What we’re about
We meet monthly to escape shallow, petty talk for a safe harbor to ponder broad, complex yet practical subjects. We expect members to support opinions and use logic in conclusions, but expect all present to keep the meeting FUN for all. We teach, and don't scold. We expect the conversation to move without getting stuck so sometimes, we are forced to “agree to disagree” and move on.
We arrive and parts friends. There are no personal attacks, but each IDEA goes under the microscope. Members agree, others disagree, often with enthusiasm! We have no gates, and no gatekeepers. All are welcome and we tolerate no personal attacks, sarcasm, or even indirect denigration. IDEAS RULE and stand on their own.
Finally, we are “thinkers”, not “doers”. Go forth to take action. Come, join us, participate, learn, exercise your brain, but mostly HAVE FUN.
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See all- Does "evil" exist? What is it? Can it be contolled?Link visible for attendees
Merriam-Webster defines evil as:
a) morally reprehensible : SINFUL, WICKED an evil impulse
b) arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct a person of evil reputationSince World War II, moral, political, and legal philosophers have become increasingly interested in the concept of evil. This interest has been partly motivated by ascriptions of ‘evil’ by laymen, social scientists, journalists, and politicians as they try to understand and respond to various atrocities and horrors, such as genocides (Hitler's attempt to erradicate Jews), terrorist attacks, mass murders, and tortures and killing sprees by psychopathic serial killers. It seems that we cannot capture the moral significance of these actions and their perpetrators by calling them ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ or even ‘very very wrong’ or ‘very very bad.’ We need the concept of evil.
Some social scientists argue that we use the term "evil" when we have no explanation for for actions and behaviors. For instance, we might wonder why two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venerables, tortured and murdered two-year-old James Bulger while other ten-year-old boys with similar genetic characteristics and upbringings cause little harm.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-evil/Those who believe in 'Pure Evil' consider bad or criminal behaviour is wilful, conscious and driven primarily by the wish to inflict harm, merely often for pleasure. They may also believe in "Pure Good."
Perhaps scientists had been reluctant to study evil before because it seems religious, yet Russell Webster and Donald Saucier point out that cultures all over the world and throughout history, have a surprisingly similar "personal archetype of evil". This includes the conviction that "behind evil actions must lie evil individuals".
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-raj-persaud/does-pure-evil-exist_b_4134835.htmlIs evil over? Yes, according to many neuroscientists, who are emerging as the new high priests of the secrets of the psyche, explainers of human behavior in general. A phenomenon attested to by a recent torrent of pop-sci brain books with titles like Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. Not secret in most of these works is the disdain for metaphysical evil, which is regarded as an antiquated concept that’s done more harm than good. They argue that the time has come to replace such metaphysical terms with physical explanations—malfunctions or malformations in the brain.
Of course, people still commit innumerable bad actions, but the idea that people make conscious decisions to hurt or harm is no longer sustainable, say the new brain scientists. For one thing, there is no such thing as “free will” with which to decide to commit evil. (Like evil, free will is an antiquated concept for most.) Autonomous, conscious decision-making itself may well be an illusion. And thus intentional evil is impossible.
Are those who commit acts of cruelty, murder, and torture just victims themselves—of a faulty part in the head that might fall under factory warranty if the brain were a car? It would be consolatory if not comforting if we could prove that what made Hitler Hitler was a malfunction in human nature, a glitch in the circuitry, because it would allow us to exempt “normal” human nature (ours for instance) from having Hitler potential.
https://slate.com/technology/2011/09/does-evil-exist-neuroscientists-say-no.htmlQuestions to ponder and discuss:
Is there a separate concept of "evil" or is it semantics?
What is the origin of evil? or What causes people to act in evil ways?
Can evil be controlled or overcome?
