Evil seems related to intentions, but i am sure there are those that believe it can exist external to minds. Are there any philosophers that attempt to argue that evil can exist outside a mind?
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1See The Problem of Evil. In what sense do you tink that e.g. The Holocaust does not exist "ouside a mind" ?– Mauro ALLEGRANZADec 5, 2018 at 16:32
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Since our 'minds' were only introduced as a subject/object platform which relates to our thinking processes by European science- related philosophers from the mid 16th to mid 17th century, and the concept of what constitutes 'evil' has been around for several thousand years prior to that, the question is quite difficult to answer. And who says evil is related to intentions? Legally, intentions and motives are part of the process of judgement. Neither, prior intentions nor motives, are a prerequisite for an action considered to be 'evil' to occur.– Norman EdwardDec 5, 2018 at 18:43
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Look up 'Loa loa'.. or Alzheimer's.. or any other seemingly cruel natural event.. parasitic wasps etc. The world isn't nice.. axe murder is really just background noise.– RichardDec 5, 2018 at 21:22
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I think you are confusing "mind-independent" with "outside of mind". Since evil usually refers to actions it is obviously "outside of mind", but one may ask if characterizing an action as evil is objective, or just an expression of personal emotions and/or social conventions. Look at the references in SEP The Concept of Evil.– ConifoldDec 5, 2018 at 22:41
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2Is anything outside mind? A definition of 'evil' would help here since I wouldn't know how to define it.– user20253Dec 6, 2018 at 12:43
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