our herd’s formation, The Mechanics of Virtue, Matt Berry, aphorism 173
173
There is a need for an enemy that is bundled with a need for friendship. Evil results in, and is the result of, our herd’s formation – a warm and cozy “us” is organized by suggesting a dangerous “them.” Whether or not the threat is foisted or discovered is of little concern. Either way the threat results in a reflex which assigns “Evil.” It is a unifying aggression constituting Good and Evil, us and them. And when I have become Evil, I have performed an action which identifies me as “one of them” ... and I now plead for my return to a good conscience – to my herd – in penance and humility.
There is a need for an enemy that is bundled with a need for friendship. Evil results in, and is the result of, our herd’s formation – a warm and cozy “us” is organized by suggesting a dangerous “them.” Whether or not the threat is foisted or discovered is of little concern. Either way the threat results in a reflex which assigns “Evil.” It is a unifying aggression constituting Good and Evil, us and them. And when I have become Evil, I have performed an action which identifies me as “one of them” ... and I now plead for my return to a good conscience – to my herd – in penance and humility.