A
Reference Manual & User's Guide
(by: Ivan Q. 2016)
(Rev. 2.1)
SECTION I (About Evil)
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 DEFINITION OF EVIL
1.3 EVIL GENERATORS
(EGs)
1.3.1 GREED
(AVARICE)
1.3.2 LUST
1.3.3 ARROGANCE
(VANITY)
1.3.4 DELUSION
1.3.5 HATE
1.3.6 ANGER
1.3.7 IGNORANCE
1.3.8 RAGE
1.3.9 ENVY
1.3.10 ADDICTION
1.3.11 ABUSE
1.3.12 SELFISHNESS
1.3.13 DISHONESTY
1.3.14 FEAR
1.3.15 BIGOTRY
1.3.16 RACISM
1.4 TYPES OF EVIL ACTS
1.4.1 MALICIOUS
EVILS
1.4.2
ACCIDENTAL EVILS
1.4.3
NECESSARY EVILS
1.5 EVIL CHAIN
REACTIONS
1.6 IMPORTANCE
OF AVOIDING EVIL
1.7
CONSEQUENCES OF DOING EVIL
SECTION
II (Divine Goodness)
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO
SECTION II
2.2 GOODNESS GENERATORS
(GGs)
2.2.1 PATIENCE
2.2.2 TOLERANCE
2.2.3 FORGIVENESS
2.2.4 ALTRUISM
2.2.5 GENEROSITY
2.2.6 HONESTY
2.2.7 LOVE
2.2.8 EMPATHY
2.2.9 SYMPATHY
2.1.10 COMPASSION
2.2.11
UNDERSTANDING
2.2.12 GRATITUDE
2.2.13 SERENITY
2.2.14 COURAGE
2.2.15 WISDOM
2.3 THE IMPORTANCE AND REWARDS OF
DOING GOOD
SECTION
I (About Evil)
Having an
Engineering background, it is easier for me to treat this
subject in a scientific manner, using a combination of
logical reasoning, common sense and some mystic or
divine inspiration. I do acknowledge that normally
this subject is in the realm of Philosophy or Theology, and
not Engineering. However, I believe that a College degree in
Philosophy is not a requirement for anyone to philosophize
about Good and Evil. And, in my
opinion, religions don't seem to have done a good job at
providing us with a reference manual (or book) that clearly
defines (in a few pages) the evilness or divinity of certain
human behavior. I believe
that such a book should be brief, logical, and reasonable.
There is no need to fill the book with unbelievable and
unverifiable tales that defies the laws of physics, such as
flying horses, persons moving mountains, talking burning
bushes, large masses of water being manipulated by magic or
telekinesis, etc. Such unbelievable and unverifiable tales,
are not necessary to define or discuss good and evil.
This
manual, if understood by the reader, should help the reader
decide if an act, that he or she might be tempted to commit,
is evil and might have evil consequences. Also, by becoming
aware of the evil generators, the reader might be able to
avoid the emotions or states of mind that can motivate
humans into doing evil acts.
I
am not preaching any religion, nor the moral ideas of any
culture in particular.
I
believe that humanity and nature will benefit if more people
could have a better understanding of good and evil, and if
they are able (on their own) to determine if something they
are about to do is good or evil, independent of any religion
or cult they might practice, believe, or have been
indoctrinated into.
The
way I treat the subject of good and evil, is different from
the way some religions deal with it. The main difference is
that some religions assume that you are not very
intelligent and they would like you to "not think", and just
do what they tell you to do, or not do what they tell you
not to do. I, on the other hand, "expect you to think" about
the motives and consequences
of any act that you might commit. Because the "evilness" or
"goodness" of most acts, depends on the motives and
consequences more than on the act itself. Most religions try
to define specific acts as good or evil, without considering
the motives or consequences. For example, most religions
believe that killing is wrong. However, they kill and/or
torture individuals for political reasons, or to maintain
their political power. They even justify the killing of
innocent women and children, of their own religion, as
collateral damage, when they explode bombs in public places.
Some religions fear science, because science shows us the
truth and makes us less gullible, and less likely to believe
the physically impossible and mythical stories told in their
religious texts. Some religious leaders are more interested
in power and money, than in teaching about good and evil.
There
will be times in your life when you will have to decide if
something you are about to do is good or evil. I hope that
after reading this manual you will be better able to make
decisions regarding good and evil.
If
you are insensitive and can not “feel” the evil of an act or
emotion, or if you do not believe in God, The Force, or some
other deity. That does not mean that there is no evil. If I
define evil as something, and that something exist, then
evil exist by definition, irregardless of the existence or
nonexistence of God or any other deity. Even pure
materialist, non spiritualist and existentialist should
understand the importance of knowing about good and evil. Of
course, there are always exceptions. Sadistic psychopaths
(and sociopaths) don't worry too much about good and evil.
I believe that if the Divine Force
where to give us a single commandment to obey, it would be:
"Thou shall not do evil". However, that would require
us to know what evil is, and how to avoid it. And that is
what I intent to do in this manual.
A
definition of evil is essential to be able to communicate
any ideas or principles regarding evil. You can look up the
dictionary definitions, if you desire. However, I believe
those definitions are too simple and biased by our culture
and religion. Let me define evil from a Universal
frame of reference and Nature's frame of reference and not
just as a human morality or ethical issue. Also, notice
that I differentiate between the evil that is done
and the evil that is felt.
An "Evil
Act", as defined and used in this manual, is
something that is “done” (executed) by an intelligent
life form, and causes the physical and/or emotional
harm and/or suffering of another intelligent life
form. The life
form can be any animal that has a brain and therefore is
capable of feeling pain and suffering. And if the life form is human,
then "financial harm" must also be consider, since
financial harm can cause emotional suffering.
An "Evil Emotion"
is a strong feeling or state of mind that tempt us,
or motivates us, to commit an evil act. Some examples of such evil
emotions (or states of mind) are; hate, anger, lust,
delusion, and ignorance. These evil emotions can be
considered Evil Generators.
Good is usually considered to be the opposite of evil. However, good is also
considered to be the opposite of bad. And evil, as I just
defined it, is not the same as bad. Also, good and bad can be used
to describe the quality of an object. Such as a “bad pen”
if that pen does not always write (skips) or if the pen
leaks ink. Or we might say “It's a good knife”, if the knife
is sharp, cuts well, it's easy to clean, etc. But there is
no such thing as an “evil knife”. A knife or a gun can be
used to commit an evil act, but they can also be used to
commit a good act (or
a necessary evil).
Therefore, we must never label or consider
inanimate objects as
evil.
There are certain human qualities, emotions, state of mind, or behavior that can become catalysts or motivators of evil acts or evil chain reactions. These evil chain reactions usually cause or "generate" more evil emotions and/or evil acts. I call these evil emotions or states of mind, "Evil Generators" (EGs).
Some
religions have different names for these EGs, they call them
"Roots of Evil", or "Poisons", or "Deadly Sins". For example, in
one branch of Buddhism they call them the Five Poisons:
Ignorance, Attachment (Desire), Aversion (Anger/Hate), Pride
(Arrogance), and Envy. In Christianity they call them the Seven
Deadly Sins: Lust, Greed (Avarice), Gluttony, Wrath (Rage),
Envy, Pride, Sloth.
I don't quite agree with the groupings selected by Christianity
or Buddhism. Instead, I am defining fifteen "main" Evil
Generators. Roots of Evil would be a more "poetic" name, but I
prefer to use the more "descriptive" name of generators,
since they can generate other evil emotions or evil acts.
The EGs I
describe in this manual are: greed, lust, arrogance, delusion,
hate, anger, ignorance, rage, envy, addiction, abuse,
selfishness, dishonesty, bigotry, and racism. However, these are
not the only ones that exist. But they are, in my opinion, the
ones that generate the most evil. And I am including fear,
although fear is not really an EG, but it can be a trigger to a
few EGs.
Because these evil generators are emotions that we feel (generate in our minds), we should be able to control and/or manage them, so that they will not lead us to commit an evil act.
1.3.1 GREED (AVARICE)
Greed and avarice are insatiable
and excessive desire to acquire a lot more material wealth than
we need or deserve. We could also say that greed is a lust
for wealth.
1.3.2 LUST
I define lust as an excessive, or very
strong desire, for something that we believe will give us
pleasure or make us happy (such as sex, power, or narcotics),
ignoring the virtues of moderation and self control. In fact, we
can say that addicts have a lust for whatever substance or habit
they are addicted to. And gluttony can be described as
an uncontrollable lust or craving for food, leading to substance
abuse.
1.3.3 ARROGANCE (VANITY)
Arrogance and vanity are excessive
pride without humility. It is when love or likeness for
one's self is perverted into hate for others. The church
considers pride a deadly sin. I do not consider pride an EG. I
believe that there is nothing wrong with being proud about our
behavior and/or accomplishments in school, at work, or in
sports. Nor is it wrong to be proud of the accomplishment of a
friend or family member. But we should not let our pride turn
into vanity or arrogance.
1.3.4 DELUSION
A delusion is an erroneous (or false) belief
that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Notice that the Catholic church does
not include delusion or ignorance in the "deadly sins". That is
probably because history has proven that they sometimes choose
delusion and ignorance over science and the truth. Example of
this: Galileo, Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Darwin.
1.3.5 HATE
Hate is defined as the emotion
of intense dislike or ill will toward a person or thing.
Sometimes, avoiding persons or things we dislike, we are able to
inhibit the formation of hate. We should not escalate a dislike
into hate, since hate can generate anger or rage, and that can
lead to violence.
1.3.6
ANGER
It seems that animals (thru evolution (or divine design)) have
developed anger as a defense mechanism, it
prepares their brain, cardiovascular system and muscles, for a
quick escape or to confront a predator that might want to eat
them. However, "civilized homo sapiens" (that's us) rarely
need this mechanism and should reserve it for those rare
instances when intelligence and civilized behavior fails us. We
should learn to manage or control our anger so that it does not
turn into rage.
1.3.8 RAGE
Rage is defined as a feeling of intense or
extreme anger. This emotion and state of mind, increases
the levels of certain chemicals and hormones in our brain and
blood, such as cortisol, epinephrine, estrogen, testosterone,
serotonin and dopamine. Some of these chemicals are addictive
and detrimental to our well being in high levels. So we can
assume that people who get angry frequently, have become
addicted to some of these chemicals (such as dopamine, that is
also released when we use some narcotics such as cocaine). In
the emotional state of rage, we are more likely to follow animal
instincts instead of logic and reasoning. Therefore, rage can
lead to unreasonable and illogical violence (evil acts).
1.3.9 ENVY
Envy is a feeling of grudging admiration, spite,
and resentment towards someone who has some material
possessions, fame, or success, that we might like to have. Jealousy
is a form of envy, usually a resentful suspicion and envy
triggered by rivalry or suspected romantic misbehavior. Jealousy
can trigger other EGs, such as anger or rage.
1.3.10 ADDICTION
Addiction is an abnormally strong craving.
Addictions can be psychological and/or physical. The most common
addictions (and usually the most harmful) are caused by
narcotics such as nicotine, alcohol, opiates (heroin, morphine),
cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, etc. However, any chemical
or habit that makes us feel good, or changes our state of mind,
can be addictive. Addiction to narcotics can lead to substance
abuse, and substance abuse can kill (via over dose), or cause
serious health and/or mental problems. Addiction to
non-narcotics like sugar, high fructose corn syrup and saturated
fats, can also lead to substance abuse and create obesity and/or
diabetes and/or cardiovascular problems.
1.3.11 ABUSE
Abuse is when we do or use
something wrongly, improperly, or
excessively. Personal abuse can be physical or
verbal, toward one or more persons (or animals). Verbal abuse
does not cause physical harm. However it can cause emotional
and/or psychological harm. Abuse is usually triggered by one of
the other EGs such as lust, hate, rage, ignorance,
or addiction. Substance abuse is usually self
inflicted. However, if the substance being abused is a narcotic
(legal or illegal) that usually decreases the mental abilities
of the abuser, then the abuser will be more vulnerable
to the other EGs. The christian deadly sin of gluttony is a form
of substance abuse, where the substance happens to be food.
1.3.12
SELFISHNESS
Selfishness is a form of stinginess resulting
from a concern for your own welfare and a disregard for the
welfare of others. This seems similar to greed, but it's
not the same. In fact, some greedy tycoons are philanthropists,
and therefore not selfish, just greedy. A good example of evil
caused by a combination of selfishness and greed has being made
recently by some pharmaceutical companies. They have
been making "Portfolio Management Decisions" out of greed
and selfishness, ignoring the suffering that their decisions
will cause in the near and far future, and ignoring (or not
being aware) that some of those who will suffer could be some of
their family members, or themselves.
1.3.13 DISHONESTY
Dishonesty can be generated by greed, selfishness,
ignorance, lust, or other EGs. However, dishonesty can in turn
generate a lot of different evils such as: infidelity, deceit,
treachery, crookedness, corruption, cheating, stealing, lying,
fraud, perjury, treason, deception, hypocrisy, etc. Dishonest
persons can not be trusted.
1.3.14 FEAR
Fear is not necessarily an evil emotion. In fact,
fear can sometimes provide a warning or defense mechanism. Fear
of something dangerous can sometimes prevent evil (and harmful)
things from happening. However, fear of the unknown or things we
don't understand can trigger an EG such as delusion, ignorance,
or hate. Fear can sometimes escalate into panic, and panic can
lead to irrational behavior.
1.3.15 BIGOTRY
Bigotry is the intolerance, of a prejudice person,
to accept or consider any opinion that is different from his
own. Bigotry can turn a friendly argument, or discussion, into a
quarrel.
1.3.16
RACISM
Racism is the prejudice of member of one race, who
believe that they are superior to members of a different race.
Racism can be a trigger for other EGs, such as hate.
I classify evils acts as three main types;
Malicious Evils, Accidental
Evils, and Necessary Evils.
1.4.1
MALICIOUS EVILS
When an evil act is done with malice, I call
it a malicious evil. This is the worst type
of evil act. It is the type of act that has no reasonable
justification. Some of the motivators or catalyst to such
acts are usually one or more of the EGs. They can be
considered minor if they cause only minor emotional harm,
such as lying on purpose, knowing that it will hurt someone
emotionally. Or more serious, such as malicious physical or
verbal abuse. Or they could be major evil events such as
premeditated murder, violent rapes, physical torture, or
setting an innocent person or animal on fire.
1.4.2 ACCIDENTAL EVILS
I define accidental evils as events where a
human (or animal) was hurt or killed because of an
accident, but that accident could have been prevented
if the person who caused the accident had not been negligent
due to one or more of the EGs (i.e. ignorance, delusion,
greed, substance abuse).
For example: If you do NOT know that your
driving abilities are impaired by alcohol or cell phone
texting, you are being delusional and ignorant. Therefore,
if you drive while under the influence of alcohol, or while
texting, and then get into an accident where someone gets
hurt. You have committed an accidental evil (motivated by
two of the EGs; delusion and ignorance).
There are accidents where there is NO evil
involved. Such as those caused by mechanical failures,
material defects, weather conditions, etc. However, if the
mechanical failure was caused by a defect hidden by the
"greed" of the manufacturer, then the manufacturer is guilty
of an accidental evil.
1.4.3 NECESSARY EVILS
I define necessary evils as those evil acts
committed in order to prevent a "greater evil" from
happening. This is the most difficult evil to understand,
because sometimes what seems like a necessary evil is
actually an unnecessary evil. Again, some examples are
possibly the best way to clarify the issue.
Self defense is a necessary evil. When we are
physically attacked, we are justified in hurting the
attacker, because survival is an animal instinct and a legal
right. However, we should show restrain, if possible, by not
using excessive force.
War is considered, by some, as a necessary
evil. However, I think that is not always true. I see some
wars as necessary evils and justified, but not all wars are
necessary. As always, we have to consider the motives
and consequences before we can judge the evilness of
a particular war. Within wars, in all the armies, there are
always certain evil individuals who see it as an opportunity
to do evil things (rape, murder by friendly fire,
unnecessary torture, profiteering, etc). And there are some
individuals (heroes) who see it as an opportunity to do
heroic things and save or protect the life of others. Some
see war as a way to reduce the population (thinning the
herd). And some see war as a money making opportunity
(fueled by the EGs of greed and selfishness). If a war is
caused by one of the EGs, then it is probably a malicious
evil, and not a necessary evil.
Another good example is the killing of animals. If we do it
for our survival, or to end the suffering of an injured
animal that we can not cure, or if we do it to thin an over
populated herd, then it's a necessary evil and can be
justified. However, if the killing is motivated by one of
the EGs (i.e. The vanity or selfishness of a hunter, or the
greed of a poacher) then it is NOT a necessary evil,
instead it is a malicious evil.
1.5 EVIL CHAIN REACTIONS
Evil chain reactions occur when someone, motivated by one of
the EGs, affects the emotions or state of mind of another
person, motivating them to become more likely to commit an
evil act, or become the catalyst or motivator for the evil
act of someone else.
For example: We might become frustrated when
trying to communicate with someone that we believe is being
ignorant, stubborn or delusional. That frustration might
irritate or anger us, these feelings can sometime create
aggression or hate, if not toward the person frustrating us,
then toward someone else later (displaced aggression). This
aggression can take the form of verbal or physical abuse (an
evil act). In the case of displaced aggression, the verbal
(or physical) abuse could happen much later, against someone
that had nothing to do with the cause of the frustration or
anger, an innocent person that we love (or at least not
hate).
So it seems that evil feelings and emotions
can act as catalysts to generate or maintain sequences of
events or emotions that eventually can terminate in an evil
act. The above example can be "equated" the following way
(using the arrow symbol (--->) to indicate "yield" or
"generates"):
Delusion, Ignorance, or lack of
patience ---> frustration ---> anger or hate --->
aggression ---> physical or verbal abuse.
Examples of other possible evil chain
reactions, or sequences:
Lust ---> Infidelity (or
adultery) ---> Conflict ---> Possible violence and/or
divorce.
Lust ---> Seduction of a minor, or sexual
assault, or rape.
Ignorance/Delusion ---> Drunk driving
---> Vehicular manslaughter.
Ignorance/Delusion ---> Smoking --->
Cancer, Emphysema, other health problems.
Addiction/Ignorance/Delusion ---> Substance
abuse ---> Health and financial problems.
Arrogance/Vanity ---> Racism ---> Hate
---> Verbal or physical abuse ---> Violence.
Envy ---> Hate ---> Verbal abuse.
Greed ---> Fraud/Racketeering.
Greed ---> Corporate raiding, Tax evasion.
Delusion/Ignorance ---> Fear ---> Hate or
Rage ---> Aggression.
Greed ---> Instigating wars or conflicts for
personal gain.
Arrogance/Ignorance ---> Unjust
discrimination.
Substance Abuse ---> Gluttony --->
Obesity ---> Health problems.
Greed ---> Violations of the Hippocratic
Oath.
Greed ---> Manufacturing drugs that treat
symptoms, but do not cure, when cures are known and
available.
Delusion ---> Religious intolerance of
science ---> Ignorance ---> Persecution and/or unjust
punishment.
Greed ---> Selfishness ---> Financial
abuse (by businessmen or government).
Ignorance/Delusion ---> Misinterpretation of
religious texts ---> Violence against innocent victims.
I could go on and on, but I don't believe it
is necessary. These are plenty of examples of how the EGs
can create an evil escalation (sequence of events
that can terminate in evil acts that can cause harm and
suffering). These are very simple equated examples, in
reality, evil chain reactions can involve dozen of steps
involving many individuals, and can branch into several
independent chains of events.
Sometimes we can stop these reactions from
taking place by controlling some of our evil emotions or
evil feelings. That is why through evolution (or divine
design) we have developed empathy, compassion,
understanding, tolerance, patience, and other divine
emotions that help us to counteract the evil ones. I explain
the divine emotions in Section II of this manual.
1.6
IMPORTANCE OF AVOIDING EVIL
No one can prove the existence of Heaven or
Hell. But we can make this world resemble our idea of heaven
if we decrease evil acts. Or we can make this world resemble
hell if we increase evil acts. So don't put the burden on
God. It is up to us to reduce or eliminate
evil. That is why I believe that it is so important that we
understand evil and try to avoid it. There are no demons or
angels with wings that will come to hurt or protect us. We
are the angels and the demons of the real world.
It's not that complicated. Example: "If no one
ever steals, then nothing will ever be stolen from you or
anyone else". That statement is logically true and valid.
However, if you are homeless and hungry, and you steal some
food, I will not blame you. In fact I will not consider that
an evil act, just an act of survival. However, if you are
economically well (or perhaps even rich) and you steal (out
of greed, or to support an addiction you can not afford),
even if you did not break any law because you did it trough
improper stock manipulations or corporate raiding, "you are
doing evil".
1.7
CONSEQUENCES OF DOING EVIL
When an evil sequence of events (or evil chain reaction) is started, we don't know where or how it will end. Since sometime they can branch or act as catalyst for new chain reactions. Eventually it might end up hurting us or someone we love. And we usually don't understand why this evil thing occurred to us or our beloved. Therefore, when we avoid the propagation of evil, we benefit everyone, including us and those we love.
I can not prove the existence of karma, or any
supernatural force that will punish you (here or in your
next life, if there is a next life) for doing evil. But most
evil acts are illegal, and if you are caught, you
will probably be punished. But if you think that it is OK to
do evil as long as you don't get caught, or as long as it is
not illegal. Then when evil is done to you or someone you
love, know that it was probably done by someone that thinks
like you.
I believe that doing evil affects our state of
mind in a "negative" or detrimental way, and perhaps our
heath is also affected in a negative way. Persons, who are
not psychopaths, usually develop feelings of guilt when they
do something evil. Such feelings of guilt may increase over
time and become detrimental to the mental health of that
individual, and interfere with his (or her) ability to
pursued happiness. Also, it is a logical fact that the less
evil that all of us do, the less probable that evil will be
done to any of us.
I also believe that the more evil acts a person commits, the
more evil he (or she) becomes. And the more vulnerable he
(or she) becomes to the EGs. Eventually they might reach the
state of mind where they actually enjoy doing evil acts and
feeling evil emotions. In such a state of mind, I believe
they will loose the ability to feel some of the divine
emotions (such as love, joy, empathy, compassion, peace).
They loose their imagination. And their ability to enjoy
music, art, movies, creating or building something, can be
very reduced or eliminated. This is a slow process (years or
decades), so they are rarely aware of it. If we ask them
about it, they try to justify it by saying things like
"...Well, I know they are actors playing a role, and that
situation did not really happened, so I don't find it funny,
or exiting". Well, we know that too, but because of our
empathy and imagination, we feel the excitement, or the joy,
or the fun, or the sadness felt by the characters in a movie
or a written story.
SECTION
II (Divine Goodness)
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO
SECTION II
Divine goodness is
the opposite of evil. An
act of divine goodness is when we prevent (or stop) the
physical or emotional harm of a human or animal. Or when
we provide security, protection, or comfort (physical or
emotional) for a human or
animal. If such an act is at the risk of our own
security or comfort (physical, emotional, or financial),
then it is even more divine. When we use Goodness Generators
(GG) to prevent an evil act, or to inhibit an Evil Generator
(EG), then we are generating divine goodness.