Evil ideas?

The question I would like to pose is this: can ideas, independant of action, be bad or evil? For example, most people consider racism to be bad. But if a racist, for whatever reason (such as fear of social sanctions) never acts on his racism, would his racist ideas still be bad? Or does it not make sense to talk about ideas being "good" or "bad" unless they result in "good" or "bad" actions?

In my opinion good and evil are both relative and based on perspectve. This is because the most, for a lack of a better word, "Evil" person does not believe themselves to be evil. Evil is a term used to dehumanize a person in order to hurt or harm them.
So dies evil breed racism or does rasicm breed evil?

I agree with Tpt. There are facts, then there are opinions. Whether or not something is evil is an opinion. A racist person doesn't see themselves as evil, obviously. A lot of people don't understand how I can say that, because there are some things that seem so entirely evil that they could never, by anyone, not be considered evil. Hitler, for example, nearly all of the world's population would agree to be evil. However, there are neo-Nazi support groups who don't think that. Ideas cannot be evil.

well.that's easy gregory. an evil/bad ideea is still evil/bad regardess if it's put into action. it's the ideea we're commenting on.
If he would act on it, then we would have an evil/bad action, besides the evil/bad ideea

Everyone has evil ideas at some point or another during their lifetime. As long as they don't act on said idea then no harm is done and it's nobodies business.

yup...only priests and/or very religios persons blame thmselves for ....unholy thinking 😄

Well in sociological terms, having ideas for lets say racism is called prejudice. Acting on those ideas or ideologys is called discrimination.

No, I dont believe in 'evil' ideas. I dont believe Hitler's ideas were evil...his method might have been...erm...not very ''good'' but his ideas warent evil, neither were Stalin's nor Mussolini's nor Castro's...i think these people (or example) had interest in what they were doing, and their ideas had a goal of some kind, but i dont think they were 'evil'.

Well, just for the record, I think ideas can be evil, and I certainly think Hitler and his ideas were evil, and I have always been uncomfortable about belief in moralistic relativity.

hitler was indeed evil. his dim minded ideas...made him..dangerously limited, for a man with such power to actually exercise his ideas

😑 Hitler was very intellignet Dexx. If he wasnt he would have never got to where he had.

You think Hitler's ideas were evil? How are Bush's ideas not evil..they are as evil, or even more evil than Hitler's were.

Hitler happen to be in history as the wost of the worst...which also happens not to be true.

His people happen to be supporting him a lot, and there are still people from the WWII who are alive and think Hitler was fantastic. In Italy, there are still calendars of Mussolini sold arround shops everywhere. In Russia portraits of Stalin are again still sold.

These people had an ideology they were following, how does that make their ideas evil?
You saying Marx's ideas were evil also?

Well, for a start, I would massively reject any vague implication that any idea Bush has ever had is remotely as evil as Hitler's.

And I believe the ideology was evil. Simple as that. So what if lots of people followed it?

Bush is going into Iraq, bombing Iraq and has done so for the past 13 years. 13 years oif sanctions and bombing, and then after all that time, he says, ''oh yah, im gonna go in with my forces, raguardless what any other country says, because i think you have weapons of mass distruction...although you hardly have anything to eat''

yeah, thats may not be evil from YOUR POINT OF VEW. To Iraq and Afgganistan and few others arround that place, as already evident, it is VERY evil.

SAme thing goes for Hitler...exactly the same. To you and many others his ideas were evil, to many others hes ideas warent.

Moral relativism. I reject it, like I just said.

I believe Bush had justification going into Afghanistan and Iraq, and your comments are not well informed. But this is not the proper place for such argument. Regardless, I think it is in VERY poor taste to compare such actions with Hitler's policy of GENOCIDE. It's not even remotely the same, and I am rather disturbed.

Hitler was evil. His ideas were evil. His actions were evil. Everyone who followed him thinking he was right, was wrong.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
😑 Hitler was very intellignet Dexx. If he wasnt he would have never got to where he had.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness

You think Hitler's ideas were evil? How are Bush's ideas not evil..they are as evil, or even more evil than Hitler's were.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness

These people had an ideology they were following, how does that make their ideas evil?

and to get back on track...i can't say i understand your thinking.
how does following an ideology rid you of being purely and truly evil? 😕

I dont support Hitler in any way, far from it, but im looking at this from a neutral perspective. (or trying to)

You cant just go and say ''well hes evil'' What the hell does that mean? Are there conditions you have to fullfill in order to be pronounced evil?

Originally posted by Dexx
what does that intelligence have to do with being evil or having dim minded ideas...such as racism..extreme racis, anyway. How can you plan to eliminate an entire nation, and hope to succede. that is the definition of evil. he commited genocide....it doesn't matter how intelligent you are

So...what about Stalin, is stalin more evil than Hitler?

What about Castro? Do you think Fidel Castro is evil?

well..i'd say killing 6 mil people + war casualties qualifies you as being evil.

Originally posted by Dexx
and to get back on track...i can't say i understand your thinking.
how does following an ideology rid you of being purely and truly evil? 😕

erm...fascism is an ideology, Nazism is a branch of fascism...Fascism has cerain views on cerain things, as does Nazism. That is an ideology, NOT set out by Hitler. He added his own shit to it..and followed it. He followed the ideology.

Hes truly and purely evil? There are some strong words there Dexx, why are you singeling out Hitler? Why dont you go back, way bac, read history from the begining....then say if Hitler was truly and purely evil.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
So...what about Stalin, is stalin more evil than Hitler?

What about Castro? Do you think Fidel Castro is evil?

what's with all the name parade? it does not matter. they MIGHT be evil, or they MIGHT be just bad leaders....OR maybe they tried to rule in their own thinking, and failed along the way.
But not any communist leader falls in the same category as hitler, because hitler has the big red ball of GENOCIDE on his side. Which pretty much sepparates him from a lot of leaders...he's right there with gingis han(sp), which was also evil

🙄 Oh yeah, Stalin was a bad leader now, was he....hes not evil, even though he killed 40 million people in the time of his rule, hes only a bad leader, but not evil! 🙄 Give me a brake. What he did isnt called genocide its called ''bad leadershp'' now is it?