The path to combatting evil begins with recognizing what evil is. In order to recognize evil, good must be analyzed in contrast for one cannot exist without the other.

Evil and good are created in intent. An act can cause much ill fate to come, however it is not an inherently evil act unless the intent is to create that ill fate. The same is true with an act that creates fine, pleasing results. It is not an act of goodness unless the intention was for goodness to come as the result from that act. Necessary behind any act that is to be called evil or good, is intention to cause such an aligned result. Evil is the intent to cause results that are by nature malicious and destructive. Good is the intent to cause results that are by nature just and fair.

Evil is recognized, and now comes the necessary question of perspective.

Each person and every person has a perspective on good and evil. The vast majority of these conform to the perspective of the society that the person is placed within. In the society of orcs, killing is not always an act of evil, but also a manner of claiming superiority and advancing in society, as well as a method of survival. In the eyes of humankind, the killing that orcs inflict on others is entirely evil. Each society has its own standards of what is good and what is evil. As such, each society will appear somewhere on the scale of good and evil from the perspective of each other society. No society is incorrect in labelling good and evil as such, respectively. The difference is in perspective, and a varying perspective still leaves things as adamantly good and things as adamantly evil.

Good and evil must exist in opposition to one another. Each being must fight what is evil in his mind, regardless of whether that is evil in the mind of another or not. Each society must adhere strictly to it's definition of good and evil, and good must always seek to destroy evil.

We will now close by analyzing in depth an example of what creates good and what creates evil.

-- A goblin murders a farmer and is killed by an adventurer before managing to steal the farmer's cattle.

From the perspective of the goblin, there are these evils: the evil of starvation, the evil of humankind (Humankind and goblinkind are enemies, and as such kill eachother. This is viewed by each as being evil.), and the evil of being killed by the adventurer. There are these goods: the justification of stealing from a hated enemy to feed, the justification of killing an enemy that is viewed as evil from the perspective of the goblin.

From the perspective of the farmer, there are these evils: the evil of having his property and food source jeopardized, the evil of being killed by a goblin, and the evil of goblinkind. There are no goods from the perspective of the farmer, for he died before the goblin was slain.

From the perspective of the adventurer, there are these evils: the evil of the goblin killing the farmer, the evil of the goblin intending to steal from the farmer, and the evil of goblinkind. There are these goods: The good of killing a murderous goblin, and the same act resulted in the good of killing a hated, evil enemy.

As such, what occured was a balanced conflict, in that each force present attempted to combat the evils of it's own perspective. Everything that occured was intended to occur by one force present, and as such everything that occured was visibly an evil act from the perspective of at least one source present. In a balanced conflict, the only evils committed are called necessary evils. --

There is one degree of evil that is beyond perspective. That is when the perspective of the one committing the evil act dictates that the act is evil. This kind of evil is intollerable in absolution, and is rightfully labelled true evil.

Upon recognition of both forms of evil, it is apparent that all evil, regardless of whether it is necessary evil or true evil, must be combatted according to perspective.

Next lesson: Combatting evil