Do evil thoughts make you evil? Like, really evil thoughts?

[Pyramid Head]

Does possessing the potential and harboring thoughts that can be interpreted as evil make you evil? No. Evil is a stupid concept, and nothing in life is ever as clear cut as "Good" or "Evil." And besides, all people possess the potential to do terrible things. Am i evil for knowing that i can very easily buy a gun and a shitload of ammo, set up a sniper nest and kill dozens of people before the cops show up to try and take me down? Of course not!

I'm evil because i value the lives of dogs over the lives of humans. HA! Kidding. That doesn't make me evil either.

 

[Axyun]

If you take the Greek tragedy route than he is not evil as a person is defined by his actions.

But I tend to agree more with this:

"The measure of a man?s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.? ? Thomas Babington Macaulay

That applies to both doing something bad if you know you can get away with it as well as doing something good knowing that no one will ever find out or reward you for it.

 

[TimeLord]

The success or failure of your deeds does not add up to the sum of your life. Your spirit cannot be weighed. Judge yourself by the intention of your actions and by the strength with which you faced the challenges that have stood in your way.

The universe is vast and we are so small. There is only one thing we can ever truly control. Whether we are good or evil.

 

[Necron_warrior]

Meh, I don't see good and evil, I see Logical and Illogical

 

[sean360h]

evil is where you act on the thoughts not think them
1984 had a big thing about this thought crime they called it i believe

 

[retyopy]

Horrible title, not sure if anyone mentioned that to you. You should really change it. It doesn't make any sense. Change it now. Stop reading this and change the title.

Now that that's out of the way...

Spoiler

What I just typed above doesn't make me evil. It may make me a shit head for this moment in time, but not evil.

Does not doing evil make you evil? No

Does being a bad person or a shit head about something make you evil? No.

Does committing an evil deed make you evil? Yes.

EDIT: Damn, you changed the title already...

Acting on evil thoughts make you evil.

Why did you spoiler it?

The person in your example is evil, yes. There is a difference between "Having fantasies of raping and killing", and "Only holding back out of fear of getting caught".

that's pretty much my thoughts.

 

[NSGrendel]

Well, without going too deep into the subject of good and evil, I would say yes. To me evil is defined by intentions not actions. A person like James is evil, where as a person who commits evil deeds for the sake of good or by accident is not. They are still committing evil deeds and should be treated appropriately but they are not evil.

So Hitler, whose basic raison d'etre was to raise post WWI Germany out of its malaise, is a good guy, by the above definition?

Even if his methodology involved pogrom?

 

[retyopy]

Well, without going too deep into the subject of good and evil, I would say yes. To me evil is defined by intentions not actions. A person like James is evil, where as a person who commits evil deeds for the sake of good or by accident is not. They are still committing evil deeds and should be treated appropriately but they are not evil.

So Hitler, whose basic raison d'etre was to raise post WWI Germany out of its malaise, is a good guy, by the above definition?

Even if his methodology involved pogrom?

Well, his intention was to use pogrom as a method.

 

[drisky]

If the only thing keeping you from raping and murdering people just for fun is the law, you are evil. The reason he won't indulge these compulsions is self preservation, not even the slightest bit of empathy goes in his thinking. As soon as he thinks he is safe he will kill you for a laugh, how is that not evil. It just means that good triumphed over evil preemptively by means of intimidation.

 

[maddness666]

He's evil. Wanting to do something and knowing you never will is the line.

If you'd do it if you could get away with it, you're a bad person. I'm not sure I believe in evil, but for the purpose of this discussion, yes, he's evil.

It's the will to do evil things that makes you evil.

For example. If I used my magic powers to look into the future(Though I never would. That's not what magic is for folks.) and found out that James was going to rape, kill and then eat a child and I stopped it from happening, which is to say I cleverly jumped out from behind a bin and shouted "A-BOOGIE-WOOGIE-WOO!" at James while he was on the way to aquire his victim, resulting in his requiring a change of underwear-

James wouldn't have spontainiously gained fifty morality points and become a good person, he'd be the same sick twisted bastard he always had been, just with one less rape/murder on his rap sheet.

 

[Chezza]

Keep a beast in the cage with tangible restraints, does it still not make it dangerous?
Prevent a evil man from causing harm via intangible law, does it not still mean his evil?

Preventing evil from committing it doesn't mean he is good, just means he is doing something right. Yeah, still evil in some regard. Though you cannot be totally sure until he has the freedom to do so and truly has the opportunity. A test I don't recommend trying lol

 

[Dystopia]

...James? Is that you? I see right through you and your confusingly worded post, OP

He wouldn't be 'evil' unless he acted on those desires. However, the concept of evil is subjective, so the definition of evil is going to vary from person to person. Personally I'm not a fan of the word, so I wouldn't describe him as evil. Sick and twisted, and possibly in need of psychiatric help, maybe. Thoughts are thoughts. I mean, who hasn't sat next to someone with a disregard for personal space and hygiene on a bus and idly thought about grabbing them round the neck?




Just me, then?

 

[Angry_squirrel]

Evil is a strong word. I think this Jim character is not a good person. I don't believe someones thoughts make them evil, but if the reason those thoughts are not acted on is out of fear, as opposed to knowing they're wrong, then he's no better than someone who does actually act on them.
If however, someone has a whole heap of sick and twisted urges, but doesn't act on them because they know said urges are wrong, that person is not a bad person

 

[krazykidd]

No he isn't . People would like to be able to kill people all the time ( think about that really obnoxious guy at work or school you would like to disapear ) but it's not until someone goes trough the act of it that make them evil . In my opinion anyways .

If there were no laws or if certain people were above the law , i wonder how many would refuse from doing something just because it's "wrong".

 

[Capt. Crankypants]

Hmm, thought-police question. I say no, he isn't 'evil', he's a dick, and a scumbag, but he isn't actually doing any of these evil thoughts and harming people. Some people say it's the thought that counts. Nope. Thoughts don't kill people or rape anyone, actions do that.

 

[Random berk]

If evil thoughts are enough to make someone evil, then how do we know who is evil, and who is good? Anyone can have evil thoughts, but they don't act on them. I think about killing certain individuals, but I doubt I ever would kill someone except in self defence. Many others might outwardly claim that that is evil, but how often do they think it themselves? Howdo we know they aren't monsters just below the surface. Think about the people you know, and care about. How many of them can you actually know what they are thinking? How many of them could just be waiting for the right set of circumstances to tun them into killers?

Am I creeping anyone out yet?

 

[Zealous]

Well evil is a subjective concept, therefore everyone will have their own opinions about this matter. Personally, I believe that there is no such thing as evil, just a misunderstanding or lack of information regarding a person's actions. However, there are some actions that are considered to be "bad" based on societal norms but that is, again, a subjective concept.
Really there is no way to define evil or bad (or good) non subjectively unless we take it down to it's base: does it cause any kind of harm to another individual or not in any way shape or form? If so, then it should be considered to be a "bad" action. If it does not cause any form of harm it's "good". And now we're left with the same dilemma. Where is the line between merely "bad" and "evil"? As I've stated before I believe that there is no such thing as evil due to the subjective nature of the classification of an action as "evil".
In your situation there is no context. Either one of those individuals could have been held captive for years as a child suffering through rape and other forms of physical and psychological abuse that scarred them for life and left serious developmental problems. Therefore it is impossible to judge these two individuals and tell you if they are in fact "evil".

 

[2xDouble]

As long as you're smart/cognizant enough not to act on them, you're fine.

Being a general douche? that's acting on them.

 

[Jedoro]

Actions with evil intent make one evil. For example, killing a uniformed enemy in time of war while he sleeps is not evil, unless he's an unarmed prisoner, but murdering your neighbor in his sleep because he plays his music too loud is.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

In my opinion, thoughts are thoughts (and actions speak louder than words). Within each individual is a capacity to do both good and evil; only once someone has acted on good or evil actions, is what would define them as being good or evil.

Having strong thoughts about evil acts is a rather alarming issue and it depends if the individual has the will and mental capacity to confine those thoughts into the corner of his mind, or to not even allow his mind to entertain such thoughts.