Are there really any necessary evils?

Question: Are there really any necessary evils!?

I mean like actually necessary, beyond just inconvenience if it wasn't there!.

I don't really mean evil in a theological sense or a "The only way to perceive something is good is to be able to compare it with something bad" sense, but more of a real-world-problem-type sense!. Like something that hurts people or causes panic or destruction!. Is there anything like that that has to exist to make the "good" parts of life possible!?

I kind of have my own ideas, but I'm just interested in what other people think!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

It seems to me, that almost everything that exists, and evey action that can be made, has both good and evil derivitaves of it!. They do not always seem equal, but very few things or acts can be 100% without evil (or 100% without good, for that matter!.)

So, yes, the must be necessary evils, for even numerous good things can have evil consequences!. I think that if the good outweighs the evil, though, we generally call it overall good, and vice versa!.

I'll try to give an example:

Your friend is drunk, and call you on his cell phone to give him a ride home, so he doesn't end up in the back seat of a police car, in a hopspital, or in a coffin!.

You get in your car, drive to the bar, pick him up, and drop him off at home!.

Good that comes from this:
Your friend is keeping the bartender employed!. Many people like keeping their jobs, so the bartender is happy!. also, because your friend thinks you are dependable (good), he knows he can have an extra few beers and still get home without having to drive intoxicated!. You driving your car employs the gas station clerk, who doesn't like his $8!.00/hr job, but couldn't find anything else close enough to home for the time being!. The pedestrains a few blockd from the bar don't die from your drunk friends intoxicated driving and slow reaction time, because he doesn't get behind the wheel!. And many, many more!.

Evils from this example:
Your friend used up his free time and money on getting drunk, rather than volunteering for the fire department to save a child that burned to death a few block from his house, or rather than donating his extra cash to a charity for the starving!. You made the decision to burn some fuel, and your frugal wife wasn't too pleased with that, what, with gas prices and all!. While you otherwise would have been reading your children a bedtime story, or helping them with their physics homework, you had to leave the house for a half an hour, lessening the time you have to spend with them!. (And numerous other possibilities)!.

I'm not sure, in philosophy, if all of these qualify as good or evil, or are just "pleasant things" vs!. inconveinces, though!. Definig "good" and "evil" seems to me, is much more complex than a dictionary definition!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

!.!.!.!.!.speeding tickets!?!.!.!.!.!.!.without them , would people drive the speed limit!.!.!.or would they speed and traffic deaths increase!?!.!.!.!.!.what about taxes!?!.!.!.!.if there were no taxes!.!.!.!.!.would our nation be able to defend itself properly!?!.!.!.!.!.would there be food programs for the poor or would they have to steal to survive!?!.!.!.!.!.!.!.how about utility bills!?!.!.!.!.!.!.lol!.!.!.I think most people would consider them to be a "necessary evil"!.!.!.!.!.!.if there were no utility bills!.!.!.!.would we have electricity for our computers and flat screens!?!.!.!.!.!.!.nice sewer systems to keep our neighborhoods clean and sanitary!?!.!.!.!.!.!.hot & cold running water!?!.!.!.!.!.!.!.or would we be force to live as a third world country or like civilizations of times past!?!.!.!.!.!.!.!.prisons a necessary evil!?!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.I won't even go there!.!.!.!.so I guess in my opinion!.!.!.!.!.!.!."privilege once given becomes a right"!.!.!.!.!.utiliites , public safety , social programs are a necessity!.!.!.!.!.!.not a convience that we could live without if someone decided to do away with the "necessary evil" that provides for them!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.kind of like the implements of war!.!.!.!.!.B2's , tanks, drones, bombs,missiles,and whatever that are "necessary evils"!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.to protect our freedom from REAL EVIL!.!.!.!.!.!.!.like Osama bin Laden!.!.!.!.!.!.a name that every schoolchild is familiar with!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes, even the archangels fought with a sword!. To restore light and peace!. In real life isn't it killing is an evil thing to do!? Isn't it a brave warrior has to do his job to protect!? But the nature of his job isn't the real nature of his heart!. It is about a honest or noble purpose that truly counts even from a worst deed!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

everything is binary!.!.!.how do you distinguish one thing without another to compare it against!.!.!. whatever you call it good must have an opposite to be recognized!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Maybe an evil deed to combat an evil deed could be necessary!.
The first evil may be the unjustified evil!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I consider food necessary and could be evil in the eyes of some peeps!.
Fat people might consider it evil - but I doubt it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

"Active Evil is better than Passive Good!."__WILLIAM BLAKE
Www@QuestionHome@Com

leashes
doctors
dog catchers
neutering
training classes
baths
flea collars
dog cologneWww@QuestionHome@Com

DeathWww@QuestionHome@Com

NONE!Www@QuestionHome@Com

no, there is no such thingWww@QuestionHome@Com