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Saturday, May 16, 2020

On the Origin of Evil - 1858 Words

On the Origin of Evil Where does evil come from? This is a question that I find most interesting. In our modern day civilization educated by liberal institutions everybody speaks as if they are certain of what evil is. So what is it? At first glance the thing that sticks out to me when I hear this question is: Asking where evil comes from is like asking where hunger comes from. Where does the desire for procreation, for sexual reproduction come from? Is a lion evil? I am sure it could be viewed as such in the eyes of a gazelle. Lions kill other lions indiscriminately. They will kill young and old alike in competition for food, mates, or territory. Should every creature have the disposition of a humble lamb? Is a human being killing†¦show more content†¦For their position of power also included the power over words, the power to decide what was called good or bad. As Nietzsche states in the first essay of On the Genealogy of Morals, â€Å"Good and Evil†, â€Å"Good an d Bad†, â€Å"it was out of this pathos of distance that they first seized the right to create values and to coin names for values: what had they to do with utility! The viewpoint of utility is as remote and inappropriate as it possibly could be in face of such a burning eruption of the highest rank-ordering, rank defining value judgments: for here feeling has attained the antithesis of that low degree of warmth which any calculating prudence, any calculus of utility, presupposes- and not for once only, not for an exceptional hour, but for good. The pathos of nobility and distance, as aforesaid, the protracted and domineering total feeling on the part of a higher ruling order in relation to a lower order, to a below that is the origin of the antithesis good and bad† (On the Genealogy of Morals). If this is the origin of the terms â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad†, then the question arises: From whence then did the concept â€Å"evil† originate? To answer this question we must once again travel back to Rome. In Rome there existed two classes that were in competition for power: the warrior class and the Judea religious class, the priests. In this competition the priestly class cannot win byShow MoreRelatedSearch For The Origins Of Evil2011 Words   |  9 Pages Searching for the origins of evil is one of history’s most difficult problems. While there are varying answers and approaches to the answer, we know that evil does not exist as a singular substance within the universe, therefore making determining the origins of evil more complicated and contentious. Throughout history, many ideas and narratives have been told that attempt to justify the existence of evil within the world. 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