Root of all Evil...

So...I am curious as to what you all think is the root of all evil.

Do you believe that there is one main source, a combination of different variables?

Let me hear your opinions!!

Selfish desires

Either Religion or Money

Girls. I'm pretty sure we proved that in 8th grade geometry.

Our stupid egos and pre-evolved humans with lots O'power. Or, alien mind control; pick your choice.

I believe that evil is the absence of good, and subjectively has many variables
Many philosophers believe that darkness has no real power over Light. Good can be perceived as the cause of evil, but they are opposites. We are sometimes separated from good by choices spiritually thus we have a duel nature.

Define evil. i believe that many actions of George Bush are evil yet quite a few people agree with him. Many people believe communism is evil but true communism is definitely not evil in my opinion(there have been very few, possibly zero examples of true communism). evil is relative. each person has a slightly different concept of evil so the answer to your question varies.

Assuming that there are specific routs of evil, i would have to say egos, arrogance, and a thirst for power.
egos/arrogance - people refuse to accept people who disagree with them or express a different view point. if you look at a lot of issues this is the source of the problem. example - the 'Islamic fundamentalists' feel that anyone who is not muslim is an infidel and 'evil'. other divisions of the muslim religion are also seen as horrible by these people because they differ over some small insignificant aspect. as a result, there have been many acts of violence, and suppression because people had differing views and opinions. people do not like to admit they are not absolutely correct (ego) and feel that their way is by far the best (arrogance). there are thousands of examples of this. the cold war was basically an instance of the 'my way is best' mentality.
thirst for power - people will run over anyone they can to reach the top. how many deaths happened because someone was considered a 'threat' to someone else's ambitions? most dictators in history have eliminated anyone they perceived as a threat. Stalin killed off all of his good general's in WWII because he was afraid they would stage a coup and remove him.

of course there are a thousand other sources of evil. i just feel these are rather significant ones.

Arrogance

Who raised you, how you were raised, how you've been treated all your life, and if any major effects have happened. (Like rape, seeing someone be raped, seeing someone be abused/murdered, or emotionally abused, being abused yourself etc.) But some evil has no cause, and it's just personality or mental illness. I don't believe that just because you're not MENTAL MENTAL, if you can kill someone/torture them, then you're not mental. You are.

It's not religion, trust me. God doesn't just hand out evilness to random people. Unless you mean the 'Muslim' religion, in which case I'm probably being racist 'presuming'. Or Malaysions, I'm probably categorizing here too, but every single one I've ever met has been a rude, scheming, scummy *****BEEPBEEP*****.

It depends on your population if it's down to religion, if you're constantly surrounded by people who focus on bombing other countries because they're jealous of their skin colour, or the fact they're accepted in the USA, as Americans etc, like 9/11 and the london bombing so on so forth. And Malaysions, well every one I've met has somehow screwed someone over for money.

I believe everyone will get what they deserve in Hell, everyone evil at least. Everyone good goes to Heaven :]

So i read my post and want to clarify something so people don't get the wrong idea. i do not have anything against islam itself, i was using the 'islamic fundamentalists' (who aren't really islamic fundamentalists when you examine the true beliefs of the religion) as an example. Their actions don't reflect islam as a whole.

Human beans.

Although there may be a disagreement on the wording, most cultures perceive a natural tendency or appetite for vices, that we all, at one time or another, give into because of our animal urges. Some believe through virtues mankind can accept a divine nature.

Vice<<<<<<<<<< Virtue
Lust (excessive sexual appetites) <Chastity (purity of soul)
Gluttony (over-indulgence)< Temperance (self-restraint)
Greed (avarice)< Charity (giving)
Sloth (idleness)< Diligence (zeal/initiative)
Wrath (anger)< Forgiveness (composure)
Envy (jealousy)< Kindness (admiration)
Pride (vanity)< Humility (humbleness/modesty)

The Balance of The Heart, Soul & Mind" reflects the humanness of us all, and the Divine Redemption, which frees us from ourselves.

"Human beans". Although I believe humanly cultivated beans are good for your heart I have heard that they are also good for something else that rhymes with heart that is less desirable. It is believed by many that a human being has a free will and is not entirely at the mercy of Mother Nature. or manmade cultivation. It seems that manmade impurities have entered the cultivation of civilization. Mankind has created many human zoos that are prisons. No one is justly imprisoned by accepting the just laws of society. Though it seems to be a challenge for many to do so. Undesirable things happen in nature that can easily be perceived as evil if we define evil as not good. I do not believe nature is inherently evil by any standard of belief

If a human doesn't define a rock, is a rock not a rock? It's still a rock in essence but not in name.

"The root of evil is goodness, faith and love- gone awry with greed and ignorance. I do not see evil as the absence of good, Michael. And what can cause this "absence of good" but good itself? As Neema suggested, the two are inherently linked, just as physical light is to physical darkness. ]"

I believe to a wise and humble person your view of evil could explain why a Supreme Being would allow evil to exist. It may be for the greater good, given that in time good can come from evil mysteriously. Ignorance and greed may have been the driving force behind the numerous genocides that have occurred in history, faith and love gone awry. Evil has been defined as a defect of nature rather than an efffect

"Few people choose evil for its evilness, unless they are fools; they only see a mask of the goodness and happiness that they desire. And often, good also wears a mask of evil. Good and evil arise from each other.
"Faith and love are fierce, and only forces such as these can manifest something like evil, which is thought to be as powerful (but to be conquered). Love of self (status, money, power), of God, of country, of freedom, of family, of your lover...these things have been the source of some of the most well-known acts of 'evil' created in human history. And lazy goodness is the friend of evil."
Sadly this is true

"The opposite of evil is not goodness, it is wisdom- the tool to differentiate between the two. Wisdom decreases limitations in the mind, allowing it to relate the part to the whole.
And the opposite of good is bad. ; )

Besides, neither good nor evil are truths- they are conceptions driven into us to govern our morality. Neither can exist alone, they are relative and interdependent terms. The difference is not one of kind, but of degree. The moment they are separated, they are not recognised."

Very subjective and profound

I will comment further after I sleep on it

Well unfortunately I have been told that my previous answer was too stupid (nicely reworded). I'll go with "intelligence." If it's obvious humans are the root of all evil--humans define evil--and the internal difference between humans and other animals is intelligence...then...you get where I'm going. Sometimes I wonder if other animals really are less intelligent, haha. Silly humans.

When I was in catholic elementary school I remember a nun telling a cute story about a child that was told about God before he could read. After the child was told that God is a supreme being, the child was so proud of the knowledge, that he thought he understood that he went home and ask his parents if they knew that God is a string bean. Lack of knowledge, wisdom and understanding can be quite innocent where power is not involved.

Thomas Aquinas believed that God could be understood to an extent by logic and reason. He thought of wisdom understanding and knowledge as secular and spiritual.[Spiritual as in gifts of the Holy Spirit.]
Aquinas says the first four of these gifts (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel) direct the intellect, while the other three gifts (fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord) direct the will toward God.

"Hey Michael. I had God for dinner last night, yum."

From what I have been taught it is not evil to consume God. lol

The only problem with pantheism is the lack of personification

The Supreme being, Heavenly beings and human beings differ from creatures in Spirit, and free will

If you have time or care to share your feelings on the role the heart, and soul plays in relation to good and evil as opposed to the intellect I would love to read it

The roots of various plants have been known to convert decaying dead matter back into living matter again.
If we could personify a root it might be as proud as a foolish man that believes he has no need of the warmth of the sun or the breath needed for life.

If the root is nourished with faith and love- gone awry with greed and ignorance we may not expect the plant to bear good fruit
Maybe our souls need a balance of elements also

Of course Knowledge is ev0l, it's the very symbol of "loss of innocence" in the oldest story of all time: The Garden of Eden/Fall of Man. Curiosity, rebellion, lust, can be good, but taken to extremes can also be very evil on either side of the political coin. A need for control=also evil, part of our human nature, can be used for good too. Selfishness. And apathy/indifference.

"If we could personify a root it might be as proud as a foolish man that believes he has no need of the warmth of the sun or the breath needed for life."
Lucifer! sulking in his basement. who had light but threw it away...or had it taken, depending on who's version you read...

Jealousy and Envy are the root of all Evil.

If you think about it in a "monothesic" (sp?) theologian aspect, you would see that the Devil envied God's creation Adam...See as he wasn't the "Unique" entity.

And if you look at it from a Jewish aspect, you would see that "Lilith" also envied Adam wearing the pants in the relationship. Thus abandoning heaven and sleeping with the Demons...

Let's not forget Eve being jealous that Adam was seeing another woman, and she made him eat the apple as a way for him to say "I love you and you alone"

Simply put the main root of Evil is Jealousy and/or Envy...

^^

Actually if you think about it, Jealousy and Envy or should I say emotions will always be there ingrained within us...with or without Knowledge...

But Sluvious I find it funny that you would say knowledge is the root of everything, seeing as Racism....For example didn't require knowledge merely Envy, fear and hate....

Knowledge is merely one of the tools that could be used for evil...Like Hope..

A white rabbit does not hate a brown rabbit, but a white human does hate a brown human...what makes our two instincts different? Subtract instinct, add knowledge of difference and learnt ability to categorize based on superficial appearances.

And Abby, what evils are we talking about? I'm not innocent of jealousy, greed, hatred or any other 'evil' quality...but to the extent that I turn these emotions into reality is what makes me more or less evil. The root of this reality is my emotions, which are derived from my intelligence, which is given to me by centuries upon centuries of mutations that have made me what I am--human. There's the loop. Anyway, we're generalizing here. Intelligence paired with 'Nature vs. Nurture' (take your pick) stimulates evil.

Temptation and decite and lust...cant forget that one

To sum it up in one word, imperfection!

Greed, money, power, && movies.
movies these days, just show you different way how to kill people. haven't they ever thought, 'what if a crazy maniac killer was watching this, to find out a new way to kill someone'.
it's disgusting.

Abby you took far too long to explain far too little. Didn't I say the same with "emotions + knowledge + Nature + Nurture" ? Evil is subjective, I agree, but I am not trying to define evil, simple trying to depict the origination of every type of evil...which is equally subjective and ridiculous, yes. Some topics are impossible to debate without boundaries, unless you limit your thinking capacity, which is necessarily in this debate I think.

Ciao.

You know from what I've observed it would seem that Nicko cannot understand Abby's well "dry" humor....But what I fail to imagine is why Abby aren't you using the smiley faces...Like this :)

Those are our emoticons...Lol.

I believe that evil is just evil...there has to be evil to be good. Its a balence. There are many things that be considered the root of evil, but it doesnt really matter what the root is, because the branches and the leaves are just as evil as the roots. I believe that even tho the root is to blame for the plant, there was a seed even before that, and the seed came from another plant. So it is concluded that evil is just evil.

Ps. This evil plant is probly tomatos...those things are nasty. lol ;)

I getcha Abs. Let me add a factor into my equation...

"Negative." I think you can throw that in anywhere and evil will pop up, or not, just like the original equation...This is crazy. Math is evil.

Seriously, two children can grow up with the same lives and turn out completely different. Go figure.

Oh, and I like the idea of sex for pleasure...but humans aren't the only animals who engage in such a funly evil act.

^ Huh?

And yes, Abby...Keanu Reeves=Evil.

Next question?

Root of All Evil huh?

hum...

Harming Someone Else For Selfish Reason...

Is harming someone else ever...not...selfish?

Not if your trying to protect someone...:)

Define selfish. Actually, no...don't. I'm not making any sense.

Hehe...silly

How are you doing tonight?

My eyes sting from exhaustion and too many hours in front of this damned screen. Other than that, just dandy. How are you? Feeling evil or good tonight?

Haha...Nice Question...That was funny :)

Well I am feeling none evil none good...I don't know...I need money!...You know how that goes...lol...I work on commision, but didn't really sell anything today...so a little sad...

Eyes sting eh...quick advice...get away from the screen!...:P

"Dependant on your definition of morality as you say morality could be perceived as a safety or survival mechanism, or does it in fact inhibit us, evil makes us test the boundaries morality makes us conform, conformance does not equal advancement"

I am inclined to agree that culturally morality is defined many different ways

It does seem that conformance to the physical natural laws, or the environment equals the survival of a species

Conformance to morality seems to be evolving in issues such as slavery, dietary guidelines, and general international boundaries. The genocide that is said to be occurring in Africa is thought by many to be immoral. Maybe there is not enough natural resources in Chad to gain the attention of the U.N. to investigate the crimes against humanity that are alleged.