Evil is profound immorality, especially when regarded as a supernatural force,
for example in religious belief. Evil is usually perceived as the dualistic opposite of good.
Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its root motives and
causes; however, evil is commonly associated with conscious and
deliberate wrongdoing, discrimination designed to harm others,
humiliation of people designed to diminish their psychological
well-being and dignity, destructiveness, motives of causing pain or suffering for selfish or malicious intentions, and acts of unnecessary or indiscriminate violence.
The philosophical
question of whether morality is absolute or relative leads to questions
about the nature of evil, with views falling into one of four opposed
camps: moral absolutism, amoralism, moral relativism, and moral universalism.
While the term is applied to events and conditions without agency,
the forms of evil addressed in this article presume an evildoer or
doers.
