Peception: A discussion of Good and Evil

[Demosthenes]

"There is no truth: there is only you, and what you make the truth."

Is this a sweeping universal standard? No. Largely in part because there are precious few of them to go around. But the underlying wisdom I took from this statement is that the world through your eyes is made up, held together, or torn apart by nothing more than the confines of your own perception. Perception is unquestionably among the most itegral and complicated aspects of our existance. One man's evil is another man's good, with the only speration being one's own perceptions.

Yes, it can be argued that evil is evil, and good is good, because we cling so strongly to the idea of a supreme archetype seperating the two, but it's not about blurring the lines between good and evil, it's about the individual creature walking along the surface of a tiny planet and what he or she percieves to be that seperation. And, ladies and gentleman, an arguement aimed toward this statement can only be made because your perception either differs from my own, or is in allignment with what I have to say.

Our perceptions are what govern us, and our free will is what allows us these differences in allignment to begin with.

It is a principal that may allow an Islamic Fundamentalist to detonate himself on a passenger bus carrying 30 young woman to the nearby University, for no other reason than that some of those women failed to cover thier visage in public. That may be in direct contention with his religous beliefs, calling him to act upon what he percieves to be the appropriate and just course of action. His *beliefs*, which have been shaped and molded by his core perception of the world around him.

I put this scenario forward as an example of two conflicting perceptions, perceptions which by nature are abstract, but also indistiquishable in respects to the conviction of the wielder of those beliefs.

We may continue to debate whether something was right or wrong, what motives justify or excuse, or lessen any given action, but I tell you now that it's pointless to allow yourself to get excited over an arguement that clearly falls under the absolute jurisdiction of ones own perception. Because in the end all you have to look forward to is a sore throat.

A question centering so keenly on perception is libal to take the shape of a hampster on a wheel.

Some of the very best characters have been written evil, simply because the plot called for it. No further character development necessary, just gather 'round and watch the evil man do the evil things. Though there have been characters who were written beyond that stricture. For example, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. Sephiroth's transition from good to evil, from sane to mad, all happened while you were present, witnessing. Knowing why he was doing was he did after being such an honorable soldier made his action even more horrifiying, because you were forced to sympathize with him on a very personal level. What would you have done had you been in the same circumstance? It made him a more defined character, rather than using the time old 'I want power, I want acknowledgement, therefore I cast my lot with evil'.

The main character of Elfen Lied was the same. (spoiler warning) She began as little more than a horrifying force of nature, and you felt a certain apprehension for anything near her for fear that she would tear it limb from limb. However, once you understood why she was the way she was, what she'd had to endure, you found yourself disgusted with the human race, not her. Somewhere deep inside you, where your barely whispered urges lie, you wanted her to hurt those people for what they did. Because if you had been shaped by the events of her life, you would have had little restraint in doing so.

In this way, perception becomes a tool for us writers to add to our kit, and a potential lesson for the reader.

For instance, I once wrote a short story about a man on a newly colonized planet who had been called by God to heal a sickness that had afflicted his people. Soon after the man began his work, he was attacked by one of his neighbors. Being a slight man, he had little chance to defend himself, and just before his neighbor killed him, an angel appeared, saving his life and killing the neighbor. "I will watch over you as you work," the angel said.

More days passes, with more attacks from the very people the man struggled to save. His friends, his neighbors, even his family. The man was confused and in great pain because of this, yet the angel saved him each time, telling the man that they attacked him because the sickness drove them mad.

Then one day another angel descended and fought a terrible battle with the man's protector. The man's guardian lost, and the victorious angel went to the body of the other and touched him regretfully, before approaching the man.

The man was frightened and confused as the victorious angel approached, sword in hand, and asked the angel why he had done this evil thing. The angel's face appeared stricken, yet he did not speak. He merely reached out and touched the man, and with the touch the man was filled with instant understanding.

None of this revelation for a cure had been God's work, it had been The Adversary's, and the devil had a servent to make sure that the man saved the colony with his cure. The result of the colony being saved was that the cure would genically bond the virus, mutuating them into something inhuman, and that virus would have eventually spread through all the other colonies, eventaully finding it's way to earth.

Finally the man understood why his friends, and neighbors, and family had attacked him. They had been charged to put a stop to his work, and when that had failed the Angel of Death had come for him. The man realized all of this in an instant, just as the life left his eyes, and as he fell the last thing he saw was the Angel setting about the destruction of the rest of his colony.

The power of perception, in life, and in fiction, is a great and powerful thing.

[foeofthelance]

I agree for the most part. I once spent several weeks advocating infanticide as a tool of a Paladin. It essentially came down to which was the better option, sin as savior, or let the world suffer for your pride? The cost either way was the child's life.

So having done that, I prefer my shades of grey.

[StoryJunkie]

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

A Tale of Two Cities...

that's what this reminded me of

[redsliver]

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash, Army of Darkness

I hate the concepts of good and evil. They suggest there's something judging every action and then dropping it into either concept. Personally, there are actions and consequences and that's it. I see no need in complicating things further with insubstantial ideals like good, evil, justice, karma or anything else.

[Leonhart29]

Everything you do is colored by a shade of gray - there's no escaping that. White (good) and Black (evil) are the smallest parts of the action color spectrum. There is very little in life that can be 100% good or 100% evil. Even Satan has a little good in him... at least from some points of views (if you even believe in him that is).

[NinjaGaijin]

Interesting topic you brought up.

Generally, I consider that good vs evil issues in stories may indicate some degree of 'matureness'. I can't say this is a generalization but stories intended for a more 'mature' audience tend to have more complex moral issues.

Maybe it's like Harry Potter/Narnia vs His Dark Materials. The first ones [fanfics dosen't count!] have quite straightforward 'good' and 'evil' sides, whereas in HDM you're given grey characters.

[StoryJunkie]

In reality, evil is shoddy workmanship.

It's the truth. Ask any engineer. Pure evil.

(man, I love this sig so much!!!!)

[Demosthenes]

I agree for the most part. I once spent several weeks advocating infanticide as a tool of a Paladin. It essentially came down to which was the better option, sin as savior, or let the world suffer for your pride? The cost either way was the child's life.

So having done that, I prefer my shades of grey.

This is not a topic for which I ask that you agree or disagree, as there is no taking sides on the topic of perception (as I stated before, hampster on a wheel). All that you can do is recognize the mechanics of perception, and use that information in whatever role suits you best (such as writing). I simply bring perception up as another element of literature. I offer good and evil only as the most convenient example of opposing perceptions.

[madlodger]

Here is my take on perception (an excerpt from madlodger's Personal Journal):

Let's start from the beginning. Years ago... Here I was, in a little empty room with stainless steel walls and a single Window. Some light filtered in through the glass, but not much could be seen through.

The Window was ignored until boredom set in. At that point the Window was looked at and examined. A sudden thought occurred to me then: "What if I could see through the murkiness? Is there something out there?"

In order to achieve that goal, numerous books were read. Knowledge on Windows and how to see through grew exponentially.

Time went by. I realized that the cool opaque surface was uneven and that unevenness distorted mysterious Outside. "This I can work with!" I decided.

So, a long time was spent polishing Window's surface using various tools, until it became completely flat and smooth. That made a big change. More light filtered in from Outside and some strange moving objects could now be seen. Unfortunately, lack of definition prevented me from examining mysterious objects in great detail. I just knew that they existed.

"Why is it that after all that hard work I still can't see them?" That question bothered me until the realization came: "That glass is crooked on another side as well! And I can't step out to fix it. I don't have a spacesuit."

How discouraging.

At that point the Stainless Steel Room was not empty anymore, of course. Hundreds of household items and books made it very comfy. Everything was arranged to my satisfaction. Yep, I like my room a lot.

Time went by. What about that Window, though? Well...

I am getting up from my multifunctional leather office chair and walking by my fridge to the Window now. Cleaning off thick layer of dust and looking Outside. No change. Still the same. "OH, SHIT!!!" The huge spider landed right on the middle of the glass with a smack. His angry red eyes bore into mine and the next second he was gone, knocked off by a tiny piece of space debris.

"God damn!" I pulled the curtain over the Window and walked back to my chair, grabbing an icy-cold bottle of New Castle from the fridge (Keeping supply lines short is the key of our success, hehe).

Need to check my e-mails. Let's see... There are three from God. Oh, not another chain letter! What is he thinking? Deleting them. He'd be better off sending me his nude pictures, honestly. The man IS cute. What's next? Here is one from Devil:

In regard of your inquiry about moving objects outside your Window:

There are just other spaceships, much similar to your own one.

And now, here are my nude pictures

Yes, this is what I'm talking about! Mmmmm...

The murky Windows of Perception...

[Demosthenes]

That gave me such an awesome fit of the chuckles!

[madlodger]

I am glad it did. I'd rather people had a good time reading my silly posts as opposed to getting all depressed

P.S. You have posted enough replies to enable Edit my Profile function.

[Demosthenes]

Edit my profile, now why ever would I want to do that?

[StoryJunkie]

I might bite...oh, wait, nevermind...the second torrent is done.

Sorry to keep you in suspenders, although,....is hamster really spelled with a "p"?

back in a while...or maybe a few days.

[Kyouryoku Senshi]

Everything you do is colored by a shade of gray - there's no escaping that. White (good) and Black (evil) are the smallest parts of the action color spectrum. There is very little in life that can be 100% good or 100% evil. Even Satan has a little good in him... at least from some points of views (if you even believe in him that is).

Exactly. I live by the theory, 'Nothing is ever just black and white.' Sometimes there are shades of grey that cannot simply be defined by one thing or another.

[Lost_Soul]

Everything you do is colored by a shade of gray - there's no escaping that. White (good) and Black (evil) are the smallest parts of the action color spectrum. There is very little in life that can be 100% good or 100% evil. Even Satan has a little good in him... at least from some points of views (if you even believe in him that is).

Exactly. I live by the theory, 'Nothing is ever just black and white.' Sometimes there are shades of grey that cannot simply be defined by one thing or another.

If nothing is ever just black and white, then it will always be shades of grey, not "sometimes" like you said.