Blacknad writes:
"You are in effect saying (along with Dawkins) that when an action crosses over into the repugnant you can simply attribute it to a damaged mind and do not see a continuum of human behaviour along a scale of ever increasing departure from what we would consider acceptable."
I would beg to differ.
Blacknad writes:
"Where is the point where we suddenly stop being bad (and responsible) and suddenly become damaged (and not responsible)? Or would you go as far as Dawkins and say we are never responsible for our actions but we are simply broken and need fixing?"
That is for society to decide. From my standpoint it would be where the actions are such that a jury of their peers conclude that the intent was to damage another entity.
You can't pull the wings off a butterfly and say you didn't know you were hurting it. You can't steal someone's wallet and say you were just trying to help them across the street by lightening their load. You can't strap a bomb to yourself and walk into a crowded shopping center and claim your intent was to aid and comfort the homeless. It really isn't all that ambiguous.
I would define evil as a label people attach to things when they want others to react emotionally rather than rationally. Evil is a word intimately entangled with religious and theological teachings. Great white sharks are not evil. A human that does the same thing is. To the victim it doesn't matter.
Blacknad wrote:
"For Blair, whether I could define his actions as evil would depend on the definition of evil we are happy with."
I don't think Blair is evil. I am absolutely sure that Blair has no problem waking up in the morning and looking at himself in the mirror. And no doubt is confused as to why there are so many misguided souls that would like to put him in the dock. He's not evil. He'd never pull the trigger himself. But I doubt he's ever once lost a nights sleep because of a 500 pound bomb dropped on a mud hut either.
I think you absolutely correct when you state: "He is under the impression he is doing the right thing ? ?The Greater Good? and all that."
Exactly. Nationalism and patriotism and god. How easy to justify bad acts when it is for the greater good and the glory.
Blacknad wrote:
"As for Bush ? He?s simply a breathtakingly ignorant buffoon"
Not simply. While he is definitely a world-class moron he is also damaged goods.
