What are the criteria for an action to be considered evil? Can you categorize behavior as evil, and if so, how?
This question is in contrast to last week’s question, “What makes an action good?”
Many of the same issues arise with evil actions as did with good ones. You might, for instance, decide an action is evil if it harms people. However, what if there was no intention to harm people at all, but it was an inadvertent outcome? Do intentions matter at all, or is it only the impact that counts?
Perhaps an action is chosen specifically to to help people you care about. This would seem good, but it helps at the expense of people you don’t know or don’t care about. Does that constitute evil? If you are forced to prioritize between some inside your “in” group or out of it, inside wins nearly every time.
Consider the reverse of last week’s conclusion: Think about the decisions or actions you are most ashamed of, that you feel were made in haste or in error. Do those decisions have something in common? Do evil actions share some traits or properties?
Related questions: What is your definition of evil? Why do we hate? Is it a cruel world? What gives a person value?