Analyzing Evil
2025-11-04
So I've been doing things here and there today, mostly just doing chores and other household things. This afternoon though, I've finally come up with something for today: I wanted to expand on this because I told y'all I would.
Yes, humanity is depraved and evil by nature. I believe that we are evil first, but have the choice to do good things. We will never become truly 'good' in the Platonic sense because this ideal is fundamentally incompatible with human nature. To me, love is something that comes from overcoming our nature and is not intrinsically a facet of it. This tracks with ancient wisdom, such as when Christ talks about walking the 'narrow path', as it were. Doing good things is hard; that's why they're good. Being evil is easy because that's more in line with human nature.
I think most people are too ashamed to talk about how evil they really are since shame is a learned behavior. Shame is the engine that drives order and that's why it's so much easier to shame others than to feel ashamed ourselves. We intrinsically know how capable we are of distributing shame onto others, and the fear of being shamed by them is what keeps us in line. Getting arrested is shameful. Getting cast out is shameful. Getting called out is shameful. We know that it is so easy to get shamed by others, so we feel less compelled to do what's good.
But also, the good thing is not synonymous with the right thing; that is a common misconception in modern language. To be good is to do something beneficial to someone else, typically at one's own expense. To be right is to do something that is not always beneficial to someone else, and not always at one's own expense, but because it's in line with how things ought to be. The good is something we want, but the right is something that should be—that's what the institutions typically miss.
In line with my previously referenced post, what is the way we solve the problem of collective oppression? The thing is that most people don't know what's going on with the world, with life, or whatever else. To have someone around telling them what to do is not typically oppression, but a twisted sense of security. The cost of that security is resources, influence, and power. People are afraid of the unknown, and as such are willing to give away a certain degree of their autonomy and power so that they can receive security.
This is of course the basis of the social contract, but as Hobbes famously put it: power is always in the hands of the governed. We see this in strikes, walkouts, or other acts of civil disobedience. No matter what we give to those who oppress us, we have the chance to take it away at any time. The only thing that's stopping us is our fear of that unknown. So how do we get over the fear of that unknown? The answer is faith.
To me, a good life is done with three simple rules and can be achieved regardless of whatever institution leads the world. Whether it be a totalitarian regime or an absolute utopia, always do these three things:
- Have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God
- Ask for mercy from Him every day
- Do the right thing, especially when it's hard
Doing these things is difficult and isn't a simple escape hatch for the fear of the unknown. Faith isn't in opposition to fear, but acts as a transformation of it. The doubt that we feel about everything is part of faith itself. We feel unsure because there is no certainty, no thing that can be truly known. It's okay for us to be wrong and to be evil and to be afraid because through these tribulations we will become transformed into something far more graceful.
It's easier said than done, surely, but the narrow path is still in front of us.