EVIL
EVIL to me was far too powerful a word whose implications may not fit many of the definitions people give it. I decided to give the word my own solid definition, to limit its vague usage. I stripped it to the core and defined it as meaning one thing: CHAOS.
I’m essentially trying to stop people from feeling that EVIL is just a stronger word for BAD. That just makes the word yet another heavy insult that can be used in any way the user likes. My definition, however, separates those two words. EVIL can be either good or bad, but if it is EVIL, it is 100% evil. The example presented in the classroom of the person who murdered for no reason demonstrates my kind of EVIL, because someone suddenly deciding to kill for no real reason is a demonstration of chaos, which lacks explanation or predictability. Of course, someone who is not willing to find out or accept the motives of a killer may also define the murder as being EVIL.
The opposite of EVIL is GOOD. However, because the wordgood does have many clear definitions of varying intensity, along with the vague one that is only known to be the positive counterpart of EVIL. Therefore, I will capitalize GOOD whenever it means the opposite of EVIL (yes, EVIL is capitalized too, but that’s because it amplifies the evilness of the word; if you like, you can capitalize it too). I define GOOD as meaning ORDER or CONTROL. This seems fitting, as one of the accomplishments of the early Catholic Church was keeping society intact and controlled, with an effective combination of rewarding the good with heaven and punishing the bad with hell. The usage of both reward and fear motivated most common people, and kept them quiet and obedient for centuries under the feudal system.
More evidence for these definitions come from the systems that God and Satan present to mankind. God lays out clear, solid rules that he requires of people to enter heaven, while Satan tempts people with freedom and happiness. There could not be two systems that better represent chaos and order. Ironically, heaven is pictured as relative freedom and happiness while hell is pictured as eternal slavery and labor, but that is a different concept I may write about soon. For now, I have given official defintions to the words GOOD and EVIL that will remain unchanged within this website unless I think up something better.
