Today, I cemented the learning that there is no such thing as good and evil. The concept is a lie we tell ourselves to corrupt our own freedom. “Good and evil” is a lie.
You are fat, angry, ugly, lonely, and tired (FAULT). You’re like this because evil is in your head and you punish yourself for it. Being evil is not your fault. But, evil is your FAULT.
Within me, forgiving anyone is now possible without restriction, exception, or hesitation. I unlocked this superpower from recognizing the lie.
A Sensory Moral Compass
Seven years ago, something changed in my body. I began to sense a tingle in my scalp when I would do something that my brain considered ‘good’ or ‘evil.’ When I was evil, the left side of my scalp would tingle. When I was good, the right side of my scalp would tingle. I somehow developed a physically sensed moral compass.
I learned that I was generally more ‘evil’ than I was good. How could that be? I was not an arms dealer, rapist, oligarch, addiction peddler. In my mind and the minds of most I knew, I’m an honest, kind, and hardworking person. I was once even described as a ‘gentle soul.’ Yet, my brain told me I was evil.
In the following years, I sought to understand why I was supposedly evil. To put it simply, most young white men in my position are at the whims of nurture over nature. We live, relatively speaking, comfortable lives. This comfort affords us to fully engage with our culture. Our culture tells us every day that there is good and evil in the world. With the pervasive growth of social media, we see it now more than ever.
Yet, good and evil is a lie.
“Of course there is evil, what about…”
I’m sorry, but I need to stop you there. The most heinously ‘evil’ people, in my mind, fall into two categories:
- People who justify heinous acts with preserving the greater good
- Sociopaths (or a combination of sociopathy and #1)
Okay, so what about them? I do not see evil here. I see:
- Someone who truly believed the concept of good and evil and felt so wronged (either personally or on behalf of their group) that they would destroy their soul and place in history to ensure their perception of evil is never carried out again
- Someone who was so severely traumatized in their formative youth that their brain wiped out any possibility of humanity from their brain permanently
“But, Ian, these people would not exist without people committing acts of evil.”
Perhaps, but, evil is an egg. It can only hatch if you acknowledge in your mind that it deserves life. When you do this, you make yourself susceptible to committing or enabling acts of evil. This leads to more acts of evil carried out by anyone else who does not realize that the idea of good and evil is a lie.
Ethics vs. Morality
Ethics is real and identifies violations of a human beings’ time
The word ethics and the word morality is considered interchangeable. Setting aside the fleeting and useless nature of words, this interoperability is also a lie. Why? Because ethics as it stands now appear to fit parameters centered around respecting each others time. If you do anything that takes time away from someone without their consent, you are acting unethically. How does this work? Think about anytime you are wronged. One way or another, your time was violated:
- If someone stole from you, you lost the time spent earning your stolen item
- If someone physically hurt you, you lost the time it took to heal
- Immediate-term, to heal the physical damage and to pay for medical treatment
- With paying for medical treatment, you lose the time related to earning the money spent on that medical treatment
- Short-term, to heal from the emotional damage
- Long-term, to deal with the symptoms of your injuries (if applicable, such as a broken knee)
- Lifelong-term, time lost from reduced lifespan (if applicable)
- Immediate-term, to heal the physical damage and to pay for medical treatment
- If someone emotionally abused you, you lost the time in a deceitful relationship, as well as time needed to heal during and after that relationship or interaction
I think those broad examples cover most ethical violations in one way or another.
Morality is not real, it obfuscates the fact that good and evil is a lie
Morality is the personal practice of measuring what is good and what is evil.
- Marijuana is good
- Homosexuality is evil
- Inserting a vodka soaked tampon in your anus is good
- After reading the line above, you now think the writer of this article is evil
- Killing an ant is evil
- Bacon is good
- Fire is good
According to who? Morality is completely useless as a cultural or societal practice because no one cares about your individual morality. You likely don’t care about anyone else’s morality either. Sure, maybe you’ll care if someone has the same morals as you. That feels good. You may care if someone is an affront to your morals. That feels bad, evil.
Unfortunately, this is all a circus your brain puts on for your amusement as you continue to blind yourself to the fact that good and evil is a lie.
How to identify for yourself that good and evil is a lie
First and foremost, any example or instructions I give will likely not work for you. This article is a hypothesis for you. After reading this, it is up to you to test this hypothesis. You may never find evidence of confirmation, but I suspect you will die a miserable person if that happens. However, I believe you will find evidence if you actively seek it out. If you find understanding in this idea, you may find positive physiological health effects, including improved mental health.
The best way to identify that good and evil is a lie is to seek out confirmation. Make it a daily practice.
When you have a moment of mental silence, you may find yourself picking up your phone. Use this as your prompt. Put your phone back down and think about people in your life, your community, your nation, or online, that are evil. Why are they evil? Put yourself in their shoes as best you can. Right from the beginning when they were a drooling baby. Do this every day, even if you don’t see the lie.
Practice this seeking. For me, it took years. I hope it does not take you as long. It may take longer. Seek it out.
The idea of good and evil is a lie. It is your FAULT. The beauty of something being your fault is that you can take responsibility for it and start the process of healing.
