I totally dig Nietzsche and I quickly thought of his essay, "Beyond Good and Evil", when we started talking about the Salem Witch Trials and the surrounding ideas. A lot of students in class noted that while in a group situation we tend to have a group mentality and sometimes--without hesitation--act out in mad ways for the accepted betterment of the group. And I completely agree. Rather or not something is fair or unfair, reasonable or unreasonable, whatever the group decides is best is what they will pursue. There is lack of individualistic power in a group and a surplus of collective power. During the witch trials the girls started accusing individuals as being witches, and majority of the community not only believed them, but joined them, out of need to feel powerful and, perhaps, out of fear.
The selection from the documentary we watched about the Salem Witch Trial also reflects on this idea of madness. Even at the end of the documentary, they refer to the event as the "Salem Witch Trial Hysteria". And, in the trailer to the movie "Devil" it was clear that the group became immediately irate when one person started to act out.
Who or what is more powerful?
To be powerful is to overcome something or someone, to be physically or mentally stronger, to be in some sort of position of authority. And I believe an issue of power was most certainly at stake during the Salem Witch Trials as well as in all other fight against evil. It is important to overcome evil in order to maintain power. The citizens of Salem, in the name of God, felt it extremely important to maintain power and control over both the land and community of Salem. If imprisoning and executing accused witches allowed them to feel more powerful and in control, they would absolutely do it. Like I mentioned in class, it was not until the members of the court were being accused of witchcraft, did the damning of citizens stop. Not only do I think this is a representation of hierarchy, but also an example of how important power, authority and control is in any situation. And when evil was at work in Salem, the members of the community felt a strong urgency to overpower it to maintain their power. The members of the court, just like the girls who were accusing, were in a position of power, and would only stop if they were to be challenged. I am not sure if the Puritans believed actually that there were witches among them. But I do feel they needed to overcome something--even if not real real--to maintain a sense of power.
To be powerful is to overcome something or someone, to be physically or mentally stronger, to be in some sort of position of authority. And I believe an issue of power was most certainly at stake during the Salem Witch Trials as well as in all other fight against evil. It is important to overcome evil in order to maintain power. The citizens of Salem, in the name of God, felt it extremely important to maintain power and control over both the land and community of Salem. If imprisoning and executing accused witches allowed them to feel more powerful and in control, they would absolutely do it. Like I mentioned in class, it was not until the members of the court were being accused of witchcraft, did the damning of citizens stop. Not only do I think this is a representation of hierarchy, but also an example of how important power, authority and control is in any situation. And when evil was at work in Salem, the members of the community felt a strong urgency to overpower it to maintain their power. The members of the court, just like the girls who were accusing, were in a position of power, and would only stop if they were to be challenged. I am not sure if the Puritans believed actually that there were witches among them. But I do feel they needed to overcome something--even if not real real--to maintain a sense of power.
And further, as Asma mentioned, Job has to overcome Satan and God's test not only to prove his loyalty and faith in God, but also to show that he was stronger than anything he was put up against. Nothing could or would bring Job down and he stayed steadfast in his fight against the plague of evil just as the Puritans did in Salem.
What is evil? Evil as fear.
When we are powerful, we are fearless. When we are fearful, we are powerless. And when we are fearful, we believe in and fuel evil.
When we are powerful, we are fearless. When we are fearful, we are powerless. And when we are fearful, we believe in and fuel evil.
We were asked to meditate on our personal definition of evil and how we think it operates in the world. Evil, to me, is whatever we fear, projected. When we are fearful or feeling vulnerable in any part of our world, we tend to feel that something otherworldly is at work and we are at risk. And, when something does happen that seems unreasonable or not fair to us, there obviously has to be some sort of force that would cause such distress. I am not sure if there is any real, sufficient evil at work in the world-- I really just like to think things are just so. I do believe the universe has a part in everything, but I do not believe evil is one of things that is used to manage this world. It is not needed. And as for a religious sort of evil, I do not think good or evil is predefined.
And, by looking at the types of monsters as defined by Asma, I think it is clear that evil (and monsters) are products of our fear. Asma explains monsters as things that, "threatens human health and happiness," "threatens order and stability," and "as enemies to be crushed or overcome". I understand health and happiness as something that we really value. If we have nothing, we have our health; and we search for happiness in every aspect of our lives. These two things, being most valued, are the things we are most afraid to lose. As I mentioned before, power is such a big issue and a fear of losing power or control encourages us to fight anything and everything that poses as a threat. Therefore, all the things we are most fearful of--losing our health and happiness, our order and stability, being crushed or overcome--are all the things this "evil" is fighting against. This is why, I think in a lot of ways, that evil is not something real as much as a product of our own feelings. Evil is the thing that takes away or challenges the things we value most.
I do believe in that with larger groups it extinguishes individuality. Individuality is perceived as rebellion which is then out casted or eliminated. Also I agree with that the evil we believe in and the evil among us is or own projection of our fears and we develop it from our own paranoid self. That there is no real evil doing from some outside source it's just everything can't be happy and go lucky all the time and sometimes shit happens. It's called life... We just have to deal with it and move on.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about "evil" as a threat to personal power. And the ways that threat shapes the definition and perception of evil. Love the quote on madness in groups. Very relevant. Interesting reflections on Asma and elements of the class discussion. When you revise, don't forget to quote and analyze the primary text (Mather in this case). Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything.
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