Are the greatest Evil People Trying to Do Good?

Well i definately dont wanna Get into a Whole politacal thingy Debate....ive no clue how government works as do none of us really and all we base our opinions on is the media and whats given to us...None of us are REALLY "there" and Cant REALLY say first hand So im not about to go out bashing bush or the war or whatever.

I understand a wish to avoid politics, and not to comment on things you know little about...but to say 'we don't really know' - if so, wouldn't a philosophy like that cut both ways then? (re : naming evil people)

There is certainly enough research done out there to find out, not everything, but a good deal, should one choose to search :wink:

Yes

and Merry Christmas !

Nah,You Are right though...We DONT really know and hence the point of this topic! To get peoples opinions on it.......

We DO really know.
Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Mao, the Kennedys, Pol Pot all thought
that thay were doing the right thing
in the execution of their philosophy.

That 's Y thay DID it.

I would tack on that many of them probably believed that 'might makes right', or that 'the end justifies the means', or that 'there are casualties in any war', or that 'there's no other way', or that 'someone has to have the will to bring peace', or that 'its for the security of our people'...etc etc etc

yeah,i can see that......Maybe they felt as if they had to take drastic steps In order to accomplish In what They in their eyes saw as a "greater good' Although it wasnt....and since they were people of such power There was really nobody To Stop them.

We always think we are the good guys, so for people like Osama it's like we are too dumb to understand "the greater good". because if they thought what they doing was wrong they wouldnt do it, make sense?

You have to consider the posability that the greatest evil people are psychopaths. That is why we don't understand why they do the things they do.

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Current definition of psychopath

The prototypical psychopath has deficits or deviances in several areas: interpersonal relationships, emotion, and self-control. Psychopaths lack a sense of guilt or remorse for any harm they may have caused others, instead rationalizing the behavior, blaming someone else, or denying it outright.[30] Psychopaths also lack empathy towards others in general, resulting in tactlessness, insensitivity, and contemptuousness. All of this belies their tendency to make a good, likable first impression. Psychopaths have a superficial charm about them, enabled by a willingness to say anything without concern for accuracy or truth. This extends into their pathological lying and willingness to con and manipulate others for personal gain or amusement. The prototypical psychopath's emotions are described as a shallow affect, meaning their overall way of relating is characterized by mere displays of friendliness and other emotion for personal gain; the displayed emotion need not correlate with felt emotion, in other words. Shallow affect also describes the psychopath's tendency for genuine emotion to be short lived and egocentric with an overall cold demeanor. Their behavior is impulsive and irresponsible, often failing to keep a job or defaulting on debts.[30]

Since psychopaths cause harm through their actions, it is assumed that they are not emotionally attached to the people they harm; however, according to the PCL-R Checklist, psychopaths are also careless in the way they treat themselves. They frequently fail to alter their behavior in a way that would prevent them from enduring future discomfort.