Forget about "good as gold". Today it's going to get evil. But who or what is evil at all? The devil? The Illuminati? The mother-in-law? Usually evil stands for morally wrong decisions, a basic power influencing the history of the world and which is the opponent of good. Meaning: where there is light, there is also shadow. Obviously! God against the devil, the West against the terrorists, Aspirin against a headache ... however, back to the individual human being. But who defines what is “morally wrong”? Depending on one's ethic position, definitons differ significantly. According to Bible critic Benedict de Spinoza, evil is everything that blocks the self-assertion of every individual. So, it's a force from outside, that prevents us humans from developing freely. For Kant, evil is an essential part of human nature, since humans are not only equipped with reason, but also with "empirical", entirely worldly needs. The inclination to the "dark side"- has thus always been a part of us? His fellow Enlightenment thinker Rousseau sees things differently. For him, humans are born good. Only living in the community is what poisons us, makes us evil. So, are we actually born evil, or is it society that makes us evil? Nietzsche threw all of this overboard, declared "good" to be "bad" and "evil" simply to be a construct of Christian "slave morality.” Leibniz thoroughly examined evil. He separated it into three categories. That’s the malem physicum: Pain, loss, loneliness, poverty everything that you wouldn’t even wish your worst enemy Then Leibniz described the malum metaphysicum: Small imperfections, predetermined breaking points built in by divine hand According to Leibniz, man himself can be evil in only one way - through the malum morale, the moral evil. The sin which you commit when you turn from God. In the 20th century, the existential philosopher Karl Jaspers also separated evil within man into three categories Firstly: Urges of any kind Secondly: The lack of will to do good And thirdly: The will to do evil That is indeed interesting! Haven’t we always been more fascinated by Darth Vader than by Luke Skywalker wrapped in boring Eco-linen It doesn’t matter which point of view you have; be it religious or ideological - - "pure" evil; killing, stealing, lying Is what is bad for The individual and society Yet it seems that we need evil. Good and evil are in a dualistic relationship One cannot exist without the other Otherwise, Ozzy Osborne would just be a doddering father and every Hollywood film would begin with the happy ending And plod along without antagonists We need evil as an antithesis. To find our way in the ethnical world