People aren't one sided of the good or evil. We're a combination of the two. Depending on whether someone performs a good or bad deed is entirely opinionated. We all have different perspectives on what is good and evil so we shouldn't be quick to judge someone's "evil" actions because to them they might have thought they were doing something good.
For example, In the podcast Fritz Haber was a combination of good and evil. The good he did was that he created a fertilizer out of nitrogen that would enrich the soil and be able to grow crops and feed millions of people. This was a huge accomplishment that he was praised for by the people he saved. On the other hand, when Germany entered into World War I, Fritz decided to volunteer and help combat Germany's enemies by creating a chemical from the same ingredients that he used for the fertilizer, which is called Ammonium, to kill the enemy soldiers. Germany lost the war anyways and when Hitler took over Fritz was not allowed to stay with Scientist staff. Upset at the fact that since he was jewish and couldn't help his country, which he was very passionate about, He had no where to live and eventually died. After his death the Nazi scientist used the chlorine gas to exterminate the Jew's in concentration camps. While Fritz thought it was a good intentions to make the gas to help his country in the war, it turned out it was a evil idea which lead to the death of millions of people. Fritz helped save and kill millions of people and for that reason he is a combination of good and evil.
In the "Flawed concept of good and evil" Miyazaki says "see the good in which is evil, and the evil in that which is good." which means that without evil their can be no good and vice versa. Rather to choose one side or the other Miyazaki ask us to "preserve the balance that exists between the two." Meaning that for us to be at our full potential we must control the balance between good and evil inside of us.
I completely agree with you on how you said it's not one sided but that people are bith good and evil. Also how no other should be judged based upon evil or good because going back to what Miyazaki said through the cartoons, "pledge yourself to neither side..." because evil can be shown through good and good can be shown thriugh evil. Haber showed good because he wanted to stop the starvation of a growing population. He achieved it but the evil that came along with it was that, the chemical he ended up using to feed the growinng population, ended being a chemical ti kill others as well. Which goes back to Miyazaki when he said good can be looked through evil and vice versa. That brings me back to how I don't think one can be just good or just evil but rather have both, because you can try to be good or evil; which I hope no one tries to be and it can end up going the opposite way of what you thought it woulod go.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people are a combination of good and evil, but Fritz was a very evil man. It's true that he had good intentions at the start when he created the gas for fertilizer, but he killed hundreds of men with the chlorine. You said that when he died his gas was used to kill jews and he would disapprove of the evil act. In actuality he would have probably come up with the idea before the nazis just to get back to his country. Lets not forget that his wife killed herself because of his merciless gas and his son witnessed it. Then, when his son immigrated out of the country he killed himself. This man is just as deadly and evil as the gas used to kill hundreds of Americans during the first world war.
ReplyDeletePathos: Yes that does make sense I agree, without evil the good in the world would not be recognized, as well as without good it would be difficult to identify the evil in the world. I don't think that evil and good actions are titled so based on opinions, I believe distinguishing a good act from a bad act is based on the emotions involved with the person committing such actions as well as who that person is effecting with such actions. In the cartoons of Miyazaki in "The Flawed concept of 'Good VS Evil" he demonstrates the stereotypes associated with heroes and explains that females have the same strengths as males both physically and emotionally. And that people are free to live within the realms of good and evil combined. He states that he portrays he's female characters as "brave" and "self-sufficient" proving that emotionally they have great emotional capabilities as do males. In the podcast "How do you solve a problem like Fritz Haber" explains Fritz Haber's situation, it is tragic because emotionally Haber had good intensions of helping people but consequently his creation was put into the hands of evil. It was not the Nitrogen itself that was the evil it was what a person chose to do with the Nitrogen that caused the evil to irrupt. Although Haber's intensions were to also defeat their opponents I don't think he was aware of the torturous deaths that would result from his actions and he certainly didn't expect it would so far as to kill millions of people.
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