User:Lysander/Miscellany
Oh cool, thanks. Well, basically I was trying to figure out the links between different kinds of undesirable behavior.
For example, suppose run into one of these UCCers in prison who says that he can get out of prison and become rich, because the guy they charged was JOE SCHMOE (in capital letters) while he's Joe Schome, a living soul. And he can redeem some bond having to do with his birth certificate, and not be subject to the jurisdiction of the court that sentenced him, because that's an admiralty court, and the flag had a gold fringe on it, and he was not in a federal enclave when he distributed those 50 grams of crack, etc. And suppose he files a tax return trying to get this money, and they write him up for fraud.
Would we consider him and/or his actions and beliefs stupid, crazy, or simply in error? Or more than one of the above? What exactly are the relationships between these concepts? (Of course, in the eyes of the government, he might be evil too.)
One time this dude, Superman, over at Petersburg stole a towel from the Mexicans and then denied it, even though they saw him do it. Terry, in his white shot caller role, told the Mexicans, "All I can say in his defense is that he's an idiot." So in other words, his stupidity diminishes his evil. Or does his stupidity make him MORE evil by causing him to do stupid stuff that's harmful to others?
Hmm. Interesting stuff. I think it's important to examine the role of Self-Denial in these things. And INTENTIONAL Self-Denial, especially. I'll put some thought into these, and write some more. Also, I've met some of the UCCers. Definately stupid. Probably not crazy, though; in my book, anyway. Evil? Depends on if they hurt people, or not, I guess.
Well, basically I kinda wonder about the relationship between the three because, for example, people will say "Hitler was crazy" but they'll also say "Hitler was evil" and to the extent that Hitler defeated himself, they'll say "Hitler was stupid."
Yet, if someone is crazy enough, they'll say that he doesn't need punishment for being evil; he needs treatment. Or if he's stupid enough, they'll say that he's too stupid to warrant the death penalty even for multiple murders.
With disorders like antisocial personality disorder, the overlap between evil and crazy is interesting. Is evil a form of crazy? What exactly is the difference between craziness and stupidity, given that they're both flaws of the mind?
What about apathy; doesn't that sometimes play a role in evil? Yet apathy could also be a form of stupidity, could it not, if people are so dumb they don't realize the benefits being less apathetic? Or maybe apathy RESULTS in stupidity (or ignorance, anyway), if people are too lazy to learn.
I don't think the terms are related, like that. I don't think hitler was insane. his logic was rational, for the most part, if based on faulty presumptions. But then, so it is with EVERY CHRISTIAN ON EARTH. That doesn't make them "crazy." Merely, In Error. Of course, I WOULD say he was Evil. But then, Apathy is how I define evil. Apathy that causes suffering of others. In mi philosofia, los unicos dos pecados son avaricia y apatia.
That bit about the "crazy enough" needing treatment, not punishment, only seems to go so far. they don't seem to feel that way (the majority) about pedophiles. For whatever reason, pedophiles are viewed as insane; but needing extreme punishment, banishment, and suffering. Not treatment.
My own feelings on that, I feel that if insanity is the reason for someone's evil, then effective treatment of the insanity should elliminate the evil. If it does not, then the problem isn't caused by the insanity. Take the people I consider to be the most evil, on Earth: uber-rich, executive, fat-cats, who run the mega-multi-national corporations, which do HORRIBLE things to humans across the globe, all for the sake of profits. I don't think they're insane at all. Totally rational, in fact. Rational enough to be able to predict outcomes, and manipulate situations, to their own benefit. That's not insanity. That's evil.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is not evil. I wouldn't even say it's a disorder. A deviation, surely; but not necessarily a pathological one. The inability to feel compassion doesn't necessitate evil actions. It just means that your motives for doing things are not based on individual emotional connections with other people. I was a sociopath for a LONG time. Diagnosed with APD by 4 different shrinks. But I wouldn't say I was evil. Merely that my motives were based on my own desires, rather than my emotions for people. And, as I desired the well-being of the people I trusted, I sacrificed a great deal for those people. Sociopath, or not.
Ignorance, I believe, is a symptom of apathy. Willful ignorance, if it causes the suffering of people, IS evil. In my book.
