Do you believe bad/evil thoughts are ever "wrong"?

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"evil" private thoughts acquire ethical or moral import only when they are transformed into public acts.

ruveyn

No. One's mind is a haven. If an action that is indeed evil is contemplated by one who is sane, they should see that it will not be worth it. If they try not to think about it, they may miss some of the effects. And if it does more good than bad, is it really evil? Questioning EVERYTHING can help one be healthy, even those which the answer seems obvious. One can never decide something for one's self without thinking (and researching, if the need be).

No. I don't consider any thoughts to be morally wrong.

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If you're fantasizing about murdering innocent people and raping children, that's probably indicative of some other problems you might want to seek help for, but thoughts themselves are harmless.

The field of psychotherapy was built on trying to deal with this question. I agree with the broad conclusion of the field, that bad thoughts (such as pedophilic or homicidal ones) have the potential to damage the thinker and, at worst, manifest as actions. Their solution isn't to stop the thoughts, which isn't possible. Their solution is to dissect them into harmlessness, something like pushing a vampire out into sunlight. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.

Meditation also deals with this. The meditation solution isn't to dissect the thought but rather to let it go and drift away, rather like allowing wind to disperse the dangerous radiation from a damaged nuclear power plant. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.

Religion also deals with this. I think Catholicism made a great invention when confession was invented. Like both psychotherapy and meditation, confession accepts the inevitability of bad thoughts and then gives a mechanism for handling them without damage. Again, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

All 3 of the above sometimes work and sometimes don't. But what apparently never works is the idea that the bad thought should never have arisen in the first place and a good person only thinks good thoughts. The above 3 systems all recognize that it simply isn't possible to never have a bad thought so they must be dealt with in a way that prevents them from either manifesting into action or even permanently damaging the thinker (or their soul, in the case of religion).

"if belief is to be considered on authority alone"

Ah, yes. So in the Galileo myth, you would endorse the position of the church.

Fortunately, some of us look at evidence other than authority.

Some of us, presented with a statement backed by great authority or no authority, will check it out rather than blindly accepting.

Thinking evil things isn't enough to make you evil, but acting on them is. I define evil as actions that intentionally harm others with complete disregard for their well being to an extreme extent. Notice I said to an extreme extent which means while making fun of someone is mean it isn't extreme enough to be considered evil. I think my definition can apply to the vast majority of cultures, societies and generally common sense that pertains to how people are supposed to socially function and co-exist. Religion usually includes self-destruction when it comes to evil, but I think that's ridiculous since evil is a social concept. Evil might be relative to some extent, but moral relativism is absolutely absurd since there has to be some sort of universal standard when it comes to how people are supposed to function as a group or society. Sometimes one man's terrorist just isn't another man's freedom fighter. Not when a certain group uses children as shields, sets car bombs off and has the majority of casualties as civilians.

When do thoughts become evil? I agree with the concept of thoughts being right or wrong... but I question evil.

As a child, I was incredibly violent. I don't recall a thought process to it. There was no contemplation. There was anger. Anger ignited action. I didn't torture small animals or anything. But if a person hurt me or made me angry, I went 0 to 60 fight mode.

As an adult, I understand that this is not acceptable by societal standards. I understand that giving into this anger can cause social and legal repercussions. I have not hit a person in anger in something like 14 years. Does this mean I don't have violent thoughts? No, of course it doesn't mean that. I have violent thoughts damn near every time someone severely hurts me emotionally or makes me incredibly angry. Honestly, they are quite graphic thoughts. They are quite satisfying as well.

Does this make me evil? Does this make me psychotic? (I've had a friend say as much.) Knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to act appropriately would indicate that I am not crazy. I do not see a situation in which I would choose to give in to the blood lust. My actions are generally quite morally attentive and just, therefore it's only in angry thought that I am "evil"....

So are my "evil" thoughts wrong? Or do my evil thoughts give a more appropriate outlet to what once would have been violent behavior? I am not, by any means, trying to say that these thoughts are "right"... However, I question how wrong they truly are. As I can't know what goes on in other people's minds, I have to wonder how honest other people are about their thought processes.

I have a charge nurse that I work under quite frequently. She can be a horrible, manipulative, back-stabbing b***h. One of my favorite ways to spend a break is to think of all of the very uncomfortable, non-lethal afflictions she could acquire..... crabs, scabies, boils....... elephantitis of the clitoris.... it actually makes me giggle and I forget the anger and frustration she causes me. It's quite entertaining.

Burnt-out -

How well I know. I go there less these days, but even now I can catch myself devising nice things to do to certain ones. And Herself - with X's life wavering on the brink - alternates between grief and the urge to hep and a frustrated wish X would get it over with.

There was briefly a "real self" thread going - bogged down of course as anything with subtlety will.

But - my take, but it matches a lot of wisdom from centuries back and far away - the "self" that is, or is tied too your body is straight animal. It hungers and wants to grab the last croissant; it lusts and wants to reach out to that hot body the other side of the room; it thinks of a joke and wants to laugh in the middle of the funeral; it sees soimething it does not like and wants to attack.

NOTHING you can do about it. Evil? Arguably. Like a wolverine or a hornet or a patch of poison ivy is evil.

But there is another self - which is hopefully in charge - that passes the tray to the guests, that keeps its hands to itself, that watches what it says and does not acxt on negative impulse.

As the Desert Fathrers said, to repeat - you can't stop it blowing through, you just need to let it pass on and not act on it.

AND fantasizing what to do to so and so may let off enough steam to keep working with him / her.