# Are there evil people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563 "2011-12-27T21:00:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/21 "2011-12-28T02:24:13Z")
I voted yes, because I think we are all born sociopaths. The ability to distinguish between good and evil and choose the good based on empathy for others not just in cases where it’s benefical to us is something that develops over time with training and socialization. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/22 "2011-12-28T02:49:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > refusing to use to word “evil” achieves nothing useful. Neither does insisting on using it, unless you include “dehumanize” in your definition of “useful”. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/23 "2011-12-28T02:54:57Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > I voted yes, because I think we are all born sociopaths. The ability to distinguish between good and evil and choose the good based on empathy for others not just in cases where it’s benefical to us is something that develops over time with training and socialization. There’s a difference between pre-moral and amoral. Sociopathy isn’t something you can grow out of. It’s the hard-wiring of the brain. If we were all born sociopaths … humanity could not exist! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/24 "2011-12-28T02:57:18Z")
No. They’re just drawn that way. ---
**Author:** ![Erny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@Erny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erny)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/25 "2011-12-28T03:42:35Z")
I chose _Other_ because there is no “Yes” option. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/26 "2011-12-28T03:56:11Z")
Yes, of course there are evil people. Some of the folks with anti-social personality disorder who turn to crime are excellent examples of this: [Psychopathy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy) It is sad that a lot of people out there don’t understand that a true anti-social does not have any compassion or remorse. Some people are fundamentally broken people that will never be “fixed” or reformed. Unfortunately, many people assume that everyone is like them and has some kernel of goodness/remorse/empathy. That is how those people manage to manipulate others. For examples of people I would consider “evil”: > **[John Wayne Gacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy)** > > John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys in Norwood Park Township, near Chicago, Illinois. He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes. > Gacy committed all of his murders inside his ranch-style house in Norwood Park Township. Typically, he would lure a victim to his home and dupe them into donning handcuff... > **[Karla Homolka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Homolka)** > > Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the rapes and murders of at least three minors in Ontario – including her own sister, Tammy Homolka – between 1990 and 1992. > Homolka attracted worldwide media attention when a controversial plea bargain with Ontario prosecutors meant she was only convicted of manslaughter, and s... > **[Cheshire home invasion murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire,_Connecticut,_home_invasion_murders)** > > On July 23, 2007, Linda Hayes (named as Steven Hayes and presenting as male at the time of the incident)\[b\] and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the residence of the Petit family in Cheshire, Connecticut. Though initially planning only to rob the house, Hayes and Komisarjevsky murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. Their father, Dr. William Petit, escaped with severe injuries. > Upon entering the Petits' home, Komisarjevsky bea... ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/27 "2011-12-28T04:06:17Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yes, of course there are evil people. Some of the folks with anti-social personality disorder who turn to crime are excellent examples of this: [Psychopathy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy) > > It is sad that a lot of people out there don’t understand that a true anti-social does not have any compassion or remorse. Some people are fundamentally broken people that will never be “fixed” or reformed. Unfortunately, many people assume that everyone is like them and has some kernel of goodness/remorse/empathy. That is how those people manage to manipulate others. > > For examples of people I would consider “evil”: > [John Wayne Gacy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy) > [Karla Homolka - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Homolka) > [Cheshire murders - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire,_Connecticut,_home_invasion_murders) Good analysis, lavender! They say the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled on mankind was convincing them he didn’t exist. People who don’t want to acknowledge the evil of their fellow man are dangerously naive. They are in peril. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/28 "2011-12-28T04:33:29Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Unfortunately, many people assume that everyone is like them and has some kernel of goodness/remorse/empathy. That is how those people manage to manipulate others. It’s more that sociopaths, at least the intelligent ones, are very adept at pretending they have normal emotions. It’s not a victim’s fault if they get brainwashed into thinking a clever sociopath has normal emotions. After all, none of us can read minds. We are all dependent on what a person says and does to interpret whether they are good or evil. Except for maybe a highly-trained psychologist, of course. It’s impossible for a layperson to distinguish between an intelligent, closeted sociopath and a genuinely nice, charismatic person. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/29 "2011-12-28T04:40:28Z")
I would like to expand on my prior comment by saying that most “evil” acts are done by people who’s brains are functioning very differently than most others. They literally are wired differently, think differently, and feel differently. If you choose to call this “evil” so be it, but it’s not entirely useful for rational, intellectual discussion. I think most people who commit truly evil acts are flawed mentally, and are the product of a poorly developed brain. It seems a little unfair to call them “evil” since that implies some objective moral truth to good vs evil, as that seems to be the common definition/understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/30 "2011-12-28T04:47:51Z")
What, no mention of Hitler? 😉 But seriously, of course there are evil people. History’s full of them. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/31 "2011-12-28T04:48:53Z")
There are good people, so why shouldn’t there be evil people? We are born with a capacity to go in either direction, and it’s a choice. Of course, then we have to define what we mean by “good” and “evil.” But you didn’t ask that. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/32 "2011-12-28T04:58:16Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > What, no mention of Hitler? 😉 > > But seriously, of course there are evil people. History’s full of them. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > There most certainly are evil people. It’s not necessarily because they’re born that way, because I think it takes a combination of genetics, upbringing, and circumstances to make people that way, because there are plenty of people with horrible mental and emotional disorders that don’t turn out that way or those that have terrible upbringings or end up in the worst circumstances that aren’t evil, and yet we do still see evil people. > > That said, I think truly evil people are a lot rarer than some people might imply. You know that politician who always does the opposite of what you think is right? He’s probably not really evil, he and his constituents will just tend to disagree with you. I’m not talking about someone who is clearly crazy, either because they don’t know or don’t really understand society’s rules. Rather, when I think of evil, I think about ones like some well known killers whom I’ve seen interviewed who clearly knew that what they were doing was very wrong before, during, and after doing it, and don’t feel even an ounce of guilt about it. For instance, I remember seeing an interview with a guy where he was describing a murder, and seemed as matter-of-fact about it as I would expect from someone describing a typical work day. **And, of course, there’s always the classic examples like Hitler, but that’s sort of cliche for this sort of topic, I think**. (bolding mine) Now it is just a small mention but did you miss it or just not read it before posting? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/33 "2011-12-28T05:03:20Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > (bolding mine) > > Now it is just a small mention but did you miss it or just not read it before posting? Did you not notice the smiley? Or do you just not know what it means? Anyways, of course there are evil people. Now if the question was whether anyone was born evil, I would say no. But an evil person is simply someone who performs evil actions. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/34 "2011-12-28T05:03:35Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I would like to expand on my prior comment by saying that most “evil” acts are done by people who’s brains are functioning very differently than most others. They literally are wired differently, think differently, and feel differently. If you choose to call this “evil” so be it, but it’s not entirely useful for rational, intellectual discussion. I think most people who commit truly evil acts are flawed mentally, and are the product of a poorly developed brain. It seems a little unfair to call them “evil” since that implies some objective moral truth to good vs evil, as that seems to be the common definition/understanding. There _is_ an objective moral truth to good vs. evil. You’ll know as soon as I wrong you somehow. I find that certain people won’t cop to the whole good/evil thing for fear that it somehow could apply to them. Atheists are like this. They won’t say “evil” unless they’re referring to something related to God or religion. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/35 "2011-12-28T05:05:36Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I think the people who commit evil acts are damaged, broken and sick, not evil. If one is sufficiently damaged, broken or sick you become functionally indistinguishable from what your average person would call “evil.” At that point it becomes a semantic argument. I have no problem labeling a Charles Manson as “evil” - whatever the trauma that created him, genetic or environmental or both, in my mind it is splitting hairs to argue that even though he committed evil acts he wasn’t evil. And I do not consider evil to be a supernatural or religious condition. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/36 "2011-12-28T05:10:56Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There are good people, so why shouldn’t there be evil people? We are born with a capacity to go in either direction, and it’s a choice. > > Of course, then we have to define what we mean by “good” and “evil.” But you didn’t ask that. _sigh_ The Star Wars universe makes this so simple. Red light-sabers are the bad guys. Blue light-sabers are the good guys. Only problem is the Sith lords know how to hide their true nature, in the SWU and in real life. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/37 "2011-12-28T05:12:58Z")
None of this makes any sense without a consistent definition of evil, as an attribute of people. You can say no one is evil, and/or everyone is evil as long as we don’t know what you mean. To me, evil is only a description of behavior, not an inherent quality of things. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/38 "2011-12-28T05:41:12Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > And I do not consider evil to be a supernatural or religious condition. Morality is null in a purely deterministic universe, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/39 "2011-12-28T06:06:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > None of this makes any sense without a consistent definition of evil, as an attribute of people. You can say no one is evil, and/or everyone is evil as long as we don’t know what you mean. To me, evil is only a description of behavior, not an inherent quality of things. Evil is easier to observe than to define. It’s like breakfast and pornography that way. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563/40 "2011-12-28T06:42:09Z")
Yes, definitely, if you accept the definition of evil as the opposite of ‘good’ carried out by people who abide by the socially constructed moral codes of their environment. Of course those acts have to be carried out voluntarily to define the person as being evil. Then you get into the question of whether anything we do is voluntary of hard-wired into our psyche and it all gets very complicated. Simply put, thought, there’s evil in the Congo by standards set in the EU and US today but those standards would’ve been very different a few centuries ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-evil-people/607563.md?page=3)