Evil recognizing Evil...your thoughts...

[Darth Buddha]

Keeping with the thread, evil will recognize evil; that's a given.

Ah, so you are stating that as a premise, rather than a conclusion?

How, pray tell, does evil recognize evil? Why would it care? If indeed what makes malicious haunting entities and interstellar tyrants EVIL is their intentions, then how does that work?

Does good recognize good? Surely it does not. I suppose life would be a lot simpler if it did. Of course, I actually think that good and evil are nothing more than constructs that man forces upon behavior and motives to better organize the view of the universe. What you may call good I may call evil. So how can something so very arbitrary be "recognized" as if it were some inherent quality?

The entire concept is very medeival, or even more primitive than that. How creatures and beings of motives that you ascribe the quality of "evil" to interacting is interesting. But positing that there is some incontrovertible and essential element of evil is something best left to theologians, and not scifi writers.

(sorry, but when I see something posited as "a given" without examination, I feel an obligation to subject it to at least SOME degree of rigor - if you've got an argument for this essential quality of evil, rather than an arbitrary one depending on your point of view, I'll be glad to engage in a discussion of it)

[LordAnubis]

Ah, so you are stating that as a premise, rather than a conclusion?

How, pray tell, does evil recognize evil? Why would it care? If indeed what makes malicious haunting entities and interstellar tyrants EVIL is their intentions, then how does that work?

Does good recognize good? Surely it does not. I suppose life would be a lot simpler if it did. Of course, I actually think that good and evil are nothing more than constructs that man forces upon behavior and motives to better organize the view of the universe. What you may call good I may call evil. So how can something so very arbitrary be "recognized" as if it were some inherent quality?

The entire concept is very medeival, or even more primitive than that. How creatures and beings of motives that you ascribe the quality of "evil" to interacting is interesting. But positing that there is some incontrovertible and essential element of evil is something best left to theologians, and not scifi writers.

(sorry, but when I see something posited as "a given" without examination, I feel an obligation to subject it to at least SOME degree of rigor - if you've got an argument for this essential quality of evil, rather than an arbitrary one depending on your point of view, I'll be glad to engage in a discussion of it)

Okay, so I selected poor wording for that statement. Does evil recognize evil? The better answer is: most likely. You're right, Anubis is a different type of evil than lame ass spirits hanging out in Amityville, NY. However, from a practical point of view, those spirits can perceive inanimate objects and living beings. One spirit, in the form of a "pig", befriended the Lutz's four-year-old daughter. This spirit known as "Jody" knew the difference between a four-year-old and an adult.

It's logical, therefore, to infer that if the Dark Lord Anubis appeared in Amityville, Jody would look at Anubis and realize he isn't human and is powerful. What about evil? Hard to say, but I'd guess that the "aura" or "vibe" would be dark and malevalent, not friendly and benevalent. So, I would say, yes, evil can recognize evil. Can good recognize good? We're not talking about a Nun recognizing a Rabbi is good, but some kind of supernatural good recognizing another kind of supernatural good. Let's say an angel encountering Thor, a benevalent Asgard, or an angel meeting Oma Desala. Sure, good would recognize good and there would be no fear or competition.

In the case of evil, the less powerful of the two very well may fear the more powerful since it might be perceived as a potential threat or a nuisance. Anubis, for example, would clearly be more powerful than any haunting entity and would most likely destroy or dismiss such entitites. They, however, would not be able to harm him. He would certainly not fear them either.

[Darth Buddha]

O.K., this thread isn't so much about evil as it is about the supernatural at this point. If that's your angle, then sure, whatever you say, because the supernatural is undefined enough that logic simply does not apply.. though your "pig" spirit example is at the very least entertaining!

[puddlejumper747]

Not trying to pull the thread too far off-course, but....

Does good recognize good? Surely it does not.

Actually, I would have disagree. Good can recognize good. Why not? I see no reason to reject that fact at all. Evil can also certainly recognize good, even to the point that it can become afraid of it. And finally, evil can also recognize another evil, although it would probably see it as something more of an equal than a threat.

I actually think that good and evil are nothing more than constructs that man forces upon behavior and motives to better organize the view of the universe. The entire concept is very medeival, or even more primitive than that.

And I would definitely have to disagree with you there. I believe that God necessarily exists, that He is truth, and that that truth is absolute and unchanging. God Himself cannot change, and He is the very definition of truth/good. Evil is not a force of its own; it is a lack or corruption of something that was originally created to be good. Evil has no true power of its own. It can only seek to destroy and bring disorder into the natural good.

What you may call good I may call evil. So how can something so very arbitrary be "recognized" as if it were some inherent quality?

A valid and logical question following from the relativistic premise stated above. But since I completely disagree with your premise, the "problem" you have presented here is really no problem at all from my prespective.