The Lifecycle (Stages) of Evil (Sin)

From Ingratitude to Murder

Let us begin with three definitions:

Gratitude: the perception that the object* brings positive value to the world. That is, the world is better off for the existence of the object. Gratitude is the will for the continuance and even improvement of the existence of the object. Gratitude begets love, which begets life.

Contempt: the perception that the object brings negative value to the world. That is, the world would be better off without the existence of the object. Contempt is the will for the degradation (even removal) of the existence of the object. Contempt begets murder (as defined in the third stage below).

Evil: movement away from gratitude, which is inherently movement toward contempt (and ultimately murder).

Given the above definitions, I’d like to explore the lifecycle of evil.

Stage 1: Ingratitude

Evil begins with ingratitude. That is, evil begins with the failure to perceive the positive value of the object. This manifests in things like letting the milk spoil, forgetting to feed your dog, neglecting your own hygiene, and so on.

Stage 2: Contempt

Over time, ingratitude may fester and spread and grow into something more active. That is, rather than mere neglect to see the positive value of the object, one begins to see negative value in the object. More to the point, one perceives that the world would be better off without the existence of the object. This manifests in internal thoughts and feelings reflecting that will for the non-existence of the object, such as suicidal thoughts/feelings, murderous fantasies, wishing you never bought that dog, and so on. Contempt is where one not only fails to see the positive value of the object, but begins to will its nonexistence.

Stage 3: Murder

Over time (and perhaps not much time), one’s contemptuous thoughts and feelings will manifest in words and actions. That is, the more contempt I have for an object, the more likely I will be to intentionally physically interact with the world in such a way that it becomes less likely for the object to continue existing. This does not have to be (but can be) outright murder. Rather, one might willfully construct circumstances such that - for all intents and purposes - the object no longer exists (taking your pet dog out deep into the woods and abandoning him there, barring your child from ever interacting with the outside world, telling the world that your ex-best-friend is so reprehensible that nobody should acknowledge his existence, and so on). Murder, in other words, is any action whereby one executes the will for the nonexistence of the object. It is the movement beyond contempt (the will for nonexistence) into actions which bring about nonexistence.

Here are my less mature ramblings on YouTube which preceded this writing:

* object refers to anything (human or otherwise) for which one may have gratitude or contempt *