Do you believe that some people are evil?

Question:I for one don't. Now for the explaination. People aren't evil, they are either mentally unwell or misunderstood.

Hitler wasn't evil. Hitler actually believed that he was doing the right thing, despite the fact that he really wasn't. I believe that Hitler was quite possibly mentally unwell for him to commit the acts of evil (see people can commit acts of evil but they cannot be evil). Hitler didn't wake up and say "You know what, today I want to be evil. And I really feel like being hated by everyone today!". It just didn't happen. Humans, by nature, are social creatures and so it doesn't make sense for a person to knowingly disconnect themselve from a social ring unless they feel that they HAVE to. BTW, I don't condone what Hitler did, so don't even try to say that, I just don't think he was a very well man.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I for one don't. Now for the explaination. People aren't evil, they are either mentally unwell or misunderstood.

Hitler wasn't evil. Hitler actually believed that he was doing the right thing, despite the fact that he really wasn't. I believe that Hitler was quite possibly mentally unwell for him to commit the acts of evil (see people can commit acts of evil but they cannot be evil). Hitler didn't wake up and say "You know what, today I want to be evil. And I really feel like being hated by everyone today!". It just didn't happen. Humans, by nature, are social creatures and so it doesn't make sense for a person to knowingly disconnect themselve from a social ring unless they feel that they HAVE to. BTW, I don't condone what Hitler did, so don't even try to say that, I just don't think he was a very well man.

If evil does not exist then good does not exist either. I am OK with that.

peace and love

evil is an illusion. I agree, people can be so mentally out of the "norm" that they seem so, but it's not the same thing.

I agree w/ you. What we all go through in life, how we are raised,....can all factor into what we become. Of course even if you had a truamatic life, you have to be strong enough to over come it. Some people can do that & others can't.

The clever can justify any evil.

Go here.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/...

I believe you are quite possibly mentally unwell.

Hitler did not think he was doing the right thing...that's why he tried to cover his tracks by eliminating the evidence. He was a sociopath and a douchebag...kinda like another world leader we have right now...

Bush is just the latest Hitler... He actually believes that war is good for humanity, while it fills his bank accounts with excess oil revenues... This war is merely Bush's temper tantrum for being weaned too early...

War is how America makes peace...

Actually this war is America's latest take on enforcing another prohibition... This war is America rebirthing the Inquisition, in slaughtering non-believers, and robbing their dope and oil reserves, like the Spaniards did to South Americans, but for their gold... I'd call that an evil... Essentially America is in process of destroying the planet for money... We live in America's "hell on earth"...

Evil is a part of our nature. People can go either way, good or bad. It depends on him/her. But they are people who believe that what they are doing is not evil at all. They believe and love it so much that they realize that it's part of their nature. However, there are people who are aware of what they are doing, knowing that it's evil and they still do it. That's a evil people... knowing that's something is wrong, bad and evil and they do it anyway... and get pleasure from it.

i believe that all humans are born innocent and good. ultimately, it is society, parenting and/or genetics that encourage people to perform evil acts and believe that is okay.
but, you can't put the all of the blame on society, parenting or genetics because one thing that us humans are blessed with is the power to make our own choices.
in the end, hitler denied all that is good. i agree that it was because he was mentally ill.

no some people but the all

"HELL" YES!

Evil is a sickness, we all have it to one degree or another but we all have the ability to overcome it or succumb to it on our own decisions. Hitler put himself where he was in history and he did it by evil means.
Yes I do believe that some people are evil. Adolf and his ilk prove that.

No I strongly disagree. People may not have been born evil, may not inherently be evil, may not have chosen evil or even embrace evil, but once it sets up in them, they are evil. Like having AIDS - once you've got it, sorry pal, you have it and you're now contagious.

Good and evil are just labels we try to put on people. People just are what they are. Life does not have a meaning but we try to explain the unexplainable by labeling it.

Last year in 8th grade, i learned that HItler could also speak really really well. He knew how to give a speach, knew how to gain supporters, and make them almost like puppets. People would follow the man to the ends of the earth. Not that I think Hitler and Obama are alike at all, but Obama can do the same thing. He speaks incredibly well. I think I would vote for him even if he were speaking in a different language just because he speaks so elequently (if i was old enough to vote). I do agree with you though, no one is intesionally evil, sometimes people just come off like that because they "have a dream" (another elequent speaker though obviosly way different than Hitler) and they get so rapped up in it and will do anything in their power to get it that they loose all connection with reality.

Evil exists, what may or may not exist is the conciousness of doing evil things.

So perhaps yeah, Hitler could be so mentally ill that he believed he was doing the right thing, but how do you explain the MILLIONS of people who supported him? were they all mentally ill???????????? weren't they very conscientious evils????

(Hitler actually believed that he was doing the right thing, despite the fact that he really wasn't)

What if he actually believed he was doing the wrong thing? Would you consider him evil then? And do we judge a persons mental wellness by his actions or his psychological condition? If Hitler was in good mental health when he committed those atrocities would you consider him evil? Conversely, how are we to judge a person that has a psychological disorder, who commits evil acts?

The supporting premises for this argument (people aren't evil) is as follows:

P1. They are either mentally unwell or misunderstood
P2. "Hitler actually believed..etc .."
If a person commits evil acts but believes he/she is doing the right thing, then that person is not evil.

P1. If a person whom is mentally unwell ( in psychiatric terms) is not held accountable for evil acts due to his condition; then a person whom is mentally well (in psychiatric terms) should be held accountable for evil acts.
-Can't have it both ways-

P2. The same principle can be applied to your second premises. What if a person commits evil acts and they believe they're actually doing the wrong thing? Again, you can't have it both ways.

We are humans and whether we'd like to admit or not there is evil and good in all of us. One of the two sides in us may show when situations affects how we think and feel. For instance , Hitler had a hard life when he was growing up. He saw the rich , which were mostly jews and the german aristrocrats ,living the German dream, while he, a descendent of the arayan race, was barely making ends meet. His early life made him hate rich people and foreigners . When he ascended to the throne his evil side took control and the rest was history

PS ; Let,s assume Hitler didn't know that what he was doing was evil ( murdering millions of jews and responsible for the lives that were lost during WW2) then it's safe to say that he was either mentally retarted or he's in denial because it doesn't matter how he sees himself or how we try to make sense of his role in that war, the fact still remains , in our sane eyes and minds, he committed atrocities and genocide

some people have that certain gene or characteristic that's switched off in their brains....the emphathy switch...for lack of a better word.