Quote:
Originally Posted by Trollheart
Humans are the only ones who can consciously decide to be evil, so it's I think unfair to equate our freedom of choice with the natural instincts of an animal, who does what it has to survive and endure.
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Evil is a human concept that we define. If you want to, you can extend it to explain non-human animal behaviour. I actually wouldn't, but then I also don't believe evil is real. It's just a way of saying something is bad without being specific as to the whys. Generally, we are able to be specific to the whys so "evil" is mostly appropriate for comic book villains and the like. Satan is evil. He also doesn't exist.
Humans are instinctively selfish, just like other animals. If a serial killer kills for sexual gratification, that for me is an example of extreme selfishness. If you keep eating meat despite a conviction that the world would be a slightly better place If you became a vegetarian, then that, to me, is also an example of selfishness. Being stingy about the price of clothes when you know textile workers suffer is selfish.
Democracies work for people because they let most people get what they want in a way that seems reasonably fair. But it also gives our selfishness a lot of freedom, f ex. to make choices that are good for our own comfort, but that will add to the suffering of other people or future generations.