So it's no one's fault that they're evil, it's the world's fault for making them evil? Evil people shouldn't be held accountable for their evil actions because they were, at one time, innocent?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

http://amirite.net/743397 Your stance on the post is related to this one. If people have free will, then they should be held accountable for their actions. If not, then we simply pity them and move them out of everybody else's way

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Just because our actions have causes doesn't mean we don't have free will.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

but if all our actions are caused 100% by external factors, then we don't have free will. the question is, are our decisions eventually traced back entirely to external factors. if you disagree, i'd appreciate your argument about whether this is true or not

by Anonymous 11 years ago

External factors influence our thoughts, not actions. I don't care what someone //thinks// is acceptable to do; if I don't deem it acceptable and they're aware of the consequences, then they should receive them. Bottom line is each person is responsible for their own actions because they always have a choice, no matter what they think is the proper thing to do.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

but if external factors control our thoughts, and if our thoughts control our actions, then wouldn't external factors control our thoughts? the question is, what IS free will? if it's a genetic pattern of how we decide things, then its something we're born with, we don't have an impact on it. if it's random, then we don't have impact on probability either

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Our brains process information and the way they do that causes our thoughts, which validate our feelings, which cause our actions. So it all boils down to how your brain processes this information and how you //choose// to react.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

so is how your brain processes information a trait you're born with? because then it's genetic and you have no control over it. Is it something that's random? because then you have no control because it's probability. Is it the same for everybody? because then we'd be like robots without actual control over ourselves. Is it dependent on our experiences? because then it's an external factor again

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Alright, let's say you're right on that front. I don't think you are, but this argument is getting stale. If punishing people for their actions is wrong, so what? What action do you take in response to that revelation? We can't stop punishing people because then everyone would do whatever they want.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

well, we should punish people to teach them not to commit crime and to change their behavior, and to provide consolation for those who their crimes have harmed. punishment is still important. it's just that all criminals were once just as innocent as we were at some point, and we can't blame them for what they undeservingly went through to give them different morals. if it gets to the point where they are deemed a menace to society and sentenced to life in prison, then the only purpose of that is to keep them away from the world, and for provide consolation. we still have morals, but punishment is simply used to guide people back when they stray from them

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Evil is merely perspective, nobody has the right to determine the length of someone else's life based on it.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

we have the right to save people's lives by ending others'

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Hitler believed he was saving the world by killing off Jews, crippled, handicapped, and other ethnicities, to make the perfect race. Does that mean it was justified? We view it as evil, he viewed it as the morally correct path.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

yet some people have better judgement than others. we just have to make sure we do it with true intentions, and reevaluate our morals periodically through a non-biased medium

by Anonymous 11 years ago

So it all comes down to the human element, but who decides what the right judgement is? Would something be a good judgement just because the majority agrees with it? Or simply because they're on 'our side' of the debate. It's impossible to have an impartial judge on such things because impartiality doesn't exist in society.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

You're right, but if somebody is less biased than someone else, they make more rational decisions, and can be far more fit to determine whether they should and would save many lives by ending one, or more, as was the case in WWII. Hitler was heavily biased, but those who opposed him may have been biased as well (like Stalin was), but other leaders were less biased and actually opposed him for the right reasons

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Every leader during that time was biased towards the own well being of their country. Just because some had extreme views doesn't mean they were more biased in that regard to other leaders. Which brings me back to my previous point, nobody is impartial. Even if you had one man who decided that the killing of someone had more benifits than disadvantages it would be based on their own viewpoint and their own biases no matter how unattached from the situation they were.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

and yet, if they are saving more lives than will be lost by not taking action-and there are situations where this is very clearly the case (like WWII and stopping Hitler)-then they are doing the world a favor. there ARE times when taking lives will save far more lives, and in those instances i believe it is justified

by Anonymous 11 years ago

...Evil Baby Orphanage?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

How would one prove that murdering a person now would be better for humanity in the long run? Interesting concept; not sure if I agree or disagree with this post.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

it's true, there's no clear or finite line, which means this is only a sure method of thinking at times when it's obviously a better gamble to murder. no matter what, this method will always be a gamble, which means we need to be very careful and responsible with such a way of thinking

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Too true. It's definitely something that's fascinating to think about. Suggested for POTD.

by Anonymous 11 years ago