--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed…" description: "\"“Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil. “The only good I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/james-p-carse-21875_evil_evil-is-never-intended-as-evil-indeed-th_278829.jpg" --- # Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction… ![“Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil. “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Evil arises in the honored belief that history can be tidied up, brought to a sensible conclusion. It is evil to act as…” quote by James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/james-p-carse-21875_evil_evil-is-never-intended-as-evil-indeed-th_278829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/james-p-carse-21875_evil_evil-is-never-intended-as-evil-indeed-th_278829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfe/james-p-carse-21875_evil_evil-is-never-intended-as-evil-indeed-th_278829.jpg) > ““Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil. “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Evil arises in the honored belief that history can be tidied up, brought to a sensible conclusion. It is evil to act as though the past is bringing us to a specifiable end. It is evil to assume that the past will make sense only if we bring it to an issue we have clearly in view. It is evil for a nation to believe it is “the last, best hope on earth.” It is evil to think history is to end with a return to Zion, or with the classless society, or with the Islamicization of all living infidels.”” [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil often masquerades as a solution to evil, rooted in the desire to end suffering, yet it perpetuates harm through false narratives. **In simple terms:** Evil pretends to fix evil, but creates more harm. Key Takeaway Question the motives behind claims of ending evil. Themes philosophy history politics Mood critical thought‑provoking Type theoretical analytical When to use this quote - policy making - historical analysis - activism - education Key Concepts moral relativism ideological critique Questions to Reflect On - What narratives claim to end evil, and who benefits? - How can we avoid replacing one form of oppression with another? A Different Perspective Assuming a single narrative will resolve complex issues can ignore deeper problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conclusion Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion-evil-2708941/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-contradiction-2708937/) [Evil Intended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-intended-2708940/) [Evil Originates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-originates-2708938/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Intended Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intended-evil-2708939/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“We all hate something from our past, Cal. That's why we run from it, or compensate for it, or even fill our van with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-meltzer/we-all-hate-something-from-our-past-cal-that-s-why-we-run-from-it-or/) [Brad Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-meltzer/) > [The third class of evils comprise those which everyone causes to himself by his own action. This is the largest class, and is far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-third-class-of-evils-comprise-those-which-everyone-causes-to/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) ## More by James P. Carse > [“The issue here is not whether self-veiling can be avoided, or even should be avoided. Indeed, no finite play is possible without it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/the-issue-here-is-not-whether-self-veiling-can-be-avoided-or-even/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“No one can play a game alone. One cannot be human by oneself. There is no selfhood where there is no community. We do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/no-one-can-play-a-game-alone-one-cannot-be-human-by-oneself-there-is/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/a-finite-game-is-played-for-the-purpose-of-winning-an-infinite-game/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“Immortality is therefore the supreme example of the contradictoriness of finite play: It is a life one cannot live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/immortality-is-therefore-the-supreme-example-of-the-contradictoriness/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated. Education discovers an increasing richness in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/to-be-prepared-against-surprise-is-to-be-trained-to-be-prepared-for/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“It is a highly valued function of society to prevent changes in the rules of the many games it embraces... Deviancy, however, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/it-is-a-highly-valued-function-of-society-to-prevent-changes-in-the/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“...religion ceases to be religion when its poetic authority is recast as civic authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/religion-ceases-to-be-religion-when-its-poetic-authority-is-recast-as/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“Although it may be evident enough in theory that whoever plays a finite game plays freely, it is often the case that finite players…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/although-it-may-be-evident-enough-in-theory-that-whoever-plays-a/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“We are playful when we engage others at the level of choice, when there is no telling in advance where our relationship with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/we-are-playful-when-we-engage-others-at-the-level-of-choice-when/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“Surprise in finite play is the triumph of the past over the future. The Master Player who already knows what moves are to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/surprise-in-finite-play-is-the-triumph-of-the-past-over-the-future/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“Titles are public. They are for others to notice. I expect others to address me according to my titles, but I do not address…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/titles-are-public-they-are-for-others-to-notice-i-expect-others-to/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“War presents itself as necessary for self-protection, when in fact it is necessary for self-identification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/war-presents-itself-as-necessary-for-self-protection-when-in-fact-it/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“It is with this thought that many believers would call up Kierkegaard's famous phrase, the 'leap of faith,' pictured perhaps as a leap from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/it-is-with-this-thought-that-many-believers-would-call-up-kierkegaard/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“Fields of play simply do not impose themselves on us. Therefore, all the limitations of finite play are self-limitations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/fields-of-play-simply-do-not-impose-themselves-on-us-therefore-all/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [“What will undo any boundary is the awareness that it is our vision, and not what we are viewing, that is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/what-will-undo-any-boundary-is-the-awareness-that-it-is-our-vision/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) [Explore all 28 James P. Carse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil. “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Evil arises in the honored belief that history can be tidied up, brought to a sensible conclusion. It is evil to act as though the past is bringing us to a specifiable end. It is evil to assume that the past will make sense only if we bring it to an issue we have clearly in view. 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