Secular Café: Evil and Atheism.

Secular Café Discuss philosophical concepts and moral issues.

Evil and Atheism. Jun 1st 2012, 08:04 Folks, For Christians, the word 'evil' has a specific meaning, fitting with a world view of 'the fall'. Evil is in the world, either as metaphysical evil (non human events such as plagues, floods) and human evil (human actions influenced or instigated by the devil and/or lesser demons). This simple narrative provides the Christian with a basis for recognising and dealing with evil as they see it. In the famous movie 'The Exorcist" the old priest (played by Max Von Siddow) has a line which must be memorable in the minds of believers who know the film. He is being told by a younger priest that he thinks the child is inhabited by several personalities, referring maybe to Freudian theory. The old priest says "There is only one." Watching the film, and having followed Regan's trip through the world of science, doctors and psychologists, we are finally shown the enemy in it's singularity. It is the Demon. The demon can present as legion, but it is only one. Whether we agree or disagree with religious dogma which drives the events in the film, we may at least allow that there is an elegant simplicity in the coming battle. For those of us who are not Christians or any kind of theists, the word 'evil' cannot stand on the definitive ground that the Christian uses. We are left with an idea of 'very bad' or 'unacceptable' which can immediately be assailed by moral relativists. 'Evil' for the Atheist is the alcohol free beer of our morality, lacking the essential ingredient of the word in the mouths of the theists. However, for some of us interested in moral philosophy there are times when we might want to use the word without dilution. We might want to say that Adolf Eichmann, Hienrich Himmler, Josef Mengele and others were evil in their intentions, their actions, and in their very bones. This is not because we want to parse their theories and actions in logic, but because we feel the presence of evil in and around them. For some of us, intellectuals or not, we simply feel it. Our reaction is not reasonable, but emotional, and in my view sometimes feeling can be the more truthful arbiter, and 'evil' is the only word to be used. Whether such men were born evil, became evil or rationalised themselves into evil acts is a moot point here. The only point is that evil is present, and that we feel it. Imagine what the world would be like if we didn't? Alex.

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