What is the Root of all evil?

[austintorn@aol.com]

The surprise thought of will as the cause of evil just popped into my head, so it's certainly not free will, for who can will what does the willing?

However, it was "willed" in the sense of it being on my mind. Sort of like telling your brain to work on figuring something out—and hoping that it will get back to you…

The more we learn, the more the will comes up with creative ideas, although still "out of the blue", whether we tell the brain to work on it or not.

The root cause of all things is existence: matter.

Free will or free won't has come to mean for many that we are "free" to choose based on what we have amounted to from learning, genetics, etc.

[Tina]

The root cause of all things is existence: matter.

Free will or free won't has come to mean for many that we are "free" to choose based on what we have amounted to from learning, genetics, etc.

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Austintorn please read my response to Profpat below:
[quote=Profpat;35291]

First you have to define what evil is.

Before we ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, there was no evil, no good either, just life.

According to Rousseau it was knowledge that corrupted.

And so my guess is KNOWLEDGE.
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When we consider "evil" subjectively it is arbitrary - our "evil" varies from person to person - I can name an "evil" that you would call "good". Some subjective evil has majority consensis - but it still is subjective and not even necessarily an evil.

But "evil: objectively is anything that defaces life.
It is only the human who can deface life - all other things are life that can be only what it is according to nature.

You say "evil" arose in the context of Tree of Knowledge good and bad - but you must realize that the act eating the fruit in the first place was "evil" evidenced by the disregard for natural law (GOD in this case).

So what was at the root of this decision to go against the law.
Knowledge of Good and Bad is a symptom of evil not a cause.

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If you accept the above distinction re-matter, human and non-human, what is the cause of human matter being "evil" ie defacing life.

[CONSIDER AND TRY AGAIN]

[austintorn@aol.com]

I would say consciousness (of will), although we just have more of it than, say, monkeys.

And, yet, it is still that brain that rumages through it neural connections just before the complete thought is "vvoted" and presented to consciousness (the last to be informed of the brain's subconscious analysis).

[Tina]

I would say consciousness (of will), although we just have more of it than, say, monkeys.

And, yet, it is still that brain that rumages through it neural connections just before the complete thought is "vvoted" and presented to consciousness (the last to be informed of the brain's subconscious analysis).

Do you mean "awareness" of choice ?

What is "VVoted"?

austintorn - are you by any chance tired again?

[BECAUSE THIS IS NOT CLEARLY EXPRESSED PLEASE TRY AGAIN]

[austintorn@aol.com]

Yes, awareness of choice.

Meant "voted", as in the mind/brain consciously or subconsciously sorting through scenerios of consequences to arrive at a choice which may or may not get vetoed as "free won't".

Sleep time.

[safwan]

The root of all evil is the condition or state of dis-harmony (or lack of hrmony).

[protheory]

If we're on the subject of the tree of life/knowledge from the Bible then I've got a singular word for you Tina...

Snake.

The snake or serpent is the root of all evil in this context.

[Tina]

The root of all evil is the condition or state of dis-harmony (or lack of hrmony).

This condition of disharmony is a symptom of evil not the cause. You need to find what caused this disharmony in the first place.

[PLEASE TRY AGAIN]

[Tina]

If we're on the subject of the tree of life/knowledge from the Bible then I've got a singular word for you Tina...

Snake.

The snake or serpent is the root of all evil in this context.

(No the tree and the poor old snake were introduced by Profpat.) A snake is not the root of all evil! All I have to say about the snake is that it was a snake.

[TRY AGAIN]

[Profpat]

Hi Tina;

How about desire.

According to the Buddha, the cause for all suffering.
Though I don't know that suffering is necessarily evil.

Austin's will would also be similar, to desire.

Best to all,

Pat