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Can Good Ever Truly Triumph Over Evil?

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Good vs. Evil

Can Good Ever Truly Triumph Over Evil?

It is impossible for Good to overcome Evil while remaining wholly good itself. Does that sound right to you? Or wrong?

Is it possible that Good could triumph over Evil while still remaining true to itself? Or does Good destroy itself in the very act of seeking to destroy? Should Good be able to defeat Evil?

What about a middle ground? Is there a third option, between "Good" and "Evil" that doesn't need to have an opposite?

What do you think?

Definitions of "Good" and "Evil" for the Purpose of This Debate

For the purposes of this debate, solid definitions of Good and Evil are necessary. In this case, we will define them each as follows.

Good is a benevolent force which seeks only to improve, help, and create harmony and peace. Good is by nature "pure", and always the precise opposite of anything which is Evil.
Evil is a malevolent force which seeks only to destroy, hinder and create chaos and war. It is in opposition, by its nature, to everything that is Good.

Can Good Triumph over Evil?

Add your voice.

Answer this question before reading further: Can Good defeat Evil? Why, how, and for what purpose?

Yes, Good Can Defeat Evil

spirituality says:

Harmony and imbalance play an eternal game. Disharmony occurs, harmony balances out. Ultimately that means that harmony prevails, after all it finds harmony even in seeming disharmony.

No, Evil Will Always Triumph

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Here's why I Think Good can Never Defeat Evil

The problem of Good vs. Evil is almost a paradox in my view. This is because Good is naturally opposed to destruction (since Good is opposed to Evil, and Evil causes destruction), so to have anything to do with destroying Evil, it must also create it. Therefore, Good can never triumph over Evil, since the very act of doing so will make it Evil itself.

Evil, it seems, cannot be destroyed by anything other than Evil, since Evil is by nature a destructive force, and good is not.

I assume you can see the problem, here.

Good and Evil can co-exist - in fact, they must co-exist, since there cannot be one without the other. They can push and pull against each other, but one can never overcome the other, and certainly, Good cannot attempt to eliminate Evil, since it is constrained by itself. Evil may not have a similar constraint, and it is able to rain destruction down on whatever it should choose, except that Good can never be destroyed as long as Evil exists, since if Good ceased to exist, it could not have an opposite, and Evil would itself be destroyed.

Resources for the Good vs. Evil Debate

Battle of Good Versus Evil: The battle of good versus evil and the change of times.
Good vs. Evil: Bible wisdom on Good vs. Evil
The Scales of Good and Evil: Below is a list of the "Top Ten" evil people of all time followed by a list of the "Top Ten" good people of all time -- sorted in order of evilness and goodness.
Evil or Instinct? - Philosophy: What is evil? Does it exist within our selves or does it originate from a force that is beyond our control? How much of what we consider to be evil is actually an instinctual response to danger? - Evil or Instinct?
Good vs Evil: Good vs Evil - Are Atheists evil? Are Christians evil? What about those who live moral and upright lives? Who sets the standard?
GOOD AND EVIL: How can we define what is good and what is evil? Are there universal indicators behind, within, or consequent upon an action by which one can determine whether it was a good or an evil act? How can one tell whether a person is good or evil?

Beyond Good and Evil

I'd like to look at a third option: a system wherein Good isn't the ultimate goal, and Evil isn't necessarily all that bad. Nietzsche touches on the idea in a lot of ways in the aptly-titled Beyond Good and Evil, in which he examines, among other things, the human need to have such dichotomies as Good and Evil, that are fundamentally destructive to happiness, productivity and creativity. It is, he argues, completely useless to adhere to either concept as they stand.

I tend to agree - what does it matter whether something is Good or Evil? What works and what doesn't would seem to be a better system of evaluating things, wouldn't it? And if "Evil" works where "Good" has failed, why shouldn't we choose "Evil"?

Read the book. See what you think.

Beyond Good and Evil (Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future)

by: Friedrich Nietzsche

Amazon Price: $2.20 (as of 05/30/2012)

How Does an Alternative to Good and Evil Strike You?

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Vlad Jan 18, 2012 @ 4:56 pm | delete

Good always triumphs over evil... Therefore,
the good is always on the winner's side.

Reply

Victoria_Neely Dec 15, 2011 @ 8:12 pm | delete

But it could also be argued that not seeking to destroy or obstruct Evil can become a form of evil in itself. To take an extreme example, if someone tries to kill a little girl, that could be called an evil act. Suppose a random bystander has the power to stop this. Is it more evil for an empowered bystander to protect the girl (thereby potentially killing/harming/annoying the attacker), or more evil to remain passive?

There are also times when destruction is considered a positive thing. If a house has been munched by termites, burned, and crushed by a fallen tree, it might be considered good to put it out of its misery and build a new one. Even seemingly benign acts such as cleaning and healing is destructive if we look at it on a microscopic level: Antiseptic wipes kill germs, and antibiotics kill bacteria that cause illness.

I'm inclined to think good and evil are not truly opposites, in much the same way that love and hate aren't opposites. Love and hate have something in common: They're both intense, passionate emotions that are activated in the same parts of the brain.

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spirituality May 4, 2011 @ 1:19 am | delete

I do agree: 'what works' works way better than any moral judgment. However, 'what works' is clearly on the side of harmony, and therefore 'good' in your definition ;)

This conversation isn't over yet.

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LadyLovelace May 4, 2011 @ 2:14 am | delete

But what if what works is destructive? Or what if what works is not having a system at all? Do we still do it?

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karmicchristian May 4, 2011 @ 1:10 am | delete

I have a lens on similar lines on 'Good and Evil'. IMO Good and Evil have to co-exist. It is not a war of attrition. BTW Nice lens. Thanks.

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LadyLovelace May 4, 2011 @ 2:15 am | delete

I think I may actually have gotten the idea after visiting your lens. I remember having a 4am conversation with my dad about it, but I think your lens may have started that conversation. So thank you!