The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Who is the most evil character in the Dresdenverse?
wardenferry419:
Yes, everyone's opinions of evil are different; but there are some recurring points of commonality.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: exartiem on December 03, 2017, 01:47:59 AM --- Beings like Dracul are just looking out for themselves, which they see as the right thing to do.
--- End quote ---
Are you coming from WoJ on that I have missed, or am I forgetting some text about Drakul's motivation ?
To my mind evil is about selfishness - about putting what you care about and want ahead of what other people care about and want in destructively competitive ways. Whether what you care about and want is "me" or "things I enjoy" or "the handful of people most closely related to me" is immaterial.
groinkick:
--- Quote from: wardenferry419 on December 03, 2017, 01:51:28 AM ---Yes, everyone's opinions of evil are different; but there are some recurring points of commonality.
--- End quote ---
I'd say that the most evil is someone who inflicts pain, and suffering purely for the enjoyment of watching someone else suffer, and has the free will to not do those things. So Shagnasty is probably the most evil that I can think of in the story (beside Outsiders who appear to have no free will in they are 100% pure evil, and cannot be altered). Free will is the snag for me. Can it resist those impulses or is he like a rabid animal that is out of control?
jonas:
--- Quote from: groinkick on December 03, 2017, 06:40:24 AM ---I'd say that the most evil is someone who inflicts pain, and suffering purely for the enjoyment of watching someone else suffer, and has the free will to not do those things. So Shagnasty is probably the most evil that I can think of in the story (beside Outsiders who appear to have no free will in they are 100% pure evil, and cannot be altered). Free will is the snag for me. Can it resist those impulses or is he like a rabid animal that is out of control?
--- End quote ---
But what if the outsiders ended up 'evil' from their own growth when free will was available? The fallen for instance, are immutable, but they at some point choose to flip the switch that made them what they are.
Arjan:
--- Quote from: the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh on December 03, 2017, 05:08:02 AM ---Are you coming from WoJ on that I have missed, or am I forgetting some text about Drakul's motivation ?
To my mind evil is about selfishness - about putting what you care about and want ahead of what other people care about and want in destructively competitive ways. Whether what you care about and want is "me" or "things I enjoy" or "the handful of people most closely related to me" is immaterial.
--- End quote ---
That is usually true but in fiction there is something called evil that is beyond selfishness. It is the idea of absolute evil, personified evil. Of evil for evils sake. Maybe it is even self sacrificing like serving some evil god or it is just a property like an evil weapon.
In my mind evil is a rather vague label we give to harmfull things that have some guiding personality behind it but which are beyond reasoning with, not because they can not reason but no reasoning will help. With that label we place them outside the group as beings to be feared and to be destroyed if possible. Something like that. I do not think we need a more precise definition because that won’t cover the practical use of the word.
In that sense an evil deed is a deed that can give you that label.
That is also why in the eyes of the knights of the cross the denarian hosts, including Nicodemus, are not truly evil. They are victims of the truly evil Fallen. Michael tried to reason with Nicodemus to bring him back to the fold but he did not try to reason with Anduriel who directed his actions. To call someone evil is to give him up. Mark that free will has no meaning in this context at all but intelligence does.
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