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| Pictured: Arthur contemplating metaphysical truths regarding religion and human behavior. And , Marilyn Monroe |
In Act I of The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes:
"The concept of unity, in which positive and negative are attributes of the same force, in which good and evil are relative, ever-changing, and always joined to the same phenomenon--such a concept is still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas."
In laymen's terms, humanity tends to gravitate towards a view of good and evil in which the former is embodied by God and the latter is the work of the Devil. To Miller, a man all too familiar with persecution, the Devil can be used as a tool to control and demonize one's enemies.
Miller phrases this idea succinctly: "A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."
The Puritans needed the Devil; their world of faith and suffering would almost be too much to bear without him.
But do modern Americans still need him?
Today, we can view the Puritan concept of the Devil under the lense of psychology and a scientific understanding of the brain and human behavior.
This is an idea more fully explored in the following article posted on Scientific American: "The Psychological Power of Satan." The author argues against the traditional view of the Devil and evil.
Your Assignment:
- Read the article and post a comment on this blog post.
- What does the article have to do with The Crucible? Does it help you make sense of the Miller quote at the beginning of this post?
- What do you make of the author's view of the Devil and evil? Is it a good or bad thing to abandon the concept of "evil" and replace it with a more psychologically sensitive view? Explain.
Your responses are due before class on Thursday, September 25th.
This article is somewhat the foundation of what the crucible is about, because of the belief in 'evil' and 'witches'. The article makes sense of the quote by Miller because he is saying how people can be controlled by both God and the Devil. However, Miller is also saying that the Devil can be controlling you, and you wouldn't even know it. To me, I believe that its a good thing to abandon the thought that the "devil might be controlling us" because I personally think its a ridiculous thought. I believe that God is doing his job to protect us from the Devil and he's letting us make our on choices, whether good or bad. However, back in Puritan times, they didn't know anything else, therefore the obvious answer was that you were controlled by the devil. That's why people now need to think for themselves instead of following the band wagon because you will never know what's true or false.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Puritans didn't believe that they were all controlled by the Devil. However, Miller doesn't appear to believe that people are controlled by the Devil or God; rather, he believes that humanity has the capacity to do good or evil.
DeleteThis article relates to The Crucible because in both the article and the story, people are blaming the devil or the idea of evil. This article does help me make sense of the Miller quote because it made me realize that in any circumstances you can blame evil. In The Crucible if a person is accused of witchcraft they find a scapegoat and are immediately forgiven. A lot of times we see this pattern of blame and even if it isn’t another person, we still rely on evil to make sense of terrible actions. Its all a matter of opinion and to one person they could be doing something they truly believe is necessary while another could say they’re insane or evil. It all depends on your personal philosophy and if you believe in this phenomenon of evil.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading the article, it appears to me that the author does not believe in evil or the Devil. When you look at evil from a psychological view you can see that it is important to understand why people turn to the devil and evil but, it is also important to understand that evil is sometimes unfair. When judging criminals, murderers or anyone else accused of evil or work of the Devil, it isn’t fair to blame evil. Evil is a concept that helps people make sense of why things oppose against them. In the eyes of a killer, they might think that they are doing something good but, they could really just be mentally unstable. While on the other hand, they might be judged as an evil person. Obviously, they have done something horrific but, for them they were doing what they thought was necessary. No one wants to be evil but, they may have different views in what is right and wrong. After reading this article my idea of evil is a lot more clear. If we understand that everyone is trying to better themselves but sometimes we butt heads, then we will truly grasp the concept of evil.
"...we still rely on evil to make sense of terrible actions." Whoa, this is deep! And well put!
DeleteBelieving that there is some sort of devil or evil is surrounding us is the only way some people can continue on with their lives which in this case would be the people of Salem. It’s nothing real but only something that they can blame for their losses. In this scenario, everyone is accusing one another for witchcraft just so they can be out of the mess that they have just created. These accusations is what is becoming a bigger problem than witchcraft itself. The number of accusations led to a number of innocent deaths and hanging them was the only way to get rid of witches or by confessing. The article says, “evil people cannot be rehabilitated,” which is the reason why killing the ones who were supposedly witches was the ‘only’ option they had.
ReplyDeleteThe research and statements given show me that the author is not someone who believes in the devil. Using the devil as an excuse for unfortunate events wouldn't really explain the things happening. ‘Evil’ back then couldn't be fixed and the only way to get rid of it was to take their lives, while today instability could be coped with rehabilitation. The concept of evil doesn't really exist today and when bad things happen we don’t look for the devil’s doing. Evil is similar to good, in a way. You either live your life as a good person or you live your life as a bad one. It’s not the work of the devil if someone decides to pick the wrong path.
The article was entertaining, from the Usual Suspects reference to, what I hope is, a joke about seventy percent of the American population believing in the devil, but it wasn’t very informative, as the Miller quote at the beginning of the post wasn’t hard to understand and required absolutely no explaining. Miller’s quote, which was reinforced by the article, basically said that a force can have positive and negative, “saintly” and “pure-evil”, aspects and still be but one force, and that this fact is not widely believed by the average, “stupid”, population, as it is “still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas.” The article and The Crucible both diminish the idea of a devil. The article does this by going against the idea of “pure-evil” and The Crucible does this by displaying witch-believers as stupid, which isn’t really hard to do.
ReplyDelete“Evil” is a dim-witted word that doesn’t mean anything. Both “evil” and “immoral” are synonyms and morals are simply beliefs about what is “good” and what is “bad”, so an immoral, or evil, person simply doesn’t share the same beliefs about what is “good” and what is “bad” that most people believe in. A “psychologically sensitive” phrase to replace “evil” is just as bad a phrase, if not more so, than “evil” as “evil” implies that someone is bad while “sick in the head” or “psychotic” implies that the person has some sort of sickness, and the “sickness” is a matter of opinion; they are called “sick” because they do not share the same morals as everyone else. So it is bad to use either term to describe outside-the-box thinkers; they are people and should be addressed as such. Animals of the same species murder and rape each other all the time; humans are animals. When a duck rapes another duck, and this event has been documented, the duck that did the raping doesn’t have to worry about being hunted down by the duck police, and when a human witnesses it, they are likely to simply take a picture. But when a human rapes someone, they are evil. Only evil people rape each other while all ducks are cute, whether they rape each other or not. Many people, most notably the very religious and, namely, the Puritans, are so egotistical that they think that they are better than other animals and have “standards”. It was this egotism that started many of the problems that exist today, if a non-human animal is sick, it dies and troubles no other non-human animals, at least in most species. If a human is sick, it certainly troubles other humans, who mourn and scream and cry as if the world will end when it dies, and when the human dies, someone needs to be blamed, so the devil is made up. Humans go through all of this trouble when they will die either way, and if the sickly human survives, going against natural selection, the once-sickly human can tell of an imaginary “devil” that caused this sickness and the other humans would believe them. A “psychologically sensitive” phrase would never be needed if the stupid weak humans that existed centuries ago died off because of natural selection, as the word “evil” wouldn’t be needed either. Humans simply wouldn’t care, which is how it should be. If you want to see the real devil, turn on Fox News, no other devils exist.
You are flirting with some serious nihilism, Bryan.
DeleteAlso: don't live like a duck. You are a human. Aspire to live better than a duck.
This article relates to the crucible because people blame the devil and evil for their wrongdoings. In Salem during the witchhunt trials people blame the devil for the bad things they speculated others were doing. The article helps me to understand the Miller quote because it shows how people like to blame anything but themselves. So they blame the devil just like the Puritans blamed the devil for the fake actions of their neighbors. People then and people now all have A tendency to blame the devil for terrible things when in reality their actions are all up to them.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of the article clearly does not believe in evil. It would be perfectly acceptable to dismiss the excuse of the devil for problems in our life. When someone drunk drives they can't say the devil made them do it. It's not the devil that makes people do horrific things it's their own morals that cause them to lose control. You see they think what they are doing is right and they don't blame the devil they try and justify their actions. As a society we shouldn't blame the devil either, we should blame people because people cause harm not imaginary beings people use as an excuse to ruin lives.
"The Psychology Power of Satan" is related to "The Crucible" because they both use evil and the devil as things to blame their problems on. This helps me with the quote because now I can connect how positive and negative are related. The negative attributes make the person blaming whatever has been done feel positive about it. Since its off their shoulders its not their problem.
ReplyDeleteThe author is trying to say that the devil is just someone that is made up to throw your problems at. It is a theoretical punching bag. If we don't want the chip on our shoulder, give it to the devil. Just like the devil we need evil. It is an explanation for us. Not everyone's evil is the same. You might think that something that someone is doing is evil, but they might think that it is just. Then that person would be known as evil. Evil is something that we need because it helps us make sense of things.
"It is a theoretical punching bag." Interesting.
Delete"Arthur Miller", the author of "The Crucible:" a book about Puritans who chase down witches that could be superstition; writes a quote in Act 1, that is relative to, "The Crucible" in many ways. In one way, the puritans just blamed evil on the devil. Another way, is the fact that the devil can be embodied as, "evil." The article states that, "In laymen's terms, humanity tends to gravitate towards a view of good and evil in which the former is embodied by God and the latter is the work of the Devil." Humanity pretty much needs the devil, because it wouldn't be able to bear the truth behind evil. This is how the article better helps me understand the quote.
ReplyDeleteThe website, www.scientificamerican.com states, "[The issue of whether “pure evil” exists, however, is separate from what happens to our judgments and our behavior when we believe in its existence.]" Evil people are born evil, so it doesent effect their judgment, likem if I were "evil," and I was to steal something, I wouldn't stop to think about if it was evil, because that's how I am. However, its not better to replace the devil with a more psychologically sensitive view, because humans need a "scapegoat," it makes them feel better about themselves. This is how humanity need "evil", such as the devil.
Darren, try to be a bit more conversational. Don't focus so much on restating the prompt.
DeleteThe article "The Psychological Power of Satan" written by Piercarlo Valdesolo is in direct relations to The Crucible. Mrs. Putnam relies on the devil and evil as much as she relies on God and faith. This is a woman who lost seven babies how else could she cope with that without the science to tell her its not her fault? Mrs. Putnam has no choice but to blame evil and the devil for something out of her control. It was Satan who ripped her seven children from her! Although there is a much higher chance of it being they were underweight, maybe they were very ill we'll never know. What we do know is Mrs. Putnam needed evil as if it were oxygen.
ReplyDeleteValdesolo's article really helped me make sense of Arthur Miller's quote, saying once someone is called evil they're ultimately dehumanized.
This article talks about evil and the devil and how modern people use it. Evil is used as a crutch all over the world. How else could we explain people that shoot innocent children or people beheading one another? Of course there is always a logical explanation to this. The chemical imbalances in their brain don't provide them with empathy or compassion. Yet, in many cases of Autism they lack the same thing. Pretty trippy isn't it? I don't think we could live in a society without evil. There's a lot of logical explanations for things but sometimes when it gets too heavy we all need a way out. So we blame the one thing that has always taken the fall.
"What we do know is Mrs. Putnam needed evil as if it were oxygen." Nice.
DeleteAfter reading this article, it helped me get a better understanding of the Crucible just because it justifies that "evil" is bs. But it relates to the book because during the times of the Salem Witch Trials, people would keep constantly naming names to get the accusation of being a "witch" off their hands. The word is thrown around so heavily because it's easy to have people fooled. They believe everything they want to hear and that still stands true today. If something wasn't to their liking back then, it must have been the devil who made the mistake, not the person. This article is basically backing all that up.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious the author of this story doesn't believe in "evil." The word itself doesn't make any sense to me. What makes something or someone evil? What act is an evil act? It isn't clear to anyone what "evil" is. Just because someone commits an act like murder doesn't mean you're possessed by the Devil nor are evil. All the wires in your brain probably aren't connected. Science can back anything up so we don't have to turn to terms like "evil" or someone being possessed by the devil.
Don't use "bs."
DeleteAlso, is it not fair to assume that sane people sometimes commit acts of evil? What about crimes of passion?
The article "The Psychological Power of Satan" written by Piercarlo Valdesolo is in direct relations to The Crucible. Mrs. Putnam relies on the devil and evil as much as she relies on God and faith. This is a woman who lost seven babies how else could she cope with that without the science to tell her its not her fault? Mrs. Putnam has no choice but to blame evil and the devil for something out of her control. It was Satan who ripped her seven children from her! Although there is a much higher chance of it being they were underweight, maybe they were very ill we'll never know. What we do know is Mrs. Putnam needed evil as if it were oxygen.
ReplyDeleteValdesolo's article really helped me make sense of Arthur Miller's quote, saying once someone is called evil they're ultimately dehumanized.
This article talks about evil and the devil and how modern people use it. Evil is used as a crutch all over the world. How else could we explain people that shoot innocent children or people beheading one another? Of course there is always a logical explanation to this. The chemical imbalances in their brain don't provide them with empathy or compassion. Yet, in many cases of Autism they lack the same thing. Pretty trippy isn't it? I don't think we could live in a society without evil. There's a lot of logical explanations for things but sometimes when it gets too heavy we all need a way out. So we blame the one thing that has always taken the fall.
In The Crucible, all of the characters are undoubtedly religious in one way or another, and they utilize their beliefs to justify their unethical actions. Blaming an easily solvable complication on the implication of an apparent malevolent force possessing and wreaking havoc simply because it can. Either some “evil Witch” committing insidious acts of bizarre proportions, or the Devil walking amongst our earthy grounds. Yet, never a reasonable solution involving some scientific aspect. That’s exactly how this article relates to The Crucible. Evil may have been self generated by Humans, electing what shall be considered an act of kindness and what shall be considered absolute madness. It could be completely psychological, hence the title: “The Psychological Power of Satan”. In the play, many talk of Witchcraft and black magic, however, there isn’t a single shred of definable evidence, just mere speculation blindly suggested to become fact.
ReplyDeleteNow, nobody truly knows if there’s a Devil, but there are variations of evil prevailing in our society. Serial Killers are perfect examples, because they originate from a severe side of society, a side in which neglectance and torment reign. Unfortunately, the neglectance and torment come from us. As I previously stated above, we create the evil, devised from our beliefs, from our prosecutions. We’re not completely to blame, there are a few elements in which such individuals as Serial Killers are created but we’ve had some hand in it all.
Are these killers always created? Is it possible that they are a part of the natural world?
Delete"The Psychological Power of Satan" seemed more like an extension of the ideas in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" rather than a deeper explanation. Arthur Miller is simply saying that there are two sides to humanity. There is good and there is bad, however it's up to society to determine what is considered good and what is considered bad. Miller is saying that good and evil stem from the same thing; like two sides to a coin. A person can't be all good or all evil, because both attributes show in humanity. This article and "The Crucible" both play with the idea of the devil. Both pieces mock the devil and turn to more humane explanations. "The Crucible" makes a mockery of the devil by showcasing the vengeance of human beings and how they use the idea of the devil as a scapegoat, and the article plays upon the idea that there is no "pure evil" but rather psychological problems pre-wired in people's brains.
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, I do see the point of how evil to most could be considered good by others. Because it's up to society to decide what's right and wrong, the concepts can be easily jumbled up. Right and wrong could be completely different things in different minds. There are mass murderers who, in their head, believe they are doing the right thing while the rest of us gasp and shudder at the "evil." Evil is such a thrown-about word that people use to describe their own fear. This leads to the theory that there is no "evil," but there is just corrupt minds. While I do agree that in some cases, it is mental illness which causes bad things to happen in this world, I do not think we can go about life and accept that. There is a fine line between crazy and the concept of evil. Not all "evil" acts come from crazy minds, sometimes it's about power as well. Humans like to feel important; like we matter. Sometimes we will do bad things to get that feeling; that sense of overwhelming power and authority. As for the actual concept of evil itself, I don't believe it truly exists. I believe we use it's idea to help us understand why things happen the way they do. We blame the devil so we won't have to blame ourselves. We point and shout "evil!" to make dealing with all the atrocities easier. However, we need that idea of evil. If we all looked to ourselves as explanations for why terrible things happen, we wouldn't be able to handle it. It's much more simple to blame it on the devil and continue on with our lives.
"Evil is such a thrown-about word that people use to describe their own fear." Ooh!
DeleteAccording to "The Psychological Power of Satan", evil is defined as: "taking pleasure in the intentional inflicting of harm on innocent others". In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", the "witches" of the devil are said to do exactly that. Therefore, this article has everything to do with "The Crucible"! The article does help me understand that there will always be good and bad, and that in a situation that is intense and could (and did) cause people to lose their lives, there must be someone, or something, to blame.
ReplyDeleteThe author of the article does not believe in the Devil, though knows that this figure of "badness" is here to portray wrong-doing, and is here to receive blame. I agree with the author as to what "evil" is. I do believe that an "evil" person inflicts pain or suffering onto another innocent person for their own amusement. Through the way the author chooses to word these sentences: "Evil people are born evil...evil people cannot be rehabilitated...the eradication of evil requires only the eradication of all the evil people..." shows me that the author believes that there can be such a thing as an "evil" person. On the contrary, it seems to be based wholly on opinion! If a person commits a horrible crime, such as a murder, it seems wrong to us because society says so. Though, to their society and to them especially, the deed they had done seemed to have been necessary, making it "okay".
To restate, "evil" is based on self-interest. If you want to cause harm and disorder, then you are evil to many people. Though to yourself, you are a good person through and through. Likewise, bullies tease and pick on others to get a laugh out of their victim's pain and embarrassment, making the bully "evil" to the victim and to some bystanders as well, though to the bully, they themselves are "good". This topic of "evil" is not a "psychologically sensitive view", but rather a bitter truth.
The author writes of evil people being born evil and beyond rehabilitation to attack diabolism. The main idea of the article is that belief in the devil is likely to cause people to feel this way, and it's dangerous (as seen in The Crucible).
DeleteIn the Crucible the devil is seen as the “pure evil” running through the village causing the strange behavior and events. Millers quote is understandable to the sense of the devil being pure evil and the savior of many. To a society who consider themselves as all mighty devoters to god, there is no second chance. There is no wrong doing, it’s pristine and perfect or shunned and overlooked. Puritans are perfect until they are different. The article explained the devils greatest trick of all would be to convince everyone he never really existed at all. It makes sense. Revenge isn’t forced down it spills until empty. Puritans needed someone to blame and what better way to do it but by belief, myth. There is no proof. But if you didn’t believe you’d be the next to blame.
ReplyDeleteDevil has the word evil written into itself. Evil is used commonly to describe those with harmful immoral actions afflicted onto others who are o innocent. With the research there is today on phycology and the way our brains are wires the idea of a scientifically explanation for psychopaths actions is far from farfetched. In addition if we still thought everything out of the ordinary was evil witchcraft would still be the number 1 answer to thinking out of the box. Nothing would ever change and progress in the world. We would be stuck in endless trials and hangings. There is evil but there are also reasons to the sinful acts. Right now humans are the cause of evil from mass murders and suicide bombers we risk ourselves and others to get our point across in the most abstracts ways. But no mention of a devil ever near. There are fine lines between everything and the decision is based on what an individual believes relating to the event.
This article and The Crucible both have a sensible connection when it comes to entitling someone as a "witch". The reason saying is because when it comes to saving your own skin you accuse someone or something else of the "evil" deed. I myself understood the quote that Miller wrote, understanding that the "devil" can come in many forms and use you as a tool, which is what the puritans believed.
ReplyDeleteAlthough "evil" does play a major part in today's world and throughout history. To me it makes sense that Miller tries to put it out there that "witch" and the "Devil" is just a scapegoat people use to get themselves out of sticky situations. In my perspective it is a good idea to replace evil and to show that it is just human nature, the reason saying is I myself don't believe in evil, I just believe that it's a psychological view of fear and woe. But, to those that are very religious they wouldn't be able to cope with the idea that "evil" doesn't exist.
In both the play "The Crucible" and the article "The Psychological Power of Satan", the devil and evil are used to fill the voids of the unknown reasons why bad things happen. Goody Putnam couldn't have known that perhaps her dead children had diseases or were malformed in her uterus because there was no technology that advanced in Puritan times. Therefore, she blames the devil.
ReplyDeleteThe article sends a similar message to Miller's quote. Both are saying only few people see that evil is relative to a perspective. The enemy of any battle is seen as evil while the side a person is on is seen as good; this is the way people who aren't as 'educated' and 'scientific' as Miller and Valdesolo think according to their arguments.
The author of the article doesn't seem to believe in a devil or evil due to being a scientific man. The article goes on to say the people who commit crimes should be seen as not the same mentally as the rest of us. They have disorders and other flaws of the mind. They don't want to be wicked, it's the way their brain is wired. This is true for a large number of convicts but not many people are in support of rehabilitation in jail. If people are so against evil, why are they also against something that would help eradicate the very crimes they see as evil? The human mind is such a mysterious place that cannot be explained.
I'm going to play devil's advocate (Ha!).
DeleteBy the time a person is incarcerated, it is very difficult to successfully rehabilitate him or her. In other words, the damage is done. We must start sooner!
The power of Satan exist within all of mankind, we are a species that (along as we have a scapegoat) will commit atrocities that seem to have only the explanation of pure Evil. In “The Crucible” the Puritans of Salem use the power of the Devil to exact revenge upon all who angered or displeased them. The people of Salem looked to only one explanation for all wrong that has happen in their lives, The Devil they used his evil name to justify their own evil deeds. The quote by Arthur Miller just explains human nature, why should we ourselves take blame for atrocity when we can blame it on others. According to Genesis in “The Bible”, Adam and Eve’s fall from grace was due to eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, the greatest weapon the Devil has brought among men is knowledge that he exist. The Latin translation of Lucifer is “bringer of light”, light can be referred to as knowledge, it is not greed that corrupts man but the knowledge of good and evil. While greed plays a large role in the Crucible, nothing would have happened if man new nothing of the name Lucifer. In the end the name Lucifer is used to explain unjust accusations of innocent people.
ReplyDeleteThe Authors view on the Devil is the he is a device that is created to justify the pure evil of man, and the idea of God is too justify the devil because what’s good without evil. According to the Bible the Devil feeds on the fear of him, so it would be good to look for more psychological explanations than supernatural. I do not believe that we should abandon the idea of “evil” because all men have it in them as shown by the Milgram experiment, but ideas of witchcraft being related to the Devil are just ridiculous. We humans fear what we cannot understand and that is why we should abandon the thought of pure evil.
"...the idea of God is to justify the devil because what’s good without evil." (Fixed the typo)
DeleteThis is the nature of humanity. Can we have good without evil?
"The Psycholohy Power of Satan" is related to "The Crucible" because both display the works of evil. The article helps me understand the crucible more and shows how the quote is similiar. It shows how the puritans believed someone who they look at as their enemy is the work of the devil, and they blame what they have done to them as them being a witch or "witched".
ReplyDeleteThe article doesn't necessarily back up the idea of the devil as the truth but it shows more how it can be used as a sense of power. That blaming someone can't basically handle your light work in the sense that a small claim or acusation can cause someone alot of agony and grief. Since evil and the devil isn't defined and nobody knows exactly what it is it's accepted as a form of crime. When it may be other things like personality disorders, schizophrenia, seizures or spasms; etc.
Great icon.
DeleteThis article relates to The Crucible because they did not believe in the devil. This whole witchcraft thing is crazy. If someone in Salem did something wrong they pointed fingers to the devil. This would help them get the blame of themselves. Today if my mom were to be mad that i did not clean my room and i blamed it on the devil, I think she would look at me like i had three heads. Back in the Salem days they heard the devil and freaked out, blew it out of proportion and started a huge trial. THis whole thing was to get the blame away from themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe author clearly did not believe in the devil or evil. i support this man one hundred percent. If someone murders someone or drinks and drives or any other horrible thing this doesn't make them evil. they also can not blame it on the devil. Obviously it is not a good thing to be doing but these people just have bad intentions. when i think of "evil" i think that you have to be born like that. these killers today aren't born thinking that they are going to kill someone when they get older. they simply go through a bad time in life and unfortunately this is what they turn to. do not get me wrong though, there are some crazy people out there who would try to blame this on the devil but who would believe that .
“The Psychological Power of Satan” relates with The Crucible on the idea of how people use their belief of pure evil, or the “Devil”, as the answer of everything that seemed unjust to them. The Crucible shows how the Puritans would accuse people who had wronged them, of being evil, in this case of being a witch. And for those who were accused, they would play the blame game and the process will keep repeating until someone gets hanged. This article does help me make sense of Miller’s quote because Miller basically writes how good and evil are relative in a single nature, and in the article, the author writes how sometimes regular people can perform atrocious acts, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are evil. In The Crucible, the Puritans accuse people to be witches because they claim to be ridding the Devil from their society, when really in the back of their minds they most likely were just trying to get rid of those who offended them, which shows the idea of good and bad existing together and how normal, sane people can do horrible things.
ReplyDeleteThe author obviously does not believe in the idea of the Devil and of evil. From a psychological viewpoint, the article states how evil is nothing more than a “misguided understanding of human nature”. It is easy to see why people blame the Devil for many things that happen, and when looking at the problem of whether or not to believe in pure evil, I think it would be best if society lets people choose whether or not they want to abandons the concept of “evil” and swap it with a psychologically sensitive view for themselves. Deserting the belief that pure evil exist could be better because it would make people accept their mistakes instead of blaming others. Additionally, society would be less antagonistic to those who could be redeemed for their actions. However, evil is also necessary in life. Without it, a person would be too loaded with too much burden and eventually break down. So, having the idea of the Devil is basically a necessary evil, because sometimes people need it for relief. In the end, I would choose to get abandon the idea of evil if it were possible, but only if there were no consequences in doing it.
"So, having the idea of the Devil is basically a necessary evil, because sometimes people need it for relief."
DeleteThe article somewhat relates to The Crucible because the Puritans just use the Devil or evil as an explanation for all the mishaps that has been happening in Salem. The Miller quote shows that the devil is used as an excuse to explain strange events. The Puritans did not have the knowledge that we have now, so all this acts of "evil" can only be explained as an act of the devil.
ReplyDeleteThe author of the article does not believe in evil or the devil. If someone does something morally wrong, it's probably because they were traumatized in some way, or they're simply just messed up in the head. However, some people do not understand this and say the devil caused this to happen. Automatically making the person "evil".
After reading "The Psychological Power of Satan" it helps because it explains everything. "The Crucible" and "The Psychological Power of Satan" are basically twins. In both readings people feel that it is right to blame the devil for any evil doings. In the Salem Witch Trials people legitimately thought there were witches so they believed it was right to blame the "witch". However once someone was blamed they found a scapegoat or their enemy and blamed them. Also people like Mrs. Putnam had to believe in the Devil or else her life would be way to hard to handle. Her whole life was revolved around Religion and God and to think that God or even herself had anything to do with her seven children dying was to much to handle so she blamed the devil. The article really helps with Miller's quote because the quotes talks about both evil and good come from the same force.
ReplyDeleteThe author of the article does not believe in evil or the Devil. For Puritans abandoning the concept of the Devil would be life threatening but in today's age it might not be that detrimental. If we abandoned the concept of the Devil then people would actually have to take blame for what they did wrong. When someone becomes psychotic and goes around and murders someone it is and evil act but they weren't consumed by the Devil, they most likely have a mental problem. In this world there are evil acts where people inflict pain on innocent people but they were never consumed by a Devil they simply don't know the difference between right and wrong.
In The Crucible the puritan’s believed that all the “suffering” that was being inflicted upon them was the work of the Devil and his witches. However, in their case the Devil was not to blame for their misfortunes. The only source of evil in Salem were the people themselves. They used the talk of witchcraft as a tool for revenge upon those who they had disputes with. Pertaining to the quote by Arthur miller; the people of Salem were “revealing” other witches for the good of their town and anyone who associated with them or did anything suspicious was accused of being in contact with the devil. Considering the fact that almost everything was prohibited in their town, anything “out-of-the-ordinary” meant that you were a witch.
ReplyDeleteThe author believes that the Devil is not a spiritual or religious being. Instead a psychological entity that makes a human do wrong and takes the blame for their atrocities. In terms of the world today, the existence of the Devil is demeaned. Back then, they would blame a massive forest fire on the Devil, but now people can start a fire with sticks and dry plants. He’s a witch! After all, there is no true evil. Evil is based on opinion and a point of view. It’s psychology. Is it evil for a man to kill another? But wouldn’t his actions be justified if he did it to save innocent lives? Abandon the concept of evil, and accept the fact that something is only “evil” if it goes against what a person wants.
This article helped me to better understand why people choose the devil to blame for their own wrong doing. People blame the devil to not only make themselves look better, but to also feel good about themselves. Some people need to believe that evil does exist in order to make other actions seem better, or right. In ways this portrays in “The Crucible” because of how often people would blame the devil and his evil doing. Without any evil there isn’t any good, just like without any color, there aren’t any rainbows. In a sense people believe evil is needed as a balance.
ReplyDeleteThe author himself has a negative view on evil. People like to use the concept of evil as an act or a feeling, but is it really there or is that just what we tell ourselves so we think were good? People are accused for being evil but does going about a situation a different way than someone else would make you an evil person? The point the author is trying to make is that evil is made up by everyone and that it doesn’t technically exist. I’ve never really thought about the concept of evil but after reading this article I realized that evil isn’t there but some people compare evil to other things.
This article relates to the Crucible because in both, they both use evil and the devil as an excuse for something. It helped me realize the quote means in a way that people used evil in a way to get good out of something, for example, in the Crucible people used the devil as am excuse to get money and land. I think people using the devil as an excuse instead of evil is equally as bad because they're just using evil as an excuse to get something. People just want an easy answer or easy way out of something and they get that by accusing another person or an idea, which is what they did in te Crucible to get money and land. I can understand why people did it because it was the easier way to get what they wanted but to me it's still not psychologically right to do that. I know some people physically cant help being like that but i doubt the whole town in the Crucible was phychologically messed up like that, people just caught on the the game and trick they were using. It's like today when people don't want to admit something they just blame it on someone or something else and still manage to be okay and get what they want.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Lemise
This article relates to the Crucible because in both, they both use evil and the devil as an excuse for something. It helped me realize the quote means in a way that people used evil in a way to get good out of something, for example, in the Crucible people used the devil as am excuse to get money and land. I think people using the devil as an excuse instead of evil is equally as bad because they're just using evil as an excuse to get something. People just want an easy answer or easy way out of something and they get that by accusing another person or an idea, which is what they did in te Crucible to get money and land. I can understand why people did it because it was the easier way to get what they wanted but to me it's still not psychologically right to do that. I know some people physically cant help being like that but i doubt the whole town in the Crucible was phychologically messed up like that, people just caught on the the game and trick they were using. It's like today when people don't want to admit something they just blame it on someone or something else and still manage to be okay and get what they want.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete"The Psychological Power of Satan" and The Crucible both elaborate on the idea of how people constantly use their beliefs of “pure evil”, the “Devil”, or in this case “Witchcraft”, to cover up for the unknown reasons of why bad things happen. For example, Mrs. Putnam lost seven of the eight children she birthed. Back then they didn’t have technology, so her babies could’ve suffered from anything. However, she had no choice but to blame the devil for the deaths of them, because she had no clue. The “Devil” is who took them away from her.This article defiantly gave me a better understanding of Arthur Miller’s ideas. Mainly because, it was straight forward, and I didn’t have to go looking up words every five seconds. Miller is basically saying that there are two sides to humanity. A good side and a bad side. Yet, it all depends on how our society sees the situation. Furthermore, Miller based his thoughts off the famous saying, “There are always two sides to a coin.” In this case, it simply meant that good and evil stemmed from the same place.
The author clearly does not believe in evil or the Devil.
Humans tend to do what they consider to be the best course of action, relative to their needs. Therefore, they consider these actions to be “good”. If another person sees the actions as conflicting with their beliefs, they will label that person as “evil”, or wrong in some way. For example, the sandy hook shooting. The man had some serious mental issues, he killed his own mother, and twenty-six innocent people. To him he could’ve been doing something he thought was good. Yet, to others he was seen as a mass-murdering sociopath. I believe that simply looking at this from a psychologically sensitive view will not change anything, because people are going to have their own beliefs and opinions regardless. Additionally, there are too many people in this world to try and please. So this whole concept of “good” and “evil” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
We have to agree to some moral standards. All civilization is based on this "simple" idea.
DeleteThe article relates to The Crucible because the Puritans kept blaming the devil for every suspicion they had about witchcraft. The article makes Miller's quote a little easier to understand. It shows how everything coincides with one another. If there is good, then there is evil. If there is a God, then there is a devil.
ReplyDeleteThe author does not believe in the devil. However, he does believe in evil. It is a bad thing to abandon the concept of evil, because there is evil in the world. But just because evil exists, it doesn't mean people should get blamed for having it. It lives in every person, but the amount differs. The term has been used loosely, like most of the words in my generation, and it probably has lost its depth. But like Miller said, everything, even God, has to have an opposite.
"...everything, even God, has to have an opposite."
DeleteArthur Miller’s quote was rather straight forward with what it had been said about it. "The concept of unity, in which positive and negative are attributes of the same force, in which good and evil are relative, ever-changing, and always joined to the same phenomenon--such a concept is still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas." Good and evil or at least the concepts of them form, compel themselves out and transform within the same line and are only branches of one another. The article is nothing but, a support of very clear, stream lined and simplified information on the topic from the Scientific American. However, it does pertain an unusual interest and penchant towards the Salem Witch trials both in history and in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. The topic of evil by modern day terms is inflicting harm intentionally on one another. Now, regardless of mental state, condition or anything else we as a whole of humanity would like the blame a person’s actions on an evil act remains an evil act. This is apparent in “The Crucible” as they constantly are condemning people left and right to death for witch craft with the constant talk of the devil. However, the article soon takes a look at modern day and the changing views of people based on their belief in pure evil. The older version mentioned does hold power over “The Crucible” as their pure evil is the devil itself.
ReplyDeleteNow, whether or not the author of the article’s later half is correct or not is a completely different story. His view is quite certain that the devil was an idea of evil used in the past to help explain certain events in the past. It’s a detached view from the original concepts and religious concepts on the idea. It seems a more favour or bias for the psychological view as a whole from the author is overly apparently. A physiological view of the issues pertaining to inmates and people who have committed atrocities will help explain why they might have done them, how to treat these people’s minds but, it doesn’t excuse them of their action that was unjust and well evil, despicable or vile. A certain balance between the two views is needed for a wholly physiological view is entirely the wrong idea as a way to deal with this. It will leave too many ways to deal with it the wrong and leaves it’s sentenced lightened. Perhaps, I’m too strongly rooted in my ways of right and wrong, good options and bad options and very, very strict prison systems like in Russia but, I don’t see going to one end or another is truly needed. Extremes on both ends lead to a road paved with good intentions down to hell yet, the middle across will come to a well thought out compromise between the two.
Interesting. If more people felt this way, I think the world would be a more peaceful place.
DeleteThe article and The Crucible, both have a connection. They are talking about somehow the Devil is the cause of our problem. In reality, it isn't. Its just someone putting a blame on someone else.The article help me understand what Miller is trying to say with that quote. In "The Crucible", people get accused for witchcraft, but actually it isn't because of the devil. It is all on their self-interest. They are following one god, money. They talk about how the devil done all these bad things, but its actually them. The people are trying to do the right thing, but they are doing the opposite. Is there really a devil or witch?
ReplyDeleteThe author think the devil and belief of pure evil is mambo jumbo. In a psychological view, he thinks that the devil and pure evil is just a figure of our imagination. Is pure evil only in evil people? Is every killing a part of the devil and pure evil? Most of these question has a similar answer, NO. Not every death has to do with the devil or evil. Some were by accidents and others were just suicides. Most common deaths are cause by illness. Is that the work of the devil? NO. After the article, I started to realize about evil and question the reason behind. Is there really no pure evil?
People from Salem think that it's okay to just blame the bad and evil things on the Devil. That thought is also referred to in "The Psychological Power of Satan". The people are always blaming everything on the devil and evil just so they have an answer to why things happen. In "The Crucible" and "The Psychological Power of Satan" they both refer to how you can blame the bad-doings on evil. Additionally, in the crucible they just continue to accuse each other and say it is all because of the Devil when in reality things happen because you make them happen. Although, the passage did help me understand the Arthur Miller quote, "The concept of unity, in which positive and negative are attributes of the same force, in which good and evil are relative, ever-changing, and always joined to the same phenomenon--such a concept is still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas." But not everything can be blamed on this so called "evil" or "devil".
ReplyDeleteThings happen for a reason and people just have to deal with it. We have science for a reason. Blaming everything on evil and the devil just doesn't make sense. If people would just own up to their mistakes and harsh actions we wouldn't have to blame everything on something fake. Just because someone is mean or insane does not mean they are controlled by the devil, it's just because some people are born with that nature. It's all just science.
This article relates to "The Crucible" because it uses the idea that evil or the Devil are things that were made up in order to have something to blame for wrong doings. In the book, they're using 'witchcraft'-the power of the Devil- for revenge. The accuser will accuse and in order to not be killed, you had to give up the names of other witches. The article helps me understand the quote by Arthur Miller. It shows that the devil can be used to gain power and manipulate others.
ReplyDeleteA psychological view of evil makes more sense. When you hear about a person gruesomely killing someone else, the forst instinct you have is to call them evil. Your perception of evil is based on who you are, who you're around, and how you were raised; all these things affect your mind, the way you think, snd your opinion of good and evil.
The article and The Crucible both state that "good" and "evil are basically the same thing, and it's up to people on how they perceive things based on their own beliefs. Different people have their own set of values, and of course there are going to be conflicts between them. However, no matter how much hatred builds up, people can't just take actions based on their feelings. They need a reason, and using evil as a justification is really easy. Using personal motivations sounds selfish and greedy, but saying the action is done for the good of humanity sounds pretty appealing. It also helps to clear any guilty consciences. For example, the US has done some pretty disgusting things to other countries, but its okay because its done for our 'freedom'.
ReplyDeleteThe devil and evil are just ideas that people came up with for their own selfishness. They don't actually want to deal with a problem, so they put a label on it to make it seem immutable and helpless. They just want an easy way to end it. Everyone treats criminals as the trash of society because they're "evil", but no one actually tries to save them. Sure, they're locked in prison, but what does that do for us when they get out? There's no reformation. However, replacing the concept of evil with a more psychologically sensitive view doesn't actually help either because there are so many other factors that go into play. Also it's really easy to justify the action on just mental illnesses alone, and it adds on to the stigma about people with mental illnesses. That doesn't help anybody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgAvnvXF9U
DeleteThis article has everything to do with "The Crucible ". The puritan lived a very misrable life. They were forced to do everything the was their religion wanted and if they didnt it was sinful. I believe a lot of the purtians were evil. John Procter to me happens to be one of them. He was so unhappy with the fact that every political decision he tried to make failed. He doesnt like the fact that in reality no one really cares about him or his money. As you say in class hes old money and there was new money in town. I feel as though he went along with the whole witch trial thing. He know that there was no such thing, that the devil wasnt having his way with these girls. He was just so pist that he would just sit back and watch. He'd allow these horrible things happen to these innocent people. To me that is what evil is. Miller basically says that evil is all science behind it. The article says that its all psychology. The devil doesnt sit there and make you evil. No the fact that a person can inflict physical or emotional pain on someone and not have and remorse or have any empathy explains it all.
ReplyDeletePsychologically is.the reasoning behind an evil mind. To me its just hard to understand that the devil makes you evil. I strongly feel as though if you are evil mentaly there is something wrong up there! Again like I said there would have to be some type of disconection from the brain to feel emotions or have empathy for a person who is hurting.
You're thinking of Thomas Putnam, not John Proctor.
DeleteThe article "The Psychological Power of Satan," is the basis of The Crucible in that because they believed in evil, they blamed the devil for everything that went wrong. The quote by Arthur Miller says that both good and evil originate from the same thing. In The Crucible, the people were accusing others of being witches because they believed they were helping God by getting rid of them. However in reality it was all about exacting revenge on those who did you wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that the author does not believe in the devil or in evil. Evil exists only if you believe in it. However, if we take it from a psychological view, it is a “misguided understanding of human nature.” To abandon the concept of “evil” is questionable because there are so many factors to take into consideration. For example, the reason for a person shooting down a school is because they are mentally ill, but to one of the parents’ whose kid got shot; the person is evil. So we can’t replace “evil” with a psychologically sensitive view because evil is based off of a person’s opinion and point of view.
I think "evil" as a concept may actually be more subjective than a view of wrongdoing informed by psychology.
DeleteThe article “The Psychological Power of Satan” helps in some ways to give a better understanding on why the people of Salem believed as they did. The article discusses how in order to believe in good you have to believe in evil. For example, in "The Crucible" every time something good happened it was God of course, but who was to blame when something bad happened? The People weren't realistic half the time therefore they needed to have something to blame and to make themselves feel better since you couldn't blame God they came up with another source to represent evil, the devil. That idea being discussed in the article helped me understand Miller's quote more, it made it clear that along with people convicting people in the story humanity refuses to take the blame for its own wrongs deeds by refusing not to own up to them and/or by letting selfishness takeover, over time we lose control and end up needing something else to blame. I believe that evil exists in this world like the author, but I think we all have a different definition of evil. Of course their are some things that everyone would classify as evil like murder. But that doesn't mean we should go around convicting people of being evil just because we have different views on the deed, we obviously all use the word different. Puritans thought for you to be living for yourself even slightly and not for God you were evil. Ideas of evil such as that one are the type that we should disregard and not acknowledge. I feel as if evil is not something to label a person or a deed so often it should be used for events unimaginably wrong that we can all agree on such as genocides, mass shootings, etc. As much as I wanna say we should not label things as evil humanity does. Why? Cause I believe humanity needs to. They always need someone else and to blame to make themselves feel better
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong for humanity to agree upon what is evil? Sometimes it is this very agreement that motivates people to take action to right wrongs.
DeleteIn the "Crucible" the puritans knew the Devil was evil so they used it as a scape goat on anything that was strange or they didn't like. Millers quote basically said that whatever we think is good and it has an enemy, than that enemy is evil. I don't think the puritans care anymore about the Devil though because apparently they wanted to lie about who did witchcraft just so the spotlight wasn't on them or to get revenge on someone which I think is the true evil in the "Crucible." The article I do agree with somewhat but believing that evil is just human nature and someday due to science we will grow out of Evil and be evolved into a race that is better is quite stupid, which the reason why I'm stating this is because this is what most Atheists believe. Evil will always be around. We are born with the capability to do wrong when we enter the world. The Devil is evil he is only here to tempt us to do wrong. We have a choice to do what we want whether to do wrong or to do good. Do are choices make us who we are? Yah so I guess you could say that some people are evil then, but in God's eyes he will always love you no matter who you are he may be displeased though of what type of life you live because that's what the Devil wants, Which is the real Evil. I do believe that this world would be chaotic if we didn't sense that there's a Devil and a God because then there no moral people. What good is it to live righteous when there is no fear of Evil that will catch on to you if you stop like the Devil. Also people with psychological problems I don't think are possessed they are just wired differently and it's harder to make sense of things not to mention the Devil can still tempt you.
ReplyDelete"Evil will always be around." I agree: humans cannot escape the omnipresence of wrongdoing. We can only strive to ensure that our institutions are not hijacked by the forces of evil.
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ReplyDeleteBoth "The Psychological Power of Satan" and "The Crucible" revolves around the devil. One explains the reason why people still believe in devil and what impact does he have in their lives, while the other explains why the witchcraft and the trials were executed and also showing that the devil literally had control over Salem because "accused witches" were hanged for not confessing. It shows me how stupid everyone was back then. According to Miller, every being have two aspects in them "good" and "evil" and usually the evil form is hidden. The devil only get the evil form of them out making them like a coin because they don't know when they will turn evil. This actually makes Miller's quote easier to understand to me. He means that our body has both good and evil aspects, opposite like a magnet, and the idea concept is still reserved to physical sciences and to people with historical ideas.
ReplyDeleteEveryone says that the society has changed but personally I think it didn't. Well atleast not as in religious views. According to a Gallop Poll, 70% believes in devil which means 7 out of every 10 thinks the science is not the truth but devil is. According to the article, the devil is "nothing but a psychological power who control you and manipulates you into doing that is wrong in the society" and the power is controlled by none other than another human being from the community. A person can commit a crime because he is forced to or because he is mentally ill. To the victim and his/her relatives,however, that person is totally evil because he committed a crime which is against the law. Therefore, evil and devil are based on people's ideas and their perspectives because a devil to one would be a
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DeleteDoes the law always define what is right and what is wrong?
Delete(Sorry got cut our accidentally. Here is rest.) god is to another.
ReplyDeleteBoth "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and the article "The Psychological Power of Satan" by Piercarlo Valdesolo are closely related. The article explains that someone's BPE (or belief in pure evil) is connected with the idea of immutability. This idea says that evil people are born evil and can't be rehabilitated. People with a high BPE are also more likely to believe that crimes should be punished more harshly, support for the death penalty, and less support for criminal rehabilitation. This is, of course, logical thinking to anyone who believes in pure evil, as in their mind, evil is born evil and cannot be rehabilitated. This has a lot to do with "The Crucible" because, in the highly religious Puritan society, of course they believe in pure evil. It also explains the actions taken against one's enemies. If I, for example, hated Sponge-Bob, I may accuse him of being a witch. In today's society, this can be seen purely as revenge. However, after reading this article, it is plain to see that they truly believed they were persecuting evil. Perhaps Sponge-Bob has done something wrong, whether intentional or otherwise, but in Puritan times, I may have seen his act "pure evil". In my mind, I would be eradicating this evil by blaming him of witchcraft and getting him hanged. In regards to Arthur Miller's quote, it is plain to see that it explains that the Devil is the scapegoat and how the idea of Satan is almost a tool you can utilize for revenge.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the concept of evil in today's society, it almost sounds out off touch with reality. I mean, I'm sort of obligated to believe in it regardless of how ridiculous, as I am Christian. However, it can be explained scientifically. Most people have motives when committing a crime, that they can justify in their heads. Blaming it on "evil" brings us back to Puritan times. Sure, it can exist, but I doubt many humans besides people such as Osama bin Laden or Muammar Gaddafi could really be considered "pure evil".
It's always interesting to me that the people we view as evil are typically those who influence others to commit atrocities.
DeleteThis makes sense. We can understood inviduals who have transgressions, but when you get others to do your "dirty work," it's truly heinous. It is also cowardly.
The article relates to the crucible because in the crucible it is based off of evil and the devil. Everything they talked about in the article about how people thought they were being controlled by the devil is exactly what happens in the crucible. This helped me better understand the miller quote because I realized that he was saying people are influenced by good or bad , which is implying "God" and the "devil" .
ReplyDeleteThe author of this article acts as though evil and the devil is not really real , or made up. Of course he is using facts to come up with this. But I think we should abandon the concept of evil. For example , during the crucible people were just blaming and accusing other people for witch craft just so they wouldn't get in trouble. I think that believing in evil and the devil is just an easy way to take the blame off your shoulders . And it's not really a logical way to determine things. Was there even real hard evidence that these people being accused were actually witches? I don't think so. So we should try to get away from using evil and the devil as just a way to take the blame off of our shoulders and actually to the blame for the stuff we do.
Believing in some sort of devil is the only way the people of Salem can stay Puritan because everyone needs someone to blame. The Crucible and the article are both very similar. They are both saying that good and evil can come from the same place. The article helped me understand Aurthor Millers quote because it just reinforced the ideas of the quote. This article also relates to the Crucible because they both are blaming the devil for things that go wrong.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with the articles view. If there was no devil than people like the Puritans would not be able to go on with their every day lives. As long as there is evil in our lives than the devil will always be needed.
Jasmine Tran
ReplyDeleteThe article and The Crucible—they’re one in the same. Is there really a devil out there? Or is it just a figure of our imagination? How can you tell good from evil? According to the bible, the moment Eve took the apple from the tree; our innocent souls were no longer pure. That the fine line separating Heaven and Hell was now broken. The good and the bad were now jumbled together as one, everything in utter chaos. And who’s to blame for all of this? The Devil’s snake? Or Eve? During the Salem witch trials, people were pointing fingers at the devil for their unruly actions. Giles corey always getting sued. A bunch of girls dancing naked. Putnam’s numerous miscarriages. All works of the devil right here. Both Valdesolo and Miller stress the idea of “evil” and its different interpretations. Take Tituba’s situation for example. She tried telling the truth, but they wouldn’t believe her so she accused four other women for witchcraft just to spare her life. If something doesn’t go their way, they try to find someone to blame. But then there are those out there in the world who truly believe they are doing the right thing. For example, to us, Isis is wrong and all things horrible. But to their people, they might be the heros and we, the villians. Huh, so I guess the idea of evil can really be anything.
I feel if people took the time to thoroughly understand the predicament, and not immediately point fingers, the world would probably be a mess. Call me a hippie, but like the ying-yang symbol, you need to have a balance between the evil view of things and the psychologically sensitive view. A person who listens to demonic music and dresses really dark could be evil. But then again, that could just be their religion or something. That’s why you need a positive and a negative.
Just imagine the look on the Puritans' faces if they saw this article! Everything in the Crucible has to do with the belief in the devil. Without the devil, where would the witches stem from? This article surely helped me understand that "evil" is in the people but is "evil" really real?
ReplyDeleteI believe a psychological approach is the way to go on the belief of pure evil. It's all in people's heads. Their soul/ personality really describes a person's evil or morality. The terrorists, the Newtown shooter, serial killers -- all of them are sick in the head.