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==Philosophical quandaries about evil==

==Philosophical quandaries about evil==

===Is evil universal?===

===Is evil universal?===

A fundamental question is whether there is a universal, transcendent definition of evil, or whether evil is determined by one's social or cultural background. C. S. Lewis, in ''The Abolition of Man'', maintained that there are certain acts that are universally considered evil, such as rape and murder. On the other hand, it is hard to find any act that was not acceptable in some society. Less than 150 years ago the United States of America, and many other countries practiced brutal forms of slavery. During [[World War II]], [[genocide]] was deemed acceptable, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/ Today, there is strong disagreement as to whether homosexuality and abortion are perfectly acceptable or evils. Universalists consider evil independent of [[culture]], and wholly related to acts or intents. Thus, while the ideological leaders of Nazism and the Hutu Interhamwe accepted (and considered it good) to commit genocide, the universally evil act of genocide renders the entire [[ideology]] or [[culture]] evil.

A fundamental question is whether there is a universal, transcendent definition of evil, or whether evil is determined by one's social or cultural background. C. S. Lewis, in ''The Abolition of Man'', maintained that there are certain acts that are universally considered evil, such as rape and murder. On the other hand, it is hard to find any act that was not acceptable in some society. Less than 150 years ago the United States of America, and many other countries practiced brutal forms of slavery. During [[World War II]], [[genocide]] was deemed acceptable, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/] Today, there is strong disagreement as to whether homosexuality and abortion are perfectly acceptable or evils. Universalists consider evil independent of [[culture]], and wholly related to acts or intents. Thus, while the ideological leaders of Nazism and the Hutu Interhamwe accepted (and considered it good) to commit genocide, the universally evil act of genocide renders the entire [[ideology]] or [[culture]] evil.

Views on the nature of evil tend to fall into one of two opposed camps. One, moral absolutism, holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by [[God|god]], nature, morality, common sense, or some other source. The other, moral relativism, holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local [[culture]], custom, or prejudice. Moral universalism is the attempt to find a compromise between the absolutist sense of morality, and the relativist view; [[universal]]ism claims that morality is only flexible to a degree, and that what is truly good or evil can be determined by examining what is commonly considered to be evil amongst all humans.

Views on the nature of evil tend to fall into one of two opposed camps. One, moral absolutism, holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by [[God|god]], nature, morality, common sense, or some other source. The other, moral relativism, holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local [[culture]], custom, or prejudice. Moral universalism is the attempt to find a compromise between the absolutist sense of morality, and the relativist view; [[universal]]ism claims that morality is only flexible to a degree, and that what is truly good or evil can be determined by examining what is commonly considered to be evil amongst all humans.