Analysing the Meaning of Evil Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Analysing the Meaning of Evil. Answer: While analysing the meaning of evil, it should be stated that evil does not essentially imply a state of being where an individual deliberately embraces the negativity for the sole sake of hurting or harming others, but choosing the evil offers a sense of pleasure, that good does not offer. A man turns out to be evil as and when he wishes to break free from the man-made or natural or ethical limitations around him, and embrace what makes him happy. For example, Dr. Faustus explored the enormity of knowledge and sold himself to the Devil, and derived evanescent and yet considerable pleasure, which he could not experience, had he accepted the limitations of a restricted, conscientious world. Rising above nature, challenging the stability of a Universe, brings in the evil in mankind. The American literary character Holden, reminding one of Frankenstein or Eve, tried to break free from the order and harmony of the Universe and challenge the supremacy of the God, resulted in the destructi on of humans and natural objects (Cusher). As it has been found that Frankenstein wanted to became a creator and move himself up to the position of God or above him. This was when he created robots and gave life to the machine. This had for obvious reasons resulted in the creation of evil in the form of robot. Again, Holden was a learned boy and he devoted lots of time in study and education but had never used the same knowledge in a positive way but helped in increasing negativity in nature and society. According to me, the evil refers to a specific state of being, where the individual loses his sanity, becomes indifferent to the concerns of the others, and gets driven by a feeling of lust and selfishness that leads to the annihilation of the good. The evil state, I believe, exists in everyone, but it is aroused only when one is fascinated by the thirst of power and influence that he can exert upon the less powerful victim (Neiman). The evil provokes one to destroy a sense of meaning, pattern or harmony in the universe, and to lose a sense of purpose in life. An evil entity will neither think of others, nor will anticipate the impact of inflicting cruelty, pain, or violence on others. Losing a sense of meaning in life and faith in the goodness, the evil person wishes to become the ultimate power in the world. I think that an individual can be willingly and consciously evil only when he loses the purpose in life, or he fails to comprehend the inherent essence of life. Life is conside red to be gifted, and usually people believe in good actions that repay and bad actions that lead to undesirable outcome. However, what happens to a person who loses faith in the goodness of the world, the ability of the Absolute Power and starts becoming sceptical about his origin? He will tend to become reckless and relentless in life, engaging in whatever action he pleases, and remains indifferent to anything but himself (Rossenbaum). By the end, it can be mentioned that initially as an individual unaware of the evil spirit prevailing within him, accidentally experiences the same, because of revenge, pain and trauma, and once experienced, he feels thrilled by the intense and immediate pleasure derived through it. In absence of conscience, he repeats the evil act and leads himself to path of moral degeneration. In order to become powerful, the evil gets fascinated by a lawless, irrational mind that helps him challenge, question and dismiss the limitations of the universe he was born in. Embracing the evil avails one immense freedom, one is otherwise deprived of. Refrences Cusher, Brent Edwin. "Cormac McCarthy's Definition of Evil: Blood Meridian and the Case of Judge Holden."Perspectives on Political Science43.4 (2014): 223-230. Neiman, Susan.Evil in modern thought: An alternative history of philosophy. Princeton University Press, 2015. Rosenbaum, Ron.Explaining Hitler: The search for the origins of his evil. Hachette UK, 2014..