[Darwyn43]

That's an interesting way of putting it. I think evil is ambivalent, but then again, good is morally grey itself, in that it often justifies short-term evils for long-term goods.

First of all, you have to consider the feeling from the reality. From this perspective, evolution has created the ability to think self-reflectively which has made us all of us feel we have a right to life and dignity and so on. So in that sense, the universe is cruel for making us, her agents, aware of the pain of being sacrificed. In that sense, evil hurts like a son of a b***h whether it's you or me or Adolf Hitler on the recieving end.

But as far as actual good and evil beyond mere pain, if you accept the premise that nature is a directional process toward balanced systems of cooperation and competition, first creating the cell, then the organism, then the social system -- than threatening the system is evil. Killing citizens, stealing money, etc. all are against nature's plan which is reflected in our moral codes. But then, sometimes the cooperative system, while it's evolving, doesn't extend it's benefit to everyone equally and may seem like IT is acting evil toward YOU, which in a vacuum of perspective, education, support and so on, may justify parasitic behavior in someone's experience. In that case, even the criminal him or herself, perpetrator of evil, was created by the evolutionary process and the system's inability, not having finished it's evolution, to provide equality, security, education, perspective, balance or what have you, equally to everyone. In the mean time, we act cruelly to criminals because we need to clear obstacles to the greater good, but by calling what we are doing just or good, we ignore that they too were created by the process and our treatment of them is merely a short-term evil justified by a long-term good.

Just to be clear on where I stand on evil is good, I give a resounding "I don't like it -- but kind of."