The view of evil human nature is important in Chinese and western cultures. The thesis chooses evil human in St. Augustine’s thoughts and Hsun Tzu’s thoughts to compare and analyze evil in these two. St. Augustine, who is called “the Saint of God”, views the definition of evil, the resource of it, and salvations of it from the aspect of religious beliefs. He considers that evil is the privation...

the problem of evil, along with its three subdivisions (ethical, physical and metaphysical) is among the most challenging philosophical and theological problems. one of the most important answers which have been given to this problem from various philosophical and theological traditions from ancient times until today is to judge that evil is related to non-existence. it seems that on the basis ...

Evil is a concept that has fascinated and puzzled humankind for centuries. We confront evil on large scales, such as the Holocaust, on smaller scales, such as serial killers, and in day-to-day interactions that involve discrimination against or exploitation of others. During moments of reflection, we may even acknowledge the capacity for evil within ourselves. We are exposed daily to evil inten...

Session I 9:30 – 10:45 AM Andrew Miles: Roanoke College Department of Philosophy Good, Evil and Well-being: Sam Harris’ Scientific Approach to Ethics One of the most controversial debates in ethics is how to define Good and Evil. Do “good” actions necessarily adhere to commandments set by a God? Or are there many different, equally valid definitions based on cultural norms? Neuroscientist and a...

Throughout the ages man has recognized that there is in some way or ?ther an association between physical deformity and a twisted outlook on life. When the Greeks fought under die walls of Troy, the one chieftain whom Homer described as ill-tempered and of unbridled tongue, hateful to his colleagues, and especially to Achilles, was " Thersites, whose mind was full great store of evil words?evil...

The world has always been a dangerous place, and it remains so. There are different kinds of dangers, for there are different kinds of evils. Some of those evils are termed natural evils, some others, moral evils. Both of them are called evils for they cause death, sickness, devastation. Natural evil like death by old age is a common human lot. Other natural evils, like earthquakes or the pesti...

F or me, the word " evil " is somewhat of an abstraction. Having led a protected life, one of only a few occasions on which I have seen something resembling evil was when the Twin Towers fell on September 11th. Evil is the intent of harm and deliberate violation of basic moral and ethical codes. Evil is now woven into our culture, something that, in recent times, probably became more apparent (...

INTRODUCTION “[D]eath is different.” When used to punish, death taps society’s most primal urges. It is meant to be a deterrent for potential offenders, triggering in them the innate reflex for self-preservation. For society, it is meant to feed the primal desire for retribution. For these very reasons, it is often claimed that death is only reserved for the worst of the worst. However, in tryi...

Recently Richard Swinburne has argued that the well-known Free Will Defense can provide an explanation of God's permitting moral evil (i.e., evil intentionally brought about by human agents) only if there is also natural evil (i.e., evil not intentionally brought about by human agents). 1 Ultimately his argument aims to show that there must be natural evil if we are to have the knowledge we nee...