Save Our Species – S.O.S.

There seems to be a movement in the blog community to talk about good and evil at the moment. I’m not sure what’s driving this urge, possibly the approach of Halloween or maybe something deeper? Whatever the motive, I have decided to take the opportunity contribute to the discussion.

After thinking deeply on the subject of evil, I notice the following:-

• It requires human beings to observe and judge evil into existence.
• Only human beings can commit an evil act.
• When humanity becomes extinct, evil will vanish from the universe with us.

The terms good and evil arise from the dualistic way in which we view the universe. In reality there is only action followed by consequence. A spider eats an ant, a dolphin gets washed up on a beach, a forest is destroyed by natural fire an infant is born and a new star is created. Without human beings to observe these actions and pass judgment, declaring them as either good or evil they are neither good nor evil. They just are what they are and there is only natural consequence following on from the action.

The judgment as to whether something is good or evil is pretty flexible too, which is not an attribute of something that is real. Judgment is influenced by many factors including personal & cultural values, historical influences and environmental factors. What is considered to be evil here and now may not be considered so in another time or another place.

Sin is geographical — Bertrand Russell

Sin is temporal — Visionary

If a tiger kills a child in the woods, it would be a tragic event but no one would ever dream of calling the tiger evil. It’s just a natural consequence of walking in woods where tigers live. If however, another human being killed a child in the woods there would in all probability be a majority consensus that it was an act of evil perpetrated by a monster. Swiftly followed by demands for punishment and retribution against ‘a’ perpetrator.

Since the outcome of both scenarios is the same a child is dead, the act of killing a child cannot be inherently evil. Why then do we see the death of a child at the hands of another human being as evil but at the claws of a tiger tragic?

It comes down to consciousness and choice. We know that the tiger has no choice over its actions. It isn’t conscious of what it does, its only following instincts to hunt, kill and eat. It’s simply doing what nature designed and programmed it to do through its DNA coding. It’s being a tiger!

Human beings on the other hand are different. Since Adam & Eve kindly ate from the tree of knowledge on behalf of the species, we have been uniquely self-aware. We were granted consciousness and with it came choice. We are no longer slaves to our instincts like the tiger; we have freedom to choose what we will do. However, freedom to choose brings responsibility and whilst we might appreciate a little bit of choice, not many of us are ready for responsibility yet.

Dan Millman defines choice as – “Giving up something for something else that we want more”. Personally, I can’t think of a better definition, but what if we don’t want to give anything up? What if we just don’t fancy ticking any of the boxes above? Consciousness was a one-way trip though, there’s no going back, no way around our responsibility. There is no choice not to choose. Even refusing to choose is a conscious choice for which we must take responsibility.

If evil exists at all, it exists as the label we give to conscious choice made selfishly without regard for the burden of responsibility we have to those with whom we share the planet. It’s up to us all to make conscious choice at all times in full knowledge and acceptance of the responsibility that choice brings. If we try to ignore the responsibility of our choices we allow evil into the universe.

Related articles

• The Human Factor by enreal
• The Shadow of Human Nature by cordieb
• For sinners, pressure is off