Post by dirtypillows on Oct 6, 2020 12:49:25 GMT
How would you describe the difference between someone who is evil and somebody who is insane? Two people who might be capable of committing similarly horrific acts against humanity, but who are somehow wired differently...
I have a hard time when I try to decide on what is evil. I guess I think that somebody who is truly evil lacks something that most of us have. Compassion, empathy, conscience and also knowing the difference between right and wrong, evil cannot harbor these qualities. Maybe also a pathological narcissism is a common trait in evil.
Looking at serial killers is as good a place as any. I would say that Ted Bundy and John Wayne Wayne Gacy were most likely evil people. Though with Bundy, he almost seemed more like a vicious predator, the way he managed to escape from the high security prison because he was compelled to kill. He was like a wild animal, more predatory than a great white shark.
Jeffrey Dahmer, I'm not as convinced that he was truly evil. I just think he was extremely messed up in the head. Watching him during interviews, he didn't put out the same vibe as other serial killers. I don't know. And then there's Aileen Wournos, who I think was just plain mad at the world. I have a tendency to feel a tremendous amount of pity for the Aileen Wournos' of this world.
I am going to post this on the general board as well. But what movie characters who do awful things would you say are "evil" and what characters who do similarly terrible things would you say are "insane".
Like, for example, the Tooth Fairy in "Manhunter" or Leatherface in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"...
I have a hard time when I try to decide on what is evil. I guess I think that somebody who is truly evil lacks something that most of us have. Compassion, empathy, conscience and also knowing the difference between right and wrong, evil cannot harbor these qualities. Maybe also a pathological narcissism is a common trait in evil.
Looking at serial killers is as good a place as any. I would say that Ted Bundy and John Wayne Wayne Gacy were most likely evil people. Though with Bundy, he almost seemed more like a vicious predator, the way he managed to escape from the high security prison because he was compelled to kill. He was like a wild animal, more predatory than a great white shark.
Jeffrey Dahmer, I'm not as convinced that he was truly evil. I just think he was extremely messed up in the head. Watching him during interviews, he didn't put out the same vibe as other serial killers. I don't know. And then there's Aileen Wournos, who I think was just plain mad at the world. I have a tendency to feel a tremendous amount of pity for the Aileen Wournos' of this world.
I am going to post this on the general board as well. But what movie characters who do awful things would you say are "evil" and what characters who do similarly terrible things would you say are "insane".
Like, for example, the Tooth Fairy in "Manhunter" or Leatherface in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"...
