Blog #3: Good v. Evil - Erin Holbrook

As children we are told stories of good and evil. In the stories, everything is  simple and well defined. One character is nice and kind, following every rule. The other is evil and twisted, breaking every rule. This is how we are trained to believe the world is.

But is there really a clear line between Good and Evil? Usually not. Usually it is more difficult to tell right from wrong. This is because most actions have unintended consequences. One great example is medical research. Many medical research studies are preformed each year involving animals. If a treatment is too dangerous for a human, then it is tried out on a monkey. Rats are used to answer the even more hazardous questions, such as "what happens if we destroy this part of the brain?" Some of these projects lead to major advancements in medicine that. Most do not. And so the question is begged weather all of these tests are really necessary for the good of society. Perhaps the more superfluous studies could be gotten rid of, and only the necessary ones saved. But then, how is it decided which tests are superfluous? Most breakthroughs in science are accidental after all. Which ones could safely be cut? Which ones are vital? What if we cut this program, and a little girl looses her mother because of it? Which programs are downright torture? As for the people who condone and carry out this research, are they evil themselves? If not, are they then definitely good people? Such questions are many and cannot be easily answered. In the real world it is hard to say that something is 100% good or 100% evil.

Stories of childhood make the definition of good and evil very simple, but in the real world isn't quite so easy. In the real world we recognize the complex character development that even an antagonist has. We know about the slippery slope which one might stumble down- falling into an abyss of darkness. We do our best to remember that in everyone who we consider cruel there is something good. In reality, when the forces of good and evil clash they do not do so  in a strait-forward manner. They weave in and out of each-other, creating a complex tapestry in which events, ideas, and sentiments become knotted together in an ugly and asymmetric way. Good and Evil cannot be clearly cut apart or compartmentalized. Neither can be clearly defined, and neither can completely wipe-out the other.