Listening to Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy, Susan Neiman (Interview Adaptation), I am pointed to Rousseau.
G E N E R A L R E M A R K S .
T h e O b j e c t o f E d u c a t i o n .
C O M I N G from the h a n d of the A u t h o r of all things,
everything is g o o d ; in the h a n d s of m a n , everything
degenerates. M a n obliges one soil to nourish the productions
of another, one tree t o ' b e a r the fruits of another ; he mingles
and confounds climates, elements, seasons ; he mutilates his
dog, his horse, his slave. H e overturns everything, disfigures
e v e r y t h i n g ; he loves deformity, m o n s t e r s ; he desires
t h a t nothing should be as nature m a d e it, not even m a n himself.
T o please him, m a n must be broken in like a h o r s e ;
man m u s t be ad ap te d to m a n ' s own fashion, like a tree in
his g a r d e n .
W e r e it not for all this, m a t t e r s would be still worse. N o
one wishes* to be a half-developed being ; and in the present
condition of things, a m a n left to himself among others from
his birth would be the most deformed among them all.
Prejudices, authority, necessities, example, all the social
institutions in which we are submerged, would stifle nature
in him, a n d would p u t nothing in its place. I n such a m a n
n a t u r e would b e like a shrub sprung u p by chance in the
midst of a highway, and jostled from all sides, b e n t in every
direction, b y the passers-by.
P l a n t s are improved b y cultivation, and m e n b y education.
If m a n were born large and strong, his size and strength
would be useless to him until he had learned to use t h e m .
T h e y would be prejudicial to him, by preventing others from
thinking of assisting him ; a n d left to himself he would die of
wretchedness before he h a d known his own necessities. W e
pity the state of infancy ; we clo n o t perceive t h a t the h u m a n
race would have perished if m a n h a d not begun b y being a
child.
W e are born weak, we need s t r e n g t h ; we are born destit
u t e of all things, we need a s s i s t a n c e ; we are born stupid,
we need judgment. All t h a t we have not at our birth, a n d
t h a t we need when grown u p , is given us b y education.
This education comes to us from n a t u r e itself, or from
other men, or from circumstances. T h e internal developm
e n t of our faculties a n d of our organs is the education^
n a t u r e gives us ; the use we are t a u g h t to m a k e of this development
is the education we get from other m e n ; and what
we learn, b y our own experience, about things t h a t interest
u s , is the education of circumstances.
Each of lis is therefore formed by three kinds of teachers.
T h e pupil in whom their different lessons contradict one
another is badly educated, and will never be in h a r m o n y with
himself; the one in whom they all touch upon the samo
points and t e n d toward the same object advances toward
t h a t goal only, and lives accordingly. H e alone is well educated.
N o w of these three different educations, t h a t of nature does
not depend upon us ; t h a t of circumstances d e p e n d s upon us
only in certain respects ; t h a t of men is the only one of
which we are really masters, a n d that solely because we
think we are. F o r who can hope to direct entirely the speech
a n d conduct of all who surround a child ?
(Beginning of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Emile; or Concerning Education, 1762)
Reading too many accounts of paedophilia, rape, sexual abuse, infidelity, and promiscuity I have, of a sudden, begun to think that the matter with humans is the obsession of man (men) to insert themselves into everything, especially other human beings.
There seems to be an acceptance of men sticking himself in everything, from other bodies, to everyone’s business.
I don’t know what to do with such an observation.
I’m also not sure what to think about evil.
Or God.
It is All-Hallow’s Eve. The Thin Place. That supposed time when the veil between ‘worlds’ is thinnest and accessibility of communication is at hand.
We hurt one another. Earthquakes crush people. Tsunamis wash people away. We’ve been taught that man has sinned and screwed up the world. We’ve been told that God-Itself became man to save and redeem humankind and wash away sin. So many stories. So many explanations. So unconvincing.
We heard when younger to ‘mind your own business.’
All around us we also heard ‘stick it to them.’
I still don’t know what to think.
I, still; don’t know: what? to think?
AI Overview [1, 2]. Evil
Definitions by Part of Speech
- Adjective: Describes someone or something morally bad, cruel, wicked, or harmful (e.g., an evil dictator, evil deeds). It can also describe things that are intensely unpleasant or repulsive, such as an evil smell.
- Noun: Refers to the abstract concept of wickedness, or to a specific calamity, sorrow, disease, or wrongdoing (e.g., the evils of war, suffering from an evil).
- Adverb (evilly): Describes an action done in a wicked, malicious, or injurious manner. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Perspectives
- Philosophical & Psychological: Philosophers often divide evil into moral evil (suffering caused by human choice and cruelty) and natural evil (suffering caused by natural events like earthquakes or illness). Thinkers and psychologists also study how social pressure, obedience, or dark personality traits drive human harm.
- Religious: In Abrahamic traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), evil is often viewed as disobedience to God, moral corruption, or the absence of good. Eastern traditions frequently view it as an imbalance or attachment that clouds spiritual growth.
- Community Views: On Reddit, users generally reach a consensus that evil is not an independent magical force, but rather the choice made by individuals with free will to cause destruction and limit the growth of others. [1, 2, 3]
And yet, I ask. We ask. We’re more than curious. Our lives, perhaps our fates, are in the balance.
AI Overview
Albert Einstein did not actually ask or write whether the universe was benevolent or friendly; the famous quote is a widespread misattribution.
Quora +1
The Misattribution
- The Quote: Variations include "The most important question we can ask is whether the universe is benevolent" or "The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe".
- Goodreads +1
- The Reality: There is no documented historical record of Albert Einstein making this statement. Instead, the idea is a modern self-help and motivational paraphrase that has been repeatedly attached to his name online.
- Facebook ·SpeakWell.Rocks +1
What Einstein Actually Believed
- Comprehensibility and Order: Einstein viewed the universe as deeply rational, lawful, and understandable, famously summarizing his view of nature with, "Subtle is the Lord, but malicious he is not".
- Quora
- Spinoza's God: He did not believe in a personal God who cares about human fate, morality, or benevolence. Instead, he subscribed to Baruch Spinoza's view of God—an impersonal divinity expressed through the harmonious, mathematical order of the natural world.
- Reform Judaism.org
