Good Vs Evil - Why Evil Doesn't Actually Exist

Summary

In this philosophical exploration, Leo from Actualized.org challenges conventional notions of good and evil. He posits that these concepts are not inherent to reality but are subjective interpretations made by the mind. Leo encourages viewers to question societal and cultural beliefs, advocating for an open-minded investigation into the nature of morality. He suggests that understanding good and evil as personal preferences rather than objective realities can lead to a more liberated and peaceful existence, while also addressing common objections to this perspective.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video is a philosophical exploration of the concepts of good and evil, challenging conventional wisdom and encouraging viewers to think critically about these notions.
• 🧠 The speaker suggests that most people do not truly understand what good and evil are, and that this misunderstanding can lead to dysfunction and an adversarial relationship with reality.
• 🤔 The video emphasizes the importance of personal investigation into the nature of good and evil, rather than simply accepting societal or cultural beliefs.
• 👀 Apophenia, the tendency to see patterns where none exist, is used as a metaphor for how people often perceive good and evil based on their own mental constructs rather than objective reality.
• 💭 Evil is described as a thought, interpretation, or judgment, rather than a tangible entity. Good and evil are preferences, with 'good' being what one prefers and 'evil' being what one does not.
• 🌐 The idea that reality is neutral and devoid of inherent meaning is presented, suggesting that all meaning is created by the mind and is subjective.
• 🦁 A comparison to a pride of lions illustrates that social cohesion and peaceful coexistence do not require a shared sense of morality or understanding of good and evil.
• 🧐 The video addresses potential objections to the idea that good and evil are subjective, including the argument that certain acts (like murder) are universally recognized as evil.
• 🤝 The concept of 'normativity' in ethics is discussed, explaining why people often try to make their moral beliefs seem objective and universal to justify them to others.
• 🕊️ Adopting a neutral view of reality, free from the constructs of good and evil, is suggested to lead to a more peaceful and accepting mindset, which paradoxically makes one 'super moral'.
• 🔍 The video concludes by encouraging viewers to conduct their own honest investigation into the nature of good and evil, and to be open to revising their beliefs based on their findings.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Leo's video on actualized.org?

The main topic of Leo's video is the philosophical exploration of good versus evil, challenging conventional wisdom and discussing the nature of these concepts.

Why does Leo believe that understanding the concepts of good and evil is important?

Leo believes understanding good and evil is important because it prevents dysfunction, closed-mindedness, and helps achieve desired life results and happiness.

What does Leo suggest is the problem with most people's understanding of good and evil?

Leo suggests that most people do not truly understand what good and evil are and how they operate in reality, often due to not having conducted a personal investigation into these concepts.

What is apophenia, as mentioned in the video?

Apophenia is a psychological phenomenon where humans have a tendency to recognize shapes and patterns where none inherently exist, like seeing a face in a wall socket.

How does Leo relate the concept of apophenia to the understanding of good and evil?

Leo relates apophenia to good and evil by suggesting that these concepts, like the patterns in apophenia, are creations of the mind rather than inherent aspects of reality.

What does Leo propose as the fundamental nature of good and evil?

Leo proposes that good and evil are fundamentally personal preferences and interpretations, with good being what one prefers and evil being what one doesn't prefer.

What is the Buddhist concept that Leo finds particularly beautiful regarding reality?

The Buddhist concept Leo finds beautiful is that reality is neutral, devoid of any inherent meaning, good, or bad characteristics, and that meanings are created in the mind.

How does Leo address the objection that certain acts, like murder and rape, are clearly evil?

Leo addresses this by stating that these acts disturb individuals because they conflict with their personal preferences, and that the disturbance is evidence of the preference, not an inherent evil in the act itself.

What is normativity, and how does it relate to the concept of good and evil?

Normativity is the philosophical concept where one's beliefs or values have a perceived need to be transferred or accepted universally. It relates to good and evil by attempting to establish these concepts as objective facts rather than personal preferences.

Why does Leo argue that believing in the objectivity of good and evil can lead to suffering?

Leo argues that this belief can lead to suffering because it creates an adversarial relationship with reality, necessitates constant defense of one's ego, and results in judgmental attitudes and closed-mindedness.

How does Leo suggest that adopting a neutral view of reality, as in Buddhism, can lead to a more peaceful and moral life?

Leo suggests that adopting a neutral view of reality eliminates the ego's need for defense, leading to a more peaceful and open-minded approach to life, which in turn fosters a more caring and moral behavior.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Philosophical Inquiry into Good and Evil

In this philosophical exploration, Leo from actualized.org introduces the topic of good versus evil, challenging conventional wisdom and urging viewers to question their understanding of these concepts. He emphasizes the importance of personal investigation into the nature of good and evil, rather than blindly accepting societal or cultural norms. Leo warns that this video will challenge viewers' beliefs and encourages an open mind to understand how these concepts operate in reality and affect one's happiness and life outcomes.

05:01

🧐 The Illusion of Good and Evil: Apophenia

Leo presents a psychological phenomenon called apophenia, which is the human tendency to perceive patterns where none exist, using the example of seeing a face in a wall socket. He relates this to the concept of good and evil, suggesting that these are constructs of the mind rather than inherent aspects of reality. Leo argues that good and evil are subjective interpretations and judgments we make about reality, and encourages viewers to consider whether these concepts have a physical existence or are merely thoughts and preferences.

10:03

🔍 The Subjectivity of Good and Evil

This paragraph delves deeper into the idea that good and evil are subjective, existing only as personal preferences rather than objective realities. Leo explains that what one person perceives as evil might be seen as good by another, and that societal and cultural norms can influence these perceptions. He challenges the viewer to consider the implications of this view, suggesting that it can lead to a more liberated and peaceful mindset, as opposed to the conflict and tension that can arise from rigid moral beliefs.

15:05

🦁 Morality in Nature: Lessons from Lions

Leo uses the example of a pride of lions to illustrate that morality is not a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence. He suggests that the same evolutionary processes that have instilled cooperation and social behavior in lions are at work in humans. The paragraph argues against the necessity of a rigid moral code for societal harmony and instead points to our innate tendencies towards empathy and cooperation as the true basis for social order.

20:06

🧠 Hardwired Morality and the Illusion of Normativity

The paragraph discusses how our sense of morality is deeply ingrained in our brains, making us inherently inclined towards behaviors that support social cohesion. Leo explains that this hardwiring is not the same as theoretical morality, but rather an evolutionary advantage that promotes survival. He also addresses the concept of normativity, the desire to universalize one's beliefs and values, and suggests that this is more about ego validation than an accurate reflection of reality.

25:07

🕊️ Embracing Neutrality: The Buddhist Perspective

Leo introduces a Buddhist perspective on reality, describing it as neutral and devoid of inherent good or evil. He suggests that viewing reality in this way can lead to a more peaceful and accepting mindset. The paragraph also touches on the dangers of black-and-white thinking, which can lead to conflict and suffering, and encourages the viewer to consider the benefits of a more nuanced understanding of morality.

30:07

🤔 Reevaluating Our Understanding of Good and Evil

In the final paragraph, Leo summarizes his argument and invites the viewer to reconsider their beliefs about good and evil. He emphasizes the importance of intellectual honesty and the potential benefits of adopting a more neutral view of reality. Leo also encourages viewers to explore his ideas further and to engage in their own personal investigation of these philosophical concepts, rather than simply accepting his perspective.

Keywords

💡Good versus Evil

The central theme of the video, 'Good versus Evil' explores the philosophical concepts of morality. It challenges the conventional understanding of these terms, suggesting that they are not absolute entities but rather subjective interpretations made by individuals. The script discusses this concept in the context of societal and cultural influences, emphasizing the need for personal investigation into what one truly believes constitutes good and evil.

💡Philosophical

The term 'philosophical' refers to a method of inquiry and a field of study that deals with the fundamental aspects of reality, existence, and knowledge. In the script, the video is described as more philosophical, indicating that it delves into abstract concepts and theories rather than practical applications, aiming to provoke thought and challenge preconceived notions about morality.

💡Apophenia

Apophenia is defined as the human tendency to perceive patterns or connections in random or unrelated data. The script uses the concept of apophenia to illustrate how humans can impose meaning where there is none, such as seeing a face in a wall socket. This is likened to the perception of good and evil, suggesting that these moral judgments may be similarly subjective and imposed by our minds rather than inherent in reality.

💡Ego

In the context of the video, 'ego' refers to the self-identity or the self-concept that is shaped by personal beliefs and societal conditioning. The script suggests that our perceptions of good and evil are influenced by our egos, which seek validation and can lead to conflict when they perceive a threat or challenge to our beliefs.

💡Personal Investigation

The script encourages viewers to undertake 'personal investigation' to form their own understanding of good and evil. This involves a deep, introspective process where one critically examines their beliefs, independent of societal or cultural influences. The video emphasizes the importance of this process in order to arrive at a more authentic and less biased understanding of morality.

💡Normativity

Normativity in the script refers to the idea that certain beliefs or values should be universally accepted as true or correct. It is the concept that drives the need to objectify good and evil, making them seem like objective facts of life. The video argues against this notion, suggesting that such an approach is a form of ego defense and lacks intellectual honesty.

💡Subjective

The term 'subjective' is used in the script to describe the nature of good and evil as being based on individual perceptions and preferences, rather than objective facts. It is central to the video's argument that morality is not an absolute but is shaped by personal beliefs and experiences.

💡Evolutionary

The script touches on the evolutionary aspect of morality, suggesting that our moral instincts, like those of a pride of lions, have been hardwired into our brains through the process of evolution. This natural programming promotes peaceful coexistence and cooperation within a social group, which is essential for survival.

💡Conflict

Conflict in the video is discussed in the context of differing moral beliefs and the insistence on the objectivity of one's own perspective. The script uses historical and social conflicts to illustrate how the belief in the objectivity of good and evil can lead to tension and war, arguing instead for a neutral view of reality to reduce such strife.

💡Interpretation

Interpretation, as used in the script, refers to the act of assigning meaning or significance to events or actions, particularly in relation to good and evil. The video posits that the concept of good and evil arises from our interpretations of reality, rather than existing as inherent properties of actions or events.

💡Suffering

Suffering is mentioned in the script as a consequence of holding onto rigid beliefs about good and evil. It suggests that the ego's need to defend and justify its moral stance can lead to mental and emotional distress. By adopting a more neutral and less judgmental perspective, the video implies that one can reduce suffering and achieve a more peaceful existence.

Highlights

Leo from actualized.org discusses the philosophical concept of good versus evil, challenging conventional wisdom and emphasizing the importance of personal investigation into the nature of morality.

The video aims to clarify misconceptions about good and evil, suggesting that they are not absolute entities but rather subjective interpretations and preferences.

Leo argues that conventional wisdom on good and evil is often incorrect, stemming from societal, cultural, and religious influences rather than personal understanding.

The concept of apophenia is introduced to illustrate the human tendency to perceive patterns where none inherently exist, drawing a parallel to the perception of good and evil.

Good and evil are presented as creations of the mind, not as inherent properties of actions or objects, but as judgments and preferences.

The video challenges the viewer to consider whether good and evil have a physical existence or are constructs of the mind.

Leo discusses the implications of viewing reality as neutral and devoid of inherent meaning, suggesting that this perspective can lead to liberation and a deeper understanding of human behavior.

The video addresses common objections to the idea that good and evil are relative, including the potential for societal chaos if everyone adopts this belief.

An analogy is made between human morality and the social behavior of lions, suggesting that coexistence and morality are not dependent on a theoretical sense of good and evil but are hardwired behaviors.

The concept of normativity is explored, explaining why people feel the need to objectify good and evil as universal truths to justify their beliefs and values to others.

Leo refutes the idea that a belief in objective good and evil is necessary for societal order, using historical and social examples to illustrate that conflicts often arise from differing perspectives on morality.

The video suggests that a belief in the objectivity of good and evil can lead to closed-mindedness, extremism, and suffering, as it creates an adversarial relationship with reality.

Leo encourages viewers to undertake their own investigation into the nature of good and evil, advocating for intellectual honesty and open-mindedness.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to sign up for Leo's newsletter at actualized.org for further insights and tools for personal development.

Transcripts

hey this is Leo for actualized.org and

in this video I'm going to talk about

good versus

[Music]

evil okay good versus evil the classic

battle right okay well let's dig into

this this and talk about what good and

evil actually are this is going to be

more of a philosophical video not going

to be as immediately practical and

applicable as some of my others but

actually at the end I'm going to go in

and tell you why this is an important

concept for you to understand it

properly and the problem that I see is

that most people don't really understand

what good and evil are and how they

actually operate and what's really going

on in reality and so because of this it

can lead to a lot of dysfunction it

creates an adversarial relationship with

reality which leads to closed-mindedness

and does not get you the kind of results

that you want in your life and it keeps

you from being happy so it is practical

uh you just have to bear with me to see

how it all interconnects here it's going

to be a little more philosophical so

good versus evil why is this topic even

interesting to us well all of us have

heard of Good and Evil many of us tend

to believe that good and evil are out

there somewhere and you know we ask

ourselves questions such as why do evil

things

happen to good

people or questions like why does evil

sometimes Prevail over good in this

world why does that seem to happen why

are there good people and why do there

seem to be evil

people and if that's the case how do you

convert a good person to an evil person

or an evil person to a good person is

that possible so all these kind of

interesting life questions start to come

up and the critical thing here is that I

have to warn you that this video

requires an open mind it requires an

open mind because what I'm talking about

here challenges conventional wisdom and

conventional wisdom on this subject is

wrong conventional wisdom is what you

get from the media the culture Society

what you were raised to believe what

your religion told you to believe and

all of those views generally speaking

are wrong on this issue so I'm going to

talk about why that is all the little

details and how you can start to get

your your life and your L and your your

mind aligned with more of the way that

it actually is rather than the way that

we want it to be in some of these

cartoon character versions of morality

that we receive from from various

sources in

society now before we get there we have

to

ask because I'm really challenging your

your Notions of how life is and how the

world works I'm really challenging your

worldview here with some of these ideas

and I have to ask you to to be able to

step aside and separate yourself from

your beliefs separate yourself from all

the things that you were fed as a kid

growing up or as a young adult or even

that you've experienced in your own

life and really open your mind to some

of the possibilities that are here and

the way that I'm going to do this is by

asking you have you actually yourself

really looked in and investigated this

question of good versus

evil have you actually done that see

because most people believe that they

know what good and evil are and they

believe that they're very smart about

this

subject but what I find is that none of

them have actually gone and done a

personal investigation now be very

careful about what this means a personal

investigation does not mean that you're

simply believing what you were told when

you were a kid it does not mean that you

believe whatever your Society or your

culture believes or whatever people want

you to believe it means that that you

didn't read it in a book somewhere you

didn't hear it from somebody you didn't

see it in the news or on the television

it means that you actually sat down by

yourself unplugged yourself from all

those external sources of information

and actually started to think

philosophies about what good and evil

are Maybe started doing some research on

this topic started studying it started

reading various books to look at

different points of view see now it's

very important that you answer this

question honestly because if You' never

done this I would say 99% of people have

never done this then what is your

opinion of Good and Evil really worth is

the

question and now it's okay if you

haven't done this but I encourage you

that if you haven't done this then keep

your mind especially open because that

means that you haven't really

investigated it for yourself and I'm

going to help you to do an investigation

here now you don't have to believe

everything I tell you but just use this

as a launching point to do your own

investigation and I think that if you do

an honest investigation by yourself

you'll come to a lot of the same

conclusions that I'm sharing with you

here that I've come

to okay so the next thing that I want to

do is I want to do a little

demonstration because this is also a

very important thing is to get you to

start to see how tricky the human mind

really is and the way I want to do that

is I want to show you an image I'm going

to show you actually two images I'm

going to show one and then after it a

few seconds later I'm going to show a

second one and we're going to see if

your interpretation of the first image

changes after you saw the second image

and then you're going to come back here

and we're going to discuss it all right

so here it is here is the first

image okay awesome welcome back so what

did you see there you saw two images

right two images the first one of a

plain wall socket the second one of a

little addition that I made to a wall

socket now what is the relevance of this

what does it have to do with good and

evil the wall socket is not good it's

not evil but here's the important point

the important point is that what this is

called is this is a phenomenon in human

psychology that's called

apophenia what is apophenia apophenia is

the human tendency to recognize shapes

and patterns where no shapes and

patterns inherently exist now that's

what happened in this example if you saw

the first image of the wall socket and

you thought that oh it's just a simple

wall

socket um but then you also saw the face

in the wall

socket right you also noticed that even

though you knew it was just a wall

socket but you also saw the human face

in it then that was you seeing a pattern

that wasn't really

there and the second image helps to

highlight that so it makes it really

really clear it makes it like glaringly

obvious what's going on there and this

is a phenomenon called apophenia now

what does this have to do with anything

this has to do a lot with good and evil

because what I'm going to tell you here

is that good and evil are really a

creation of your mind just that the way

this pattern of the face in the wall

socket isn't inherent to the wall socket

it's not that the wall socket looks like

a face it's simply that your brain has

certain wiring in it that gives you

image recognition especially with human

faces the human mind this has been

proven in various psychological studies

that they've done is very very good at

image detection even just as a baby a

baby is able to instantly recognize

simple facial patterns even just

something as basic as two dots and a

little horizontal line the human mind

will immediately interpret that as a

face even though on the really what's

going on there is you just got two dots

and just a a little line but the human

mind will see it as a face or a smiley

face or a sad

face now the same is really the case

with good and evil and I really want to

ask you to to ask yourself this question

what is good and evil what is the

substance of

it have you ever asked yourself that

like what actually is it in the world

how how is it in reality is it like a

physical object does it have that same

kind of physicality and reality to it is

it the same

as as an

emotion is it a thought where does evil

and where does good exist does it exist

out there in the circumstances of

everyday life or does it exist up here

in the

mind it's a very important question now

you might say well Leo there are clear

examples of evil that exist out in the

world and if we saw it we would all

recognize it and we could Point our

finger at it

you might see a scene where something is

happening in life and you you clearly

know that that's that's wrong and that's

evil like maybe you see somebody getting

murdered and obviously that's wrong and

evil now the question is okay I agree

with you on that kind of kind of basic

level but then is the evilness of that

act where is it actually located is it

in the person is it inside the person

that's doing the murdering is it the the

combination the whole scene of the the

murder and the victim where is the

actual evil happening

there and what complicates us even

further is then consider some other

scenario where you have the same scene

one person murdering another person

killing another person but this time

it's done in

self-defense so now it being done in

self-defense

is that act no longer evil most people

would say it's no longer evil but then

what's the

difference is it the physical

arrangement of atoms that has changed is

it the circumstance the intent of the

person and where is that actually like

physically substantially

located well what you're going to find

if you look at these scenarios and

really dig deep and ask yourself

honestly what's going on you're going to

agree that evil doesn't actually exist

out there you can't actually point a

finger at evil evil is not a like a

physical tangible thing what evil is is

evil is a thought evil is an

interpretation evil is a judgment that

you're making on

reality and very very simply evil is

this and good is this good is simply

what you prefer and evil is simply what

you don't prefer in life that's it

there's nothing very complicated here

there's nothing very deep or

metaphysical to it except the problem is

that something even as simple as this

such a simple truth for most people uh

it doesn't sit well it doesn't resonate

well and it seems like it's not true or

that there must be something more to it

because if that was the case Leo you

might say then all these sorts of

problems start to come up in my

worldview and we're going to start to

address those right now but this is the

general thesis that I'm throwing at you

here is that good is simply what you

prefer and evil is simply what you don't

prefer you have to be extremely

intellectually honest to to see this to

admit this to yourself because there are

various ego defense mechanisms at work

here there's also a lot of social

conditioning at work because you grow up

in a society where you're fed with all

sorts of different theories and

information and different worldviews and

beliefs which are now running on a

subconscious layer in your

brain so this idea that that good and

evil are just a a personal preference

ultimately what does that make it that

makes good and evil completely relative

it means that if your mind didn't exist

if you didn't exist if Humanity didn't

exist then there would be no good and

evil in the world this means that the

world and reality itself is entirely

neutral it's devoid of any meaning it's

devoid of any good or bad

characteristics it just

is it just is now this is a a Buddhist

concept

really and this is a powerful concept I

love this concept this concept is so

beautiful to that reality is

neutral we want to believe that it's not

neutral but really if you look at it and

you investigate it then you see that

it's neutral the meanings that you're

creating those are being created in your

mind by your thoughts the meaning

doesn't exist out in the world and this

model is very beautiful to me because

first of all it uh I mean it liberates

us it gives us a lot of freedom but

second of all this Freedom it's always

existed it explains a lot it explains a

lot of about how Humanity Works how

human beings interact with one another

why there are Wars that explains a lot

of historical events and I'm going to

cover that a little bit in detail right

now so the idea here is that it exists

only in your mind any meaning but

especially something like good and evil

when you're really dichotomizing that

drastically okay so this being the case

you might now start to get objections

right so here are some of your

objections that I want to address one

objection that I commonly hear when

someone hears this is that well what

about things like murder and rape and

theft I mean clearly Leo we don't want

to say that those are are neutral things

those are clearly evil things don't you

agree isn't it silly and ridiculous to

have a theory of life in the world that

goes against this this kind of Common

Sense notion that those things are

wrong now really notice what's going on

there I'm not saying saying that it

doesn't disturb you in fact the fact

that it disturbs you is

evidence of the fact that it's a

preference right who is being disturbed

by this you are being disturbed by this

and that's what we're saying here is

that when you see an evil act all that

really means is that you get a tingle in

your brain now saying it just as a

tingle that makes it seem like it's not

very substantial but in fact it can

cause a very big impact on you

so I'm not saying that your beliefs

about this don't influence you they do

but look at what's going on in reality

it's you that's getting Disturbed it's

your ego that's getting either offended

or when you see something good it's your

ego that's getting satisfied and

gratified I mean what else is going on

besides that is there anything else you

have to look within yourself to see if

there is anything else if you do look

and you look honestly and you remove the

social conditioning what you're going to

find is is that there is nothing else

it's just thoughts whatever you think is

evil is going to be perceived as evil

whatever you think as being good is

going to be perceived as good now the

next objection might go like okay Leo

well even if that's the case I mean your

theory here is very dangerous I mean

what happens if everybody in the world

believes this what happens if everyone

buys into

this is everyone now going to believe

that murder is okay and that it's just

neutral and rape is okay it's just

neutral and theft is okay it's just NE

neutral so Society is going to turn into

a chaotic

mess isn't that the

case well let's take a look at that it

might not be quite as drastic as you

might

think how about taking a pride of lions

have you ever seen them on the Discovery

Channel or some animal channel you see

bunch of lions maybe 10 or 20 of them

sitting in a nice little uh patch in the

grass on the Savannah somewhere and

they're just lying around and they're

enjoying themselves basking in the sun

maybe they go off do a little hunting

but they're just sitting there in a

pride so take this pride of lions now

what about a pride of lions would you

say that a pride of lions has morality

and has a concept of good and evil or do

they

not what do you think what would you say

I think most people would pretty readily

admit that Lions don't have a sense of

morality and lions don't have a good and

evil they don't understand what good and

evil are they don't even know about Good

and Evil that's outside their cognitive

abilities so they don't have that but

then the question is it's kind of

curious when you have 10 Lions sitting

there basking in the sun next to each

other what is preventing them from

tearing each other apart from killing

each other from murdering each other why

are they not doing

that kind of

interesting because your thesis is that

if you get rid of my sense of morality

then the whole world Goes to Hell

Society Goes to Hell well yet we have

this little Society of lions here and

they're doing quite well they sure they

fight sometimes just like humans do you

know they scuffle they might even bite

each other and maybe even sometimes

they'll get into a fight so bad that

they'll maim each other maybe even one

of them gets killed in a fight but

generally it's pretty clear that Lions

coexist very peacefully together they

generally don't have problems Beyond

just kind of you know the the normal

problems that we would expect with any

kind of creatures or organisms in a

society who are trying to take care of

themselves and look out for

themselves so that's interesting huh

what does that mean then that means that

morality isn't quite as important as

maybe you thought it was to Society

Running and functioning well in fact

what you're going to find is that there

is no need to have a sense of black and

white morality of Good and Evil there's

no there's no need to have that in order

to be quote unquote good yourself what

you're going to discover is that what's

really going on here is that it's not a

sense of theoretical morality that's

keeping you in line in society that's

not really what's going on what's really

going on is that the morality that

you're exhibiting that all of us are

exhibiting the reason we're coexisting

peacefully is really because that has

been hardwired into our brains just like

it is with the Lions that's what's going

on with the Lions right as part of the

evolutionary process it wouldn't work if

a pride of lions came to be evolved to

that level and they were able to just

indiscriminately savagely murder each

other it wouldn't work right they could

never evolve to that level so what

happened through the evolutionary

process is that wiring was installed

where they're really not allowed to harm

each other generally speaking they have

not they have no programming or no

reason to do it so they don't and the

same thing goes on with human beings we

generally don't have reason to harm one

another the only reason we harm each

other is when we're put into dire

circumstances and we're really put into

a a zero some game and it has high

stakes of life and death then we start

to get physical and we start to get

nasty but otherwise we have no reason to

and in fact we have a lot of programming

in our brain that makes us generous

towards each other that makes us

friendly and makes us accommodating and

empathetic why is that because that's

important for a social organism of any

kind that's how Society is created

that's how how a society of bees works

that's how a society of ants Works they

couldn't work if they were busy

slaughtering each other all the time so

that's really what's going on here it's

not some sort of theoretical lofty

religious morality that you're using you

might feel like you've got a layer of

that running on you but really that's

not what's keeping you in line it's

actually a very good thing that it's not

that easy to take the morality out of

you it's hardwired so to speak because

if it wasn't hardwired then it would be

very very easy for you or somebody else

in society to just change beliefs and

then they could easily go and start

doing all these antisocial things that

are damaging to the species as a whole

so it makes sense that it's really

deeply hardwired now in human beings

it's hardwired now does that mean that

it can never be unwired no you can see

examples for example with suicide

bombers and terrorists where they're

successfully able to unwire this because

they do so much training literally

drilling the mind the subconscious mind

so much that eventually they're able to

sort of get those defenses down but with

most normal people that's not the case

it doesn't happen so very interesting

how how that works now why then do

people want to say that good and evil

exist and that they're they're clear and

they're external out in the real world

why is there this need to do this it's

very interesting this is a philosophical

concept it's called normativity this is

something that you will encounter in an

ethics class or you'll encounter it in a

psychology of morality class

normativity what it means is it means

that what I believe you should believe

what I do you should do it means that

your belief or your idea has a

certain need to be transferred it has a

certain universality to it so the reason

that really people are interested in

making these morals and values and good

and evil black and white and objective

is because when you make something

objective that means that you can

justify to others to believe that thing

as well so it's a really convenient way

to transfer

values so here's how it works if you've

got a normative

idea then what happens is that you say

okay it's out there in the real world

it's true it's a fact of the of life we

all need to accept it and now everyone

looks at that and says oh yeah you know

what yeah that's true it's a real fact

of life it's out there so all of us must

accept it and you can go around telling

people hey you're wrong you have to

accept this you can tell that hey look

you're wrong look at this fact accept it

that's normativity now if you've got a

concept that has no normativity then

here's how it works your concept has no

normativity so you tell yourself that

you're believing it okay nice but then

you go and tell this person hey you

should have belied what I believe you

should value what I value and that

person will look at it and say you know

what that's a nice idea but I don't

really like it I'm going to keep

believing what I believed and you look

at him and you say well you know what if

you if you want to keep believing what

you believe that's okay because this is

a

non-normative

concept what's a non-normative concept a

non-normative concept or phenomenon in

life is something like ice cream flavor

right we usually wouldn't go around

saying you know what I like chocolate

ice cream so you should like chocolate

ice cream most people don't do that we

tend to be honest with ourselves and say

you know what I like chocolate ice cream

because I just like it I happen to like

the taste it titillates me in a certain

way and that person he or she like likes

strawberry or whatever other flavor and

that's fine with me I don't expect

everybody to like chocolate I don't I'm

not going to come up with some sort of

elaborate Theory to say that chocolate

is the one that everyone should like

just because I like it now what happens

with morality is the exact opposite of

that with morality whatever you believe

you want to make sure that everybody

else believes it too because you need it

to be true and actually this is a uh

this is kind of a weakness and a crack

in the in the system because it already

tells you that something is going wrong

there when you really strongly need to

fight for something and to defend

something it usually means that it's a

it's an ego defense mechanism of a sort

because your ego needs to be validated

by all the external circumstances so

that it can maintain this adversarial

relationship with reality because

ultimately when you believe that there

is a good and an evil what's what's

happening is that you're you're not

really being honest you haven't really

introspected enough and so now you have

to work really hard to keep that world

view into place because you're going to

see things and phenomena in the world

that don't make sense to you under this

model a lot of stuff doesn't make sense

when you believe that there is a good

and an evil and if you believe that good

and evil are totally neutral and they

don't really exist they're just in your

mind their personal preferences all of a

sudden everything makes sense it's so

simple it's like duh why would you

believe anything else and here are some

examples if you're a student of History

then these should start ringing bells

for you immediately and stuff should

just like really start clicking into

place when you start adopting this this

model so for example George Bush versus

Bin Laden right

Battle of the New Millennium what was

going on there is George Bush good and

Bin Laden evil or the vice versa I mean

what was happening there I mean George

Bush believed he was good and B lad was

evil what did B lad believe bad believes

the exact opposite of that now which one

of them is is true none of them are true

it it's just it just is what it is

reality is just neutral without are

layers of meaning and added on

top of it so none of them are correct or

right now I'm not saying that I condone

the actions of Bin Laden over Bush

that's not the case you can still have

preferences for what you want again

we're talking about preferences right so

Bush prefers one thing bin lad prefers

another thing we prefer our own thing

and our own thing hopefully is in line

with what Bush believes rather than what

ban believes because we don't want a

world where there's a lot of terrorism

and violence but some people prefer that

and they have reasons to prefer that

okay we don't like it I don't like it

now that does that mean that I'm going

to accept it no but it just it just

means that it's it is what it is and

it's our own stories in our

minds right there's no need to build up

this Grand theory of normativity there's

no need to say that you know what Bin

Laden is actually evil and what Bush

tries to spouse is actually good there's

no need to do

that unless you've got some sort of in

insecurities within

yourself an intelligent open-minded

intellectually honest person could say

you know what

there's no actual normativity here but

I'm still confident in what I prefer and

I prefer A Life That's happy and

peaceful I prefer society that way and

so that's just all there is to it and I

don't need anything more that's enough

that's enough for me to go and really

live my life and be motivated and still

have a family and still go to work and

still do everything that I want to do in

my life I don't need this elaborate

theory of why someone is actually evil I

don't need to demonize anybody whenever

you're demonizing somebody it's

generally a very big clue that you're

off the track and that you're doing it

for egoic reasons not for actual any

reason in reality so Bush Bin Laden how

about the conservatives versus the

Liberals same sort of thing I mean who's

right nobody's right everyone has their

own stories and ideas personal

preferences what about the Israeli

Palestine conflict who's right there is

there somebody that's objectively good

and objectively evil

no one side prefers one thing another

side prefers another thing that's all

there is there's nothing more this is

actually what you fight find is that you

find a lot of conflict in situations

where this is the case because when you

believe that everybody must believe what

you believe then you're going to be

willing to go out there and fight for it

creates a lot of tension creates a lot

of War creates a lot of bad situations

when you have this more Buddhist type of

mindset that you know what reality is

very neutral then actually what that

does it doesn't make you aoral it

actually makes you super moral it's a

very interesting idea because look at

the way that a true Zen Buddhist for

example or an Indian Yogi how he will

behave himself I mean he's not out there

raping and pillaging he sees reality

totally neutral and that actually makes

him super moral he's actually extra

caring because of this because his ego

is gone he shed the ego now it's just

like pure love and joy for for

everything that's out there and why is

that that's just simply because the

human brain was programmed with that

that's your natural state except most of

us don't feel that because we're so

wrapped up in our own egos trying to

survive trying to fight for our own

security and defense when you let those

defenses go actually you become very

very peaceful the more you put those

defenses up and the more you protect

them the more conflict you have which is

perfect example of what's going on in uh

the Israeli Palestine conflicts how

about Hitler versus Churchill what was

going on there can we clearly say that

Hitler was evil no it's a preference he

thought that he was doing good for the

German Nation now do we agree with that

no but again that's our preference how

about Rome the Roman Empire versus The

Barbarians what was going on there have

you studied that well the Roman Empire

was trying to expand and basically

dominate the whole world in a similar

fashion to what Hitler was doing from

from within Germany except they were

doing it from Rome now they were

collecting all these little satellite

States and Nations and they were

conquering various Barbarian tribes and

forcing them to work and to become

subjects and pay taxes of course The

Barbarians didn't want this they thought

that they were being subjugated and

enslaved so they fought back but the

Roman Empire just called them barbarians

demonize them right that's where we get

the word barbarian from but what's going

on there who was right and who was wrong

in that situation who was objectively

good or evil nobody

was one side has its own agenda and

another side has its own agenda and

those agendas just

Clash what about Rome versus

Christianity similar kind of conflict

happened there the Roman Empire tried to

crack down on

Christianity especially in the in the

early days and again who was right or

wrong there nobody just preferences how

about capitalism communism same thing so

if you go through history and you're a

real student of History you'll see that

almost every

conflict every single conflict on the

social scale has happened because of

this and a lot of personal interpersonal

conflicts happen because of this as well

because we demonize each other and we we

need a way to prove to ourselves that

our Judgment of the other person is

somehow Justified and in fact no

judgment of anybody is ever

Justified there's no reason why you are

right in judging

somebody so really think about this

think about all these examples and see

if this is starting to make more or less

sense than the model that you may have

had before I think you'll start to see

that it makes more

sense so now this case being

made what is bad about having a black

and white model what's bad about

believing that good and evil are

actually external Facts of Life I think

the problem here is like we already

mentioned in a couple of examples is

that it's an ego defense mechanism it's

a lack of intellectual honesty it's an

adversarial relationship with truth and

reality when this happens then you tend

to start to contort yourself and build

your life around this and you kind of

have to put yourself in this little

bubble where you're not able to accept

everything that's out there you deny

things to yourself you become judgmental

of other people you start to believe

that tension and conflict are actually

justified in certain circumstances it

tends to make you more extremist and

less

accepting of life and

reality it tends to lead to a certain

closed

mindedness it tends to lead to this

effect where you're you're putting the

blinders

on in certain parts of your life and

you're isolating yourself from certain

realities and ultimately what this is

doing is it's creating suffering because

all of your suffering is being created

because you have this ego and it needs

to defend itself from everything that's

going on constantly having to defend and

work and work and work you get tired of

that you suffer you have to concoct

elaborate theories and stories about why

this is the case you have to run around

and change other people make sure that

other people believe just like you do so

that it becomes a little bit more

palatable to you to believe some of the

the incorrect things that you believe

because when you have a whole group of

people all believing in the same wrong

idea or belief then if you're a student

of History you also know how that works

that makes it very easy for that whole

group to buy into a bunch of

and to each other blow smoke up

each other's asses and basically stay

comfortable in that why are they

comfortable because that person is

telling me that I'm right and that

person is telling me I'm right and I'm

telling him that I'm right so it just

becomes a self fulfilling self

self-serving sort of uh sort of way of

life and way of being within the world

and I just find that you can't really

become happy and you can't really become

successful in life if you come at life

from this perspective so consider that

and see where you are relative to this

and see maybe if uh if your Notions of

Good and Evil might need a little bit of

fine-tuning and tweaking now if any of

this stuff rob you the wrong way or you

think that it doesn't make sense you

know what I don't expect you to just

believe it don't just take it I'm just

throwing out an idea here go ahead and

take it for yourself and maybe explore

it and maybe if you find that it doesn't

work for you then toss it aside but do

an honest investigation be very

open-minded in the way that you do this

be very objective be very rigorous spend

some time really thinking it through and

I think you might be surprised by what

you find and also how beautiful this

idea is it's not threatening at all

you'll find how beautiful it

is okay this is Leo I'm signing off this

is what I have to say about Good and

Evil go ahead and post me your comments

down below please like this if you did

click the like button right now share it

throw it on Facebook wherever you like

to share videos and then of course I'm

going to send you to act i.org come

check out my website sign up to my

newsletter it's a free newsletter

amazing stuff I'm releasing new videos

new articles every single week I plan a

lot of exclusives for you guys for my

subscribers you want to sign up because

I'm trying to bring you a really really

uh accurate model of how the world works

not just accurate but something very

practical I want to give you the

mindsets and the tools that you need to

go out there and live an extraordinary

life create the kind of life that you

want because some of these things are

very subtle and they hold you back in

subtle ways

if you're judgmental all the time that's

holding you back from being

happy if you're too closed-minded that's

holding you back from looking at other

perspectives and seeing your own

sticking points in life these are very

practical things even though they might

come off philosophical or abstract

especially in this video so this stuff

is very practical sign up and I'll be

keeping you up to date with all the

stuff I'm releasing every single week so

that you're always growing yourself

you're always learning that's what I

love to do is I love to develop myself

and learn every single day every single

week of my life and I want to help you

do the same come and check us

out