--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people believe that evil is the…" description: "\"Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.\" — Lisa Unger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/lisa-unger-3678_absence_many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-pre_303693.png" --- # Many people believe that evil is the presence of… ![“Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.” quote by Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/lisa-unger-3678_absence_many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-pre_303693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/lisa-unger-3678_absence_many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-pre_303693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/lisa-unger-3678_absence_many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-pre_303693.png) > “Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.” [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil is defined by what is missing, not by a present force. **In simple terms:** Evil is an absence. Key Takeaway Recognize gaps that create harm. Themes morality philosophy psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - societal policies - media narratives Key Concepts absence theory ethical voids Questions to Reflect On - What "absence" leads to harm in your life? - How can you fill those gaps? A Different Perspective Absence can be harder to detect than presence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-evil/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-presence-707584/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-believe/) [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) [Presence Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-think-2895641/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I always look at the motives behind each scene. You can play that out tonally with how you express yourself or you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-gallagher/i-always-look-at-the-motives-behind-each-scene-you-can-play-that-out/) [Aidan Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-gallagher/) > [Our choices are truncated in evil's presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/our-choices-are-truncated-in-evil-s-presence/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [“...thinking about somebody every day of his life... oh yes, he said to himself. Oh yes, you do. You think about somebody. He fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/thinking-about-somebody-every-day-of-his-life-oh-yes-he-said-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He takes up too much room, on the divan and in one's mind. It is simply impossible for me, in his presence, think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/he-takes-up-too-much-room-on-the-divan-and-in-one-s-mind-it-is-simply/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [One good yardstick as to whether a person might be the right one for you is this: in her presence, do you think your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/one-good-yardstick-as-to-whether-a-person-might-be-the-right-one-for/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Running up the stairs in fear because you feel an evil presence behind you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/running-up-the-stairs-in-fear-because-you-feel-an-evil-presence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The lobbies of the new hotels and the Pan American Building exhale a chill as from the unopened Pharaonic tombs... And in their marble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-lobbies-of-the-new-hotels-and-the-pan-american-building-exhale-a/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [When anything is in the presence of evil, but is not as yet evil, the presence of good arouses the desire of good in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-anything-is-in-the-presence-of-evil-but-is-not-as-yet-evil-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When you find inner peace, neither the presence nor absence of any person, place or thing, condition, circumstance, or situation can be the Creator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-find-inner-peace-neither-the-presence-nor-absence-of-any/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [When my absence doesnt alter your life, then my presence has no meaning in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-my-absence-doesnt-alter-your-life-then-my-presence-has-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The absence of the latter means nothing, though its presence may mean everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/the-absence-of-the-latter-means-nothing-though-its-presence-may-mean/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Not only strive to make your presence noticed, but also contribute to make your absence felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/not-only-strive-to-make-your-presence-noticed-but-also-contribute-to/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) ## More by Lisa Unger > [“When they’re small, they’re part of you, on you in bed, showering with you, climbing onto your lap, holding on to your leg. Slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-they-re-small-they-re-part-of-you-on-you-in-bed-showering-with/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We hate our parents for having their own lives, don’t we, for making decisions for themselves that don’t seem to take us into account.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-hate-our-parents-for-having-their-own-lives-don-t-we-for-making/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. 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It didn't change all the reasons we couldn't be together, but it kept me returning to his body, kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-loved-him-so-much-it-didn-t-change-all-the-reasons-we-couldn-t-be/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It was a strange lightness, a drifting feeling. Zero gravity. I understood that everything that once seemed solid and immovable might just float away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-was-a-strange-lightness-a-drifting-feeling-zero-gravity-i/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Of course, like all organic processes, there is an ebb and a flow to writing. One does not exist without the other. The writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/of-course-like-all-organic-processes-there-is-an-ebb-and-a-flow-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-you-start-to-really-know-someone-all-his-physical/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It's strange how memory gets twisted and pulled like taffy in its retelling, how a single event can mean something different to everyone present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-s-strange-how-memory-gets-twisted-and-pulled-like-taffy-in-its/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Even if someone is overcome with rage, it takes amazing arrogance to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/even-if-someone-is-overcome-with-rage-it-takes-amazing-arrogance-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“What does it mean to forgive someone? It only means that you release the anger, the hatred. 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The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. 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