So I have to start this entry with a disclaimer:
I’m almost sure that I’ve come to a realization in life that, while I truly came to while sitting in my favorite chair sipping on Jameson, is sure to prove itself as not being something new. I’m afraid to claim anything as my own ever since discovering my last “revelation” was much more eloquently and thoroughly explored by St. Augustine more than 1500 years ago. That revelation had to do with reconciling evil things that happen in the world, God’s allowance of such evil, and the role of Free Will in explaining such allowance. But that is perhaps a subject for another day. I feel I have more to add to that but for now I want to talk about evil in general; evil in its purest form.
I think if you start with the question of what is truly good in life, what the purest form of good really is, most people would come to the conclusion that the answer is Love. Based on that premise, and following basic dualist philosophy, the seemingly obvious answer to what the purest form of Evil is would be is what? Hate. Hate would be the “logical” answer. If Love is the purest form, the distillation of Good… Then the purest form of Evil must certainly be Hate. I however do not agree. For me, it most certainly is Apathy.
Hate can be a natural and acceptable feeling in certain circumstances. Apathy is never acceptable. Even when held (hopefully) to the admirable and well established tenets of such religions as Christianity, an argument can be made for an acceptable place for Hate. You may be asking, “how can hate ever be acceptable? Jesus loved everyone, even those who put him to death!”
My answer would be this. You cannot hate the sinner, but you can certainly hate the sin. To use an extreme (and admittedly difficult to accept let alone practice) example, if you are a Christian you are supposed to still show love and mercy to even the most heinous of criminals. You CAN however hate the actions of said people.
But what about Apathy? Apathy towards the criminal AND the act is the ultimate of failure in human morality. Whereas Hate has no place towards people but is acceptable towards actions, Apathy has no place towards either. Imagine a person who feels apathy towards a murder, a case of child abuse, anything horrible you can think of. That, my friends, is the pure definition of Evil.
Apathy is the cornerstone of Evil.