Rephrasing @Conifold : May I suggest that you rephrase "evil outside of mind" to "objective evil"? IOW standalone evil existing apart from actions/cogitations of sapient agents. – Rushi Jun 21 '19 at 05:13

0 Answers0