“When one encounters Evil, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
This whole quote is sophistry. The capitalized word “Evil” is a metaphorical personification of an abstract concept. A standard definition of “evil” is “morally objectionable behavior”. Suppose we replace the personification “Evil” with “morally objectionable behavior”:
“When one encounters morally objectionable behavior, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
The result is absurd. Suppose we agree that shoplifting is morally objectionable behavior. Is it true that the only solution to shoplifting is violence or the threat of violence? I don’t think so. But “Evil” is an emotionally loaded term that triggers our biases and discourages careful, rational thought. So when we read, “When one encounters Evil, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened,” it is not quite so obviously false as, “When one encounters morally objectionable behavior, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
One problem with the term “evil” is that it is typically applied to a person, rather than to a person’s behavior. For example (see above), “Kevin Giffhorn is Evil.” Compare this to, “Kevin Giffhorn has behaved in a way that is morally objectionable.” The first statement leads to the conclusion that an evil person must be punished. The second statement leads to asking what caused Kevin Giffhorn to behave as he did, and how can we address the cause? To say that he acted evilly because he is evil gets us nowhere.
“When one encounters Evil, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
This whole quote is sophistry. The capitalized word “Evil” is a metaphorical personification of an abstract concept. A standard definition of “evil” is “morally objectionable behavior”. Suppose we replace the personification “Evil” with “morally objectionable behavior”:
“When one encounters morally objectionable behavior, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
The result is absurd. Suppose we agree that shoplifting is morally objectionable behavior. Is it true that the only solution to shoplifting is violence or the threat of violence? I don’t think so. But “Evil” is an emotionally loaded term that triggers our biases and discourages careful, rational thought. So when we read, “When one encounters Evil, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened,” it is not quite so obviously false as, “When one encounters morally objectionable behavior, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened.”
One problem with the term “evil” is that it is typically applied to a person, rather than to a person’s behavior. For example (see above), “Kevin Giffhorn is Evil.” Compare this to, “Kevin Giffhorn has behaved in a way that is morally objectionable.” The first statement leads to the conclusion that an evil person must be punished. The second statement leads to asking what caused Kevin Giffhorn to behave as he did, and how can we address the cause? To say that he acted evilly because he is evil gets us nowhere.