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Debate Info

7
15
Yes, it has always existed. No, it was created by mankind
Debate Score:22
Arguments:16
Total Votes:22
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Argument Ratio

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 Yes, it has always existed. (7)
 
 No, it was created by mankind (9)

Debate Creator

hoegy(308) pic



Does good and evil exist?

Is Good and evil a mere illusion? Does it exist just for our survival? Or has it been in existance long before us? Does good and evil exist for a greater purpose.

 

 I believe in the supernatural. What gives us the abilility too be who we are? Are we here just too live and die or is there something more that we cannot see with our own eyes. Do we control our own future?

Yes, it has always existed.

Side Score: 7
VS.

No, it was created by mankind

Side Score: 15
1 point

yes it was created by man would hav been more close to my idea but oh well but wat do you mean look at the news and you get your answer

Side: Yes, it has always existed.
1 point

I MEAN LOOK HOMOPHOBES ARE EVIL AND THOSE WHO KNOW THAT ARE GOOD (unless they did somethin bad) there they exist

Side: Yes, it has always existed.
hoegy(308) Disputed
2 points

Ok first of all its hard too understand what you are saying. Second of all homophobes are not evil, why make a blunt statement like that? And can you speak in full sentences. I cant understand what your saying.

Side: No, it was created by mankind
homofobeh8a(5) Disputed
1 point

HOMOPHOBES ARE EVIL THEY BEAT UP MY BROTHER! I HATE THEM ALL! MY BROTHER IS DEAD NOW CUZ OF THEM I HATE THEM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVIL BASTERDS

Side: Yes, it has always existed.
1 point

Sure. We've defined the two. They've existed since free-will at least according to our definition.

Nothing is black and white, and everything is some shade of gray. But sure, some things are shades of good and evil.

Side: Sure why not
2 points

Woah, that's a lot of big questions for one debate. I'll focus only on the good and evil part.

"Exist" can have different meanings - or you could say, alternately, that different things have different ways of existing.

Does love exist? Well, it's not a concrete object. I can't pick it up, I can't buy it, I can't throw it away. But that alone doesn't mean "love is a mere illusion". It's a term we English speakers give to a concept. The concept is that of an intense feeling of affection and care that one person can have for another. As long as you agree that at least some people are capable of having intense feelings of affection for other people, you will say yes, love exists in the sense that it describes a type of human interaction found in the world.

Of course, you can also then say that love is still only an illusion. Maybe you hold the belief that all material objects, feelings, thoughts, memories are illusionary, created by a devil or by human weakness to lead us astray from the true path, and that only by letting go of these worldly things can we become spiritual masters. So perhaps love exists, but on a lesser, illusionary realm that we should strive to transcend. In other words, it exists in one sense and not in another.

So back to good and evil. Do they exist? Well, like love, that depends on what you mean by "exist".

You see Mother Teresa spending her whole life to help the sick, and you say that is good. Then you see Hitler massacring Jews and you say that is evil. In this sense they're merely descriptive terms. You're using these words to tell people that you find the former behaviour morally praiseworthy, the latter morally repulsive. If you agree that Mother Teresa did something morally correct, you'd agree that good exists. If you agree that Hitler did something morally incorrect, you'd agree that evil exists.

Do good and evil exist in a greater form than merely as moral labels? That's the place where you start delving into more spiritual ideas. Some people believe that God or Jesus is the manifestation of good, and Satan the manifestation of evil. These forces are real, have their own mind and will, and actively persuade people to their side. Maybe they even directly cause certain people or events to become good or evil. Then you'd say they are not merely descriptions of the natural world; they can have an existence independent of other objects.

It's hard to have an informed opinion on this because such theories are very difficult to test scientifically, if not downright impossible. I tend to lean towards not claiming that concepts like good and evil have an independent or eternal existence, unless and until I'm convinced otherwise by scientific discovery or by logic.

Side: No, it was created by mankind
hoegy(308) Disputed
1 point

Ok wow thats a huge responce, lol. So what i got from this is that you beleive the moral law or law of human nature is primarily based of feeling and instinct. Correct me if im wrong. For example love can cannont be created nor destroyed because it is created by us. Correct me if im wrong. Now what really cought my attention was your example of mother Teresa and Hitler. Two extremes Two examples of what we perceive to be good and evil. What your implying here is that our foundation of what we perceive to be good and evil comes from examples of people. I dont agree with this.

The special thing about us, what makes us truely unique is that we can choose too disobey the law of human nature. This is the only law we can break. We are subjected to several laws such asgravitation and as an organism we are subjected to biological laws which we share with living things. The law of human nature/ decent behavior is a law expect everyone too know. This is correct because then we wouldnt have considered hitler to be wrong more then we would consider the natzis color of their hair too be wrong. And based of cs lewis which is a strong defender for this case i beleive this too be so. we will continue this later hopefully i got too go too class lol

Side: Yes, it has always existed.
Peekaboo(704) Disputed
2 points

Yeah, that's roughly what I mean. I don't really see good and evil as being independent, eternal entities. It's just a label. I see someone doing something I agree with morally, so I say they're good. Vice versa for evil. So far I haven't seen compelling evidence that good and evil exist outside of people's actions.

Another thing is, morality isn't an absolute like gravity is. We know what the law of gravity is, and if we see a drawing where people on Earth are floating upwards, we'd all know the law of gravity is being violated.

But we don't all agree with matters of morality. Most people today will say Hitler committed evil deeds, but what about the perspectives of Nazi officers or the millions of Germans who supported him back in his day? To them he wasn't evil. So how do we determine which perspective is the right one?

Different religions and philosophies have stated their own sets of morality (e.g. Ten Commandments for Christians, treat people as means rather than ends for Kantians), but since there is nothing near a consensus as to which rules are right and which are wrong, how can we say that there is a law of morality?

Side: No, it was created by mankind
2 points

Good and evil has always been a point of view depending on the person who is debating between the two.It is the same as right and wrong. What is Right/good to one person may be wrong\evil to another. Because it is all based on the individuals point of view it can not really be considered something that actually "exists".

Side: No, it was created by mankind
1 point

Good and Evil are points of view. In reality, their is no good and evil, just existence.

Side: No, it was created by mankind

Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so. A person has to be taught what is good and what is evil.

Side: No, it was created by mankind