Evil

Evil is understood to be of three kinds: 1) moral evil, 2) natural evil, and 3) metaphysical evil. Moral evil is evil human beings volitionally and intentionally originate, and its examples are their cruel, vicious, and unjust thoughts and actions. Natural evil is evil which occurs independently of human thoughts and actions but which causes pain and suffering, and it refers to earthquakes, volcanos, storms, droughts, disease bacilli, etc. "Metaphysical evil," a term coined by Gottfried Leibniz, refers to the finite and limited condition of the created world of time and space, thus being usually understood not to be evil in and by itself.

The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam usually have a standatd of good and a standard of evil centering on a good God and tend to stress the seriousness of moral evil according to these standards, basically treating other kinds of evil only in the context of moral evil. By contrast, non-monotheistic religions are inclined to pay more attention to natural and metaphysical evil, saying that evil (i.e., natural and metaphysical evil) is ultimately unreal. Today, evil is much discussed in psychology, sociology, business, and politics, and evil in these areas tends to refer to moral evil.

The monotheistic traditions, however, sometimes treat moral evil as something not necessarily negative. There are two ways in which they treat it so: 1)

Etymology

The modern English word 'Evil' (Old English Yfel) and its current living cognates such as the German 'Übel' are widely considered to come from a Proto-Germanic reconstructed form *Ubilaz, comparable to the Hittite huwapp- ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European form *wap- and suffixed zero-grade form *up-elo-. Other later Germanic forms include Middle English evel, ifel, ufel Old Frisian evel (adjective & noun), Old Saxon ubil, Old High German ubil, and Gothic ubils. The root meaning is of obscure origin though shown to be akin to modern English 'over' (OE ofer) and 'up' (OE up, upp) with the basic idea of "transgressing".

Moral Evil in Various Areas of Human Life

Evil in business

In business, evil refers to unfair business practices. The most widely agreed on unfair practices are sweatshops and monopolies, but recently the term "evil" has been applied much more broadly, especially in the technology and intellectual property industries. One of the slogans of Google is "Don't Be Evil," in response to much-criticized technology companies such as Microsoft and AOL, and the tagline of independent music recording company Magnatune is "we are not evil," referring to the alleged evils of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The economist David Korten has argued that industrial corporations, set up as fictive individuals by law, are required to work only according to the criteria of making profits for their shareholders, meaning they function as sociopathic organizations that inherently do evil in damaging the environment, denying labor justice and exploiting the powerless.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Cenkner, William. 1998. Evil and the Response of World Religion. Continuum International. ISBN 1557787530
• Kelly, Joseph F. 2003. The Problem of Evil in the Western Tradition: From the Book of Job to Modern Genetics. Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5104-6
• Marc-Alain Ouaknin, Marc-Alain, Levenson, Claude B., Le Gall, Dom Robert, Chebel, Malek, Ouaknin Marc-Alain. 2005. The Great Religions: Essential Questions. Assouline. ISBN 2843236118
• Smith, Huston. 1997. Good and Evil in the World's Religions. Chautauqua audio cassette program, 97-139. Chautauqua Institution. OCLC 39783291
• Rosenberg, Shalom. 1989. Good and Evil in Jewish Thought. Tel Aviv: MOD Books. ISBN 9650504486
• Kushner, Harold S. 2000. When Bad Things Happen to Good People. London: Pan. ISBN 0330268279
• Shermer, M. 2004. The Science of Good & Evil. New York: Time Books. ISBN 0-8050-7520-8
• Ferré, Nels F. S. 1971. Evil and the Christian Faith. Essay index reprint series. Books for Libraries Press. ISBN 0836923936
• McCloskey, H. J. 1974. God and Evil. The Hague: Nijhoff. ISBN 9024716047
• Wilson, William McF., and Julian N. Hartt. "Farrer's Theodicy." In David Hein and Edward Hugh Henderson (eds), Captured by the Crucified: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer. New York and London: T & T Clark / Continuum, 2004. ISBN 0-567-02510-1
• Peterson, Michael L. 1998. God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press. ISBN 0813328497
• Rosenberg, Marshall B. 2003. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values. Puddledancer Press ISBN 1892005034
• Rosenberg, Marshall B. 2005. Speak Peace in a World of Conflict : What You Say Next Will Change Your World. PuddleDancer Press. ISBN 1892005174
• Ellis, Albert, and Robert Allan Harper. 1975. A New Guide to Rational Living. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 013614909X
• Wolman, Benjamin B. 1971. The Psychoanalytic Interpretation of History. Basic Books. ISBN 0465065937
• Plantinga, Alvin. 1997. God, Freedom, and Evil. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company ISBN 0802817319
• Peck, M. Scott. 1983. People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671454927
• Oppenheimer, Paul (1996). Evil and the Demonic: A New Theory of Monstrous Behavior. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-6193-3. 
• Nelson, Marie Coleman, and Michael Eigen. 1984. Evil:Self and Culture. Human Sciences Press. ISBN 0898851432

External links

• Robinson, B.A. 2005. http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter3.htm Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Theodicy: Why Doesn't God Prevent Evil. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
• http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=1229 Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center. (2001-2007) Chabad.org. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
• Valea, Ernest. 2007. http://www.comparativereligion.com/evil.html The Problem of Evil in World Religions. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
• Faulkner, Joyce. 2003. http://www.curledup.com/religion.htm Curled up With a Good Book. Review of When Religion Becomes Evil. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
• Eby, Lloyd. http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Eby/Eby-Theodicy-c.htm Unification Sermon The Problem of Evil and the Goodness of God (Part 3). Retrieved March 13, 2007.

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