Things {evil}| can be against God's will, against custom or convention, against nature or natural law, or against happiness. Actions and states can be evil.
value
Evil has negative value, because the good or right has positive value. Evil is good's lack, incompleteness, deficiency, or non-existence.
choice
Evil is an available choice among alternatives.
types
Evil is conflict, incompatibility, or low harmony. Religious evil is blasphemy, unorthodoxy, sins against church, and failures in religious duties, such as prayer, tithing, or penance. Educational evil is frustration, boredom, and misdirection. Intellectual evil is untruth and insincerity. Moral evil is harm to others or rights deprivation. Social evil is actions against whole groups or social order. Material evil is starvation, no shelter, no warmth, and no medical care. Aesthetic evil is insincere, unskilled, or evil-encouraging art.
pain
Evil is or causes pain and suffering. Pain and suffering {natural evil} can result from acts of nature. Pain and suffering {human evil} can result from human actions. People can choose to cause pain and suffering, cause them indirectly by pursuing goals that harm others, or cause them accidentally.
purpose
Perhaps, limited human reasoning and perception makes evil only illusory. Evil can be necessary to allow existence or to bring about greater good.
People can try to show why evil exists and what the greater good is {theodicy}. Perhaps, God uses evil as tests, correctives, or motivators, to accomplish ends. Perhaps, God has right to use evil and cause pain and suffering.
Evil can be necessary to allow free will {freewill defense}.
Natural evil can be necessary to bring about such things as courage, patience, sympathy, and other high-level thoughts, actions, and feelings {higher-order goods defense}.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225