Why does a man perform evil things?

Answer 1

Sadly yes, they do. They always have done & it's my guess they always will. It seems that is what Human Nature is like.

A simple example, though not really considered "evil" but connected in some ways: fighting, teaseing, name calling. All of these thing could lead to someone getting hurt.

Answer 2

Evil is a judgment we make on actions or events that happen. Evil is an invention we have made in order to better understand who we are and who it is we want to be. As we become more aware of who we are and what it is we want to be we begin to better understand the fabrication of evil and good and that all that we do can be evil or good or not and it is by judgment alone that we behave in either evil or good ways. Adolf Hitler is held as a paragon of evil and yet should we believe Hitler himself saw his actions as evil? While Hitler rose to power and kept it he was adored by many and those many approved of his actions. With such approval and adoration is it reasonable to think Hitler saw his actions as evil? Did Hitler commit evil acts? A judgment deeming it thus would be prudent and yet teaches us nothing if we can not understand that Hitler acted with approval from many. Was it the people of Germany during the time of Hitler that were evil then? Perhaps we come to better understand this profound invention of good and evil if we all agree that Germany did act collectively in an evil way and yet to lay the blame of Hitlers actions solely on Hitler and Germany only diminishes the proper use of this invention we call evil. It was the world that turned their head while the Germany condoned the actions of Hitler and indeed helped him act them out and they did so because Hitler quite simply gave the world what it wanted.

This analogy may be hard to accept but the events that led to the rise of Hitler were events caused by a collective agreement of the world. We as people had not yet made the decision to be good until Hitler gave us exponential evil. Hitler showed us what was wrong with us and it took us as a collective too long to decide to be good. Indeed, today while we all collectively agree it was Hitler that was evil and forgive everyone else for their share in those atrocities we empower individuals today who will do for us what Hitler did for our ancestors then...show us just how evil we all can be. Do we want to be evil? We don't really seem to want to be good...sure, we can be good as long as the price isn't too high but if the cost of goodness interferes with our need for comfort then we begin to choose the lesser of two evils and before you know it we get a modern day Hitler so our children can one day ask why was that person so darn evil?

We need not be evil or good and should concern ourselves with those actions that serve us best. Of course, coming to understand what serves us best is a tricky piece of knowledge. We often times view the world and what serves us best in terms of individual desires and there is nothing right or wrong with this...until we start making decisions that others must suffer so that we may remain comfortable. This is why we commit evil acts, because we come to the conclusion that evil serves us. We, of course, do not judge our decisions as evil and will even look for outside approval for our decisions but in our hearts and souls we know what is good for us and it doesn't include the suffering of others. When we begin to think about accepting responsibility for all of us as a whole we then begin to understand the mechanics of this crafty invention of ours known as good and evil.

Answer:

Evil acts are caused by craving or desire. The degree of craving is increased by the attachment to senses and to false notions. It is the false notion of personal wealth, personal glory, personal power, personal supeiority and personal pride and the uncontrolled indulgence in sensuality or habitual attachment to sensual pleasure that govern craving or desire. This tends to delude our mind that causes evil acts.

Answer 3

People perform evil things for many selfish reasons, including greed, hatred, intolerance and pride. Sometimes they can even be forced into doing evil things out of fear of great loss, such as a threat to life or loss of a loved one. In a few cases, people do evil things because of mental illness. Religion can be an indirect reason for doing evil things, but there is usually an underlying, primary cause, such as power or credulity.